VIEWPOINT
AT THE EDGE OF A NEW WORLD
JOE BAGULEY, VP & CTO VMWARE EMEA, ON HOW ORGANISATIONS CAN GAIN AN INTELLIGENT EDGE AND WHY IT MATTERS
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ince the dawn of time, organisations and individuals have sought ways to gain an advantage. It’s why we’ve been in the ‘age of innovation’ for more than 200 years, and speed has often been key to finding that edge. You can look as far back as the 1830s and the tale of how François and Joseph Blanc found an elaborate, albeit illegal, way to influence how information was transmitted from Paris to the stock exchange in Bordeaux. As bankers trading in government Bonds, they quickly realised they could make money by being one step ahead of their competition as information was passed along the mechanical telegraph system. As optimistic technologists, we believe we are currently in the golden age of 28
CXO INSIGHT ME
AUGUST 2020
innovation – an age in which digital technology is transforming the underpinnings of human existence. During the last few months, and with the various roles technology has played in our collective response to the pandemic, we’ve seen why. Now, with technologies like edge computing and ML/AI, we can look to what’s possible as businesses, governments and even communities plan their next moves in a world that no one was prepared for. Information + speed What links the above scenarios is the speed of decision-making: the right person having the right information to make decisions, at the right time, and being able to act on this at speed. And while a whole bunch of technologies
is enabling this – cloud, mobile, networking among many – the use of ML/AI and edge computing in support of application delivery – so getting that information intelligently into the hands of users to effect change – can offer a wealth of possibilities in this new world we are trying to map out. The intelligent computing that ML/AI brings, combined with the movement of compute and data to the location where it is needed (that edge computing delivers), can improve response times and play a role in contact tracing and social distancing efforts to help people live and work, and businesses to operate, as close to normal as is possible. In healthcare, AI is being embraced in track, trace and test applications to deliver accurate and real-time insights. This type of app can support the appropriate
