Category: Trending Technology

Welcome to the Tech2Exec Trending Technology category, where we spotlight groundbreaking advancements in emerging tech reshaping industries and global markets. Our goal is to provide an overview of the latest innovations that tech executives need to integrate into their strategies to stay competitive. We cover technologies from AI breakthroughs revolutionizing automation and data analysis to developments in blockchain enhancing security and transparency. We also explore advancements in quantum computing, IoT, and 5G connectivity, all set to drive future success and growth. Stay informed with the insights you need to navigate the dynamic tech ecosystem.

Legacy Data – unlocking the value

Tech execs are driven to modernize legacy systems for increased agility to match the fast pace of business. A valuable asset locked up in legacy systems is data. By planning a migration to the cloud organizations can leverage their legacy data and transform it into actionable insights.

This transformation can unlock new business opportunities, improve decision-making processes, and increase competitive advantage. With the cloud’s scalability and flexibility, tech execs can easily access and analyze vast amounts of data in real-time.

Businesses hold decades of untapped legacy data, ready to be utilized for harnessing its advantages.

True, a good portion of it could be aged, corrupted, or duplicate. Cleaning this data is crucial for unlocking its true value and making smarter, focused business decisions. Thankfully, with the advancement of technology and data management tools, this process has become much more efficient and effective.

Migrating from legacy to the cloud enables organizations to utilize cloud service providers’ (CSP) capabilities for big data processing, real-time analytics, and machine learning. These capabilities allow for the extraction of insights from the data. But before this can happen, the data needs to go through a thorough cleaning process.

The first step in this process is identifying and removing any duplicate or redundant legacy data.

This saves storage space and ensures accurate data analysis, avoiding result discrepancies.

Next, the data must be organized and standardized.

This involves formatting text strings, converting data types, and resolving missing values. Without proper organization, it becomes difficult to make meaningful connections or draw insights from the data.

When migrating legacy data to the cloud, consider the target data structure based on the use cases.

Data currently in structured format may be okay to dump into an unstructured data lake for analytics, as an example.

The data format in your legacy environment may differ from that in the cloud. It’s going to depend on the business need. So, there will be a lot of thinking required for how you are going to use this information. Are you going to query it? Are you going to run analytics on it? All these considerations will impact how you structure and store your data.

A major plus of cloud data storage is the flexibility to scale as required.

Traditional on-premises solutions require organizations to predict storage needs and invest in costly infrastructure that might end up underutilized. In the cloud, resources can be added or removed as needed, providing cost savings and increased flexibility.

Another important consideration when moving data to the cloud is security.

Although cloud providers offer strong security measures, organizations must enforce their own protocols and monitor data access regularly. This becomes even more critical if sensitive or confidential data is being stored in the cloud.

Besides scalability and security, leveraging the cloud for data storage can enhance collaboration and productivity in an organization. Teams can effortlessly collaborate on documents or projects from anywhere with internet access, eliminating delays due to location or time differences.

Furthermore, utilizing the cloud for data storage can also lead to cost savings for organizations. By ditching physical servers and gear, while cutting maintenance costs, businesses can greatly reduce their IT expenses. This allows them to reallocate resources towards other areas of their operations.

Lastly, the cloud offers reliable backup and disaster recovery options.

During system failure or natural disasters, cloud storage keeps data safe and accessible. This eliminates the risk of losing important information and allows for a quick recovery in case of any unexpected events.

To sum up, Cloud Service providers offer various services and partner tools to aid in migrating your data, including files, databases, machine images, block volumes, and tape backups. Successful data migration hinges on knowing what to move, where to move it, how to utilize it, and having knowledgeable individuals who can apply the data for making business decisions.

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Legacy Mainframe Environment

Today, tech execs are concerned about the mainframe computer application code. Many companies have had mainframe computers since the 70s and 80s. Large companies, particularly in insurance and finance, built applications during that time that still run on mainframes now. These applications consist of mostly COBOL code, with millions of lines.

SIDE NOTE: COBOL is the oldest still used programming language, developed in 1959. The only other language even close in age is C, which was developed in the early 70’s.

Today’s mainframe computers have powerful processors and seamlessly run COBOL applications alongside Docker containers. Tech executives face challenges with complex COBOL, PL/1, and Assembler code, as well as managing decades of data in diverse environments like DB2, MySQL, and Oracle. We’ll discuss data in a future post.

Mainframe applications have long been vital for enterprise business processing. They were game-changers, and still handle key workloads effectively. However, the drive to convert or move these applications has been slow. Today, tech execs face fierce competition in aggressive markets. Outdated systems hinder companies from keeping up with innovative rivals. Cloud computing enables competitors to invest in new systems without hardware burdens. Consequently, older companies face disadvantages and must modernize their legacy application environment. The three reasons for this transformation are:

Agility: Companies need IT systems that can be updated for functional processing requirements in a timelier manner. Shorter development cycles are a must for organizations to keep pace.
Cost: The mainframe is the costliest computer available. In many organizations, it’s also difficult and time consuming to maintain. The complexity of the code and data environments makes keeping the systems up and running difficult. Modern cloud technologies offer a significant reduction in cost of ownership.
Risk: Knowledge of legacy environments is fading away as programmers who developed this code many years ago retire. Skills in COBOL, PL/1, CICS, etc. are becoming scarce, making managing the applications and responding to major incidences more challenging.

To remain competitive, organizations must tackle legacy mainframe systems. The transformation should uncover the current state and map out an ideal future state. Develop a value proposition with a total cost of ownership analysis for transitioning to the cloud. When it comes to maintaining the mainframe and harnessing the power of the cloud, it’s worth considering strategies from industry leaders like IBM. Take into account the costs of migration and retooling, but also weigh them against the benefits of ownership. Furthermore, take the time to explore the numerous advantages that cloud computing has to offer.

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Importance of Technical Skills

Technology is reshaping the business landscape, and employees must adapt to avoid obsolescence. As organizations rely more on digital tools, adapting to technological advancements is key to professional resilience. Particularly, tech executives must prioritize the importance of technical skills to remain at the forefront.

Understanding emerging technologies impacting your work is essential. For instance, ChatGBT exemplifies a tool that replaces certain human tasks, offering advanced conversational capabilities and efficiency, though it’s not the only transformative technology. As a technology leader, it is your duty to prepare your organization for such shifts. This preparation involves understanding the impacts of new technologies and devising strategies to integrate them into existing processes.

With the importance of technical skills as a high priority you need to develop a comprehensive plan.

Grasp the technological impacts on the workforce and business as a whole. Align the technology team with business leaders to develop an employee training strategy, focusing on necessary technical skills and strategic thinking to leverage technology effectively. Encourage a culture of innovation where employees feel comfortable experimenting with new tools and methodologies.

The cloud greatly impacts business operations, transforming IT service approaches and enabling businesses to engage in decision-making with more agility and efficiency. By using cloud capabilities, businesses achieve seamless enablement and enhanced agility—the ultimate goal of investing in a flexible, globally deployable infrastructure. The shift to cloud technologies enables organizations to scale operations quickly, respond to market demands with agility, and optimize costs. Relying on vendors for infrastructure management creates new opportunities for IT departments, making a strong training plan crucial. This involves equipping teams with the skills to manage vendor relationships and ensure that cloud solutions align with business objectives.

IT is transitioning from infrastructure support to business enablement.

The IT team needs Agile skills, vendor collaboration, quick identification and implementation of new technologies, and active engagement in becoming more business-centric. This transformation requires IT departments to change their mindset, focusing on understanding business goals and how technology drives value. Training should develop these skills, enabling IT professionals to be strategic partners in the organization’s growth and innovation.

One way for tech executives to stay informed about emerging technologies is by networking with other professionals in the industry. Attending conferences or joining online communities can provide valuable insights into current trends and innovations.

Besides technical skills, soft skills like communication, collaboration, and adaptability are increasingly important in the tech industry.

As technology advances, teamwork and effective communication between departments and teams are crucial for successfully integrating new technologies.

In summary, technology is constantly evolving, and individuals and organizations must adapt to thrive in this fast-paced digital landscape. As a tech executive, staying informed, planning for effective technology integration, and fostering a culture of innovation are crucial. By staying ahead and enhancing technological expertise, you can become an invaluable asset in today’s tech-driven business world.

Click here for a post on the importance of technology innovation.

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What was the Pandemic’s Influence on Technology?

The pandemic’s influence forced tech executives to prepare for unprecedented challenges and prompted them to re-examine digital technologies and business applications from a new perspective. This shift required them to adapt quickly to changing market demands and explore innovative solutions to maintain operational efficiency and customer engagement. As a result, there was a significant acceleration in the adoption of digital tools and platforms, transforming the way businesses operate and interact with their clients.

Before the pandemic, 65% of companies invested in digitalization.

In the beginning of 2023, the spread of digital investments has surged even more: 75% of companies plan to invest in these areas due to a hybrid work model. This shift has led to the widespread adoption of digital technologies in personal and professional settings, driven by the necessity of remote work and online communication during social distancing measures.

The pandemic’s influence has driven businesses to invest in tools and platforms to support remote work and maintain productivity. These include collaboration software, video conferencing, project management tools, and cloud-based services. The increased demand has sparked innovation and competition in the digital tech market, pushing companies to improve their solutions for remote work and communication.

The global pandemic highlighted the vital role of cloud computing in providing smooth and secure remote access to data and applications.

The scalability and adaptability of cloud platforms have emerged as indispensable assets, ensuring uninterrupted business operations and continuity amid the unprecedented challenges brought about by these times.

The future holds promising advancements in infrastructure and information system security. Moreover, it encompasses the development of business-supporting models by leveraging cutting-edge technologies like Big Data, IoT, and Cloud Computing. These technological advancements are set to revolutionize the way businesses operate, ensuring improved efficiency and effectiveness in the long run.

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