CIOs Envision The Future Of Work | GM’s New Tech Leadership | Novant Health’s Angela Yochem Drives Drone Deliveries Of Medicine | And More

Plus: What CIOs Want To Hear In A Vendor’s Sales Pitch

Hi there, and welcome to the latest edition of our CIO Newsletter. This mini-essay is a bit longer than usual, but I think the topic merits it so please bear with me.

Yesterday, we held the third installment in our Forbes CIO Next virtual summit series, which focused on the future of work and how CIOs are helping to shape it. There were many great takeaways from the stimulating discussions, but perhaps the most important one from my perspective was that when the leaders who spoke envisioned how work will get done in coming decades, they often highlighted virtual vision as a fundamental part of the equation.

As someone who in the past covered the first and second comings (and subsequent goings) of virtual world Second Life, I’ve been deeply skeptical about all the current talk of a metaverse and how we’re destined to live in a Matrix-like parallel universe with our digital twins. But after yesterday’s sessions, I’m starting to take some aspects of this far more seriously—and if you’ve shared my skepticism, you might want to watch a video of the proceedings when we post it online.

Ursula Soritsch-Renier, the chief digital and information officer of Saint-Gobain, a French company that’s one of the world’s leading manufacturers and distributors of construction materials, discussed how it’s tackling the challenge of making remote employees feel more present in meetings when other colleagues are getting together in-person.

Soritsch-Renier has introduced telepresence robots with iPad-like screens mounted on top of them so you can see the face of the person who’s beaming in. She said the tech still needs to improve a lot—for instance, narrow fields of vision restrict what these “avatars” can see—but added that the experience for both remote workers and those present is superior to having people check in via wall-mounted screens or over conference calls. With a physical presence in the form of a robot “you’re more likely not to forget about this person,” Soritsch-Renier said.

Visual tech’s already shaping the future of work in other ways. Sheryl Bunton, the CIO of Gulfstream Aerospace, said the company is using the technology to project markings and colors onto planes on the production line to guide workers painting them. And of course there are the digital twins of jet engines and other machines already being used for predictive maintenance and other applications.

David Rose, an MIT lecturer and former executive at eyeglass firm Warby Parker, which was valued at $6 billion in its recent direct listing on the NYSE, added another dimension to the discussion. He predicted that one of the most important applications of glasses with augmented reality tech would be to create virtual workflows from what people see. The power of what he calls “SuperSight,” which is the title of a new book he’s just published, is only just starting to become clear. 

So how soon will the metaverse become a reality? We polled our audience and roughly two-thirds of respondents estimated sometime within 5 to 10 years. So it’s definitely something worth keeping a (real) eye on.

Thanks for reading—and do let me know if you have any suggestions for themes to cover in future issues. You can contact me on Twitter here and LinkedIn here. And in case you were wondering, my former co-author, Samantha Todd, has deservedly been promoted to a new role at Forbes, so I’m going to be flying solo again for a while.

Technology & Innovation

5G and edge computing: There’s no shortage of hype around 5G, but to make its promise of super-fast connectivity come true more computing capacity needs to be brought near to wireless networks. Both Dell and Google recently unveiled edge computing advances that will help make that happen.

Semiconductors: The U.S. is in the process of building an exascale computer called Frontier that will be capable of solving problems five times faster than today’s top supercomputers. But to create this mega number cruncher, new kinds of chips are going to be needed and they’re now making their way into data centers.

Leadership & Strategy

Software development: Plenty of other CIOs are thinking like GM’s departing Randy Mott and bringing more and more software talent in-house, says CIO Network Contributor Vijay Gurbaxani. That’s been a boost for developer-focused companies such as GitLab, which recently went public in an $11 billion IPO.

Big data: Sports analogies are all too common in business, but this one’s worth taking a look at. A couple of data experts argue that it makes sense to think of data as you would a football team, with data operations groups playing defense and data science ones as the offense. If you like soccer as well as American football, you can also include a midfield (data engineering and networking groups.)

Talent & Careers

Jobs of the future: Einride, a Swedish company developing autonomous vehicles to deliver goods for companies such as GE Appliances, is creating a new role: Remote Pod Operator. The idea is that one person will operate several of the company’s trucks, or pods, from a single location. (If there’s no Forbes CIO newsletter next time around, it’s because I’ve gone off to become a podmeister!)

Training and development: With the Great Resignation still in full swing, beefing up training programs for existing employees in IT can help retain some of those who may be thinking of leaving. Here’s a helpful list of suggestions for engaging with corporate learning executives to ensure that your team is getting the best opportunities to develop relevant skills.

"If someone’s having a stroke, every second counts. We need to get them out [of a scanner] and get them in the OR."

Angela Yochem

Chief transformation and digital officer, Novant Health

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