BusinessCloud editor Chris Maguire introduces the second edition of the tech magazine, which you can read in digital form at the bottom of this article.
One of the perks of my jobs is getting invited to numerous events and meeting so many interesting people.
At one such occasion recently I found myself sitting next to a really nice young lady, who said she didn’t really have much interest in tech.
“Can I look at your smartphone?” I asked.
Looking slightly surprised she handed me her handset and allowed me to look through her apps.
It’s fair to say she uses every form of social media going. She has a health app, various dating apps and an app that shows all the places around the world that’s she’s visited.
Her entire life is dictated to by her phone and the point I was making was that tech played a bigger part in her life than she thought.
“Could you live without your mobile?” I asked.
She paused for a second and admitted she couldn’t – and this was somebody who said she didn’t “do tech”.
Her view is similar to a lot of the businesses I meet. Their first instinct is to say they don’t really do tech but when you scratch beneath the surface they soon realise how dependent they are on it.
That’s what BusinessCloud is all about. As well as demystifying tech we aim to raise awareness of how technology can transform the bottom line.
Our second issue of the magazine is a veritable smorgasbord of tasty tech treats for every palate.
We have in-depth stories about how technology is changing the face of healthcare as we know it. The NHS is a brilliant organisation but its size and scale make it unwieldy and in need of modernising.
It’s a bit of a curate’s egg: state-of-the-art technology such as the 3D printing of organ models so surgeons can practise pre-op – see our feature on P10 – runs side-by-side with antiquated administration systems.
The lack of public Wi-Fi is a good example – turn to page 14 – but there are countless other examples.
I was once sent three letters for the same hospital appointment and that’s a massive waste of money.
I’m proud of the content of the magazine but if you only read one story in this issue have a look at the special report on p16 on the 10 pieces of technology and software that could save your life.
We hear a lot about virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) but how many of us really understand what it means and how they can benefit our business?
Our reporter Katherine Lofthouse put on her VR headset (p6) and was blown away by the experience. A lot of people talk about AI as if it’s something for the future, but it’s not.
Our report (p46) shows that a lot of companies are already embracing AI technology.
BusinessCloud is only a few months old but we’re already gaining traction in the market.
I was delighted to be involved in the International Festival for Business (IFB 2016). We were given a month’s notice to put on a half-day conference on the main Blue Skies stage but we did it.
The result was the ‘Tech entrepreneurs who are trying to change the world’ event (p33). Fortune favours the brave.
I started this column by saying one of the great things about this job was the amazing people I get to meet. Another thing is that for every new thing I find out about tech I realise there are 10 things I don’t know.
I’ve just found out about the mobile app Shazam, which can help users find out about unfamiliar or forgotten music. It’s valued at more than $1bn and I just found out about it!
Although great technology won’t paper over the cracks of a poorly run business it can provide the rocket fuel for a good one.
Make sure you’re strapped in.