Augmented Reality Software at Boeing’s New “Innovation Cell”
Boeing launched HorizonX, an “innovation cell” that will attempt to realize the aerospace manufacturer’s vision of the future. Through HorizonX and a combination of money, business development, and incubator programs, Boeing is investing in the developer of the Skylight platform, Upskill. Skylight allows an enterprise to connect its applications to augmented reality headsets so that frontline workers can use voice interaction with these headsets, allowing them to keep both hands on the wiring work they’re doing.
Our View: Whether you are starting an entirely new venture for innovation or just want to foster innovation within your current team, you need to set clear expectations. Your team needs to know why and how IT will be leading innovation. Our Innovation Working Group Charter can serve as a lightweight roadmap for the staff involved in this innovation initiative and help you avoid placing too much rigor that could hinder your team’s innovation efforts.
Atomic-Scale Information Storage
Scientists at IBM discovered a way to magnetically store information on a single atom, which could lead to colossal data storage capacities even in the smallest devices. Though it may still be a while before people use this atom-sized information storage technology on a home computer or smartphone, Sander Otte, a physicist at Delft University of Technology, said “it’s a landmark achievement. Finally, magnetic stability has been demonstrated undeniably in a single atom.”
Our View: Data is growing at an exponential rate, and most organizations are not sure how to prepare for future storage needs. Storage modernization is critical to IT's success. Read our Modernize Enterprise Storage – Executive Brief to explore the difficulties of storage modernization, and the consequences of not taking action. Current and emerging storage technologies are disrupting the status quo, so prepare your infrastructure for the exponential rise in data and its storage requirements.
The Shift from IT Expert to IT Leader
Transitioning from an IT professional to an IT leader requires a different set of skills and will change how you approach your resume. Your resume becomes more about defining your value proposition in place of listing your technical skills. A global IT careers expert, resume writer, and owner of Quantum Tech Resumes, J.M. Auron, recommends establishing specific situations where your leadership and expertise resulted in positive changes for your organization.
Our View: The value of your resume pales in comparison to the importance of your actual impact at work. Over 50% of new leaders fail within the first 18 months of their assignment. New leaders need to engage their spheres of influence to guide them through their first 100 days and beyond. Use our research Leverage the First 100 Days as a New Leader to strategize for the first 100 days on the job to build a solid foundation for long-term success.
The Lift: Losing Sleep Over Tracking Sleep
The quantified-self movement market was worth an estimated $123 billion in 2015, and some analysts predict that number to more than quadruple by 2024. Despite these numbers, tracking things like calories, steps, and sleep doesn’t guarantee that you achieve the desired outcomes such as weight loss or increasing your sleep. In fact, research published in Sleep Medicine linked sleep-tracking apps and devices to more sleep problems, possibly because tracking sleep can increase sleep-related anxiety.