We all know that the post-covid world will be different than it was before. What we don’t know exactly is how different, or precisely what the changes will be. Some of the changes in behaviour will last. Others not. Some will lead to further changes.

Jim Carroll gives us some facts to ponder:

• “you won’t be going to a conference, event, or corporate off-site for a long, long time
• even so, you don’t like the virtual events you’ve been to so far – they’re pretty bad, too long, are boring and often devoid of content
• and yet, organizations and associations have a crushing, relentless need to bring their people, teams and members together in the relentless pursuit of new knowledge and new connections.”

For more on these views, check out this website. https://jimcarroll.com/2020/07/daily-inspiration-right-now-your-speed-matters-more-than-your-plan-think-fast-move-faster/

Clearly there is some reconciliation needed here. And further changes will be needed to accomplish this. And there is not much time to adapt. As Jim says,” act fast.”

There is an excellent series going on CNBC at http://www.cnbc.com/interrupted which will help businesses with finding a focus of the change they need. It could be better, faster online service, changing products, streamlining supply chains, or something else.

There is no one change that will fit all businesses. But change is needed, And fast!

By John McAlister and Shelley Thomson

There is no doubt the accounting industry has been in a constant state of disruption for more than a decade. As a result, there’s a good chance you have responded in one of the following ways…

• It's a buzz word, it's not real, and eventually, the talk will fade;
• It’s the new way of life;
• I'll ignore it, and it will go away;
• I’m terrified and don’t know what to do to keep up;
• I’m excited about the challenges ahead;
• It will never affect me;

These are all common reactions that you might also feel regularly, and perhaps many more.

The world was moving towards edge computing before the pandemic struck. In bare bones terms, edge computing involves moving the data and processing closer to the end user.

With the pandemic, companies began moving their personnel offsite, mostly to their homes. They have had to begin addressing the challenges this movement raised, including security and privacy issues.

But also, with their people physically spread out, it became apparent that edge computing had a new relevance, especially considering the already fast-moving trend towards using big data, advanced analytics, and AI. 

“As the world moves into the fourth industrial revolution, the requirement for high-speed connectivity, real-time data processing and analytics will be increasingly important for business and society. With the combined IoT market size projected to reach $520 billion by 2021, the development of edge computing solutions alongside 5G networks will be required to provide near-instantaneous network speed and to underpin computational platforms close to where data is created.”[1]

The confluence of these trends means that the computing platforms are faced with an unprecedented degree of change over the next months and years.

[1] http://www.infosecisland.com/blogview/25261-Edge-Computing-Set-to-Push-Security-to-the-Brink.html