Information Technology (IT) has moved through many clearly defined eras. I don’t feel the need to list them all, but the latest one clearly is the move from discrete computers to virtualized software-configured environments, that we all colloquially call “the cloud”. And with each technological generation, we have improved the methods we use to integrate discrete modules of technology, and increased the level of automation.

If your organization is frustrated with how long it takes to roll out new applications and updates, they are not alone. Speed-to-market is an obsession at many companies today (see call-out box below), so anything that restricts or slows it down is a problem.

Artificial intelligence is one of several hot technologies that have the potential to transform the face of combat in the next years. The Joint Artificial intelligence Center was established by the Department of Defense to win the artificial intelligence war. AI might enable autonomous systems to execute missions, achieve sensor fusion, automate activities, and make better, faster judgments than people, according to some visions. AI is quickly developing, and those objectives may be met shortly.

The year 2020 proved that we need to “adapt” to the unknown, the “new normal” and the constant transformation of what would become a new state of living — one that meant being “displaced” and personally disconnected. If the global Covid-19 pandemic taught us a lesson, it was that we could incorporate new ways of living by self-isolating yet maintaining social integration via a digital presence.

As I said before, Speed is King. Business requirements for applications and architecture change all the time, driven by changes in customer needs, competition, and innovation and this only seems to be accelerating. Application developers must not be the blocker to business. We need business changes at the speed of life, not at the speed of software development.

Today’s decision-making is different than even a few years ago. More “data” is used, and the data inputs take several forms, including humans. A big part of today’s strategy and decision-making at enterprise-class organizations are committees, made up of a company’s subject matter experts and relevant stakeholders for a critical company initiative.