The Future of the Edge: Day Three of Tanium Converge 2020

We’ve seen and heard from some incredible speakers over the past two days of Tanium Converge 2020, and we’ve covered a huge amount of ground.

We learned why IT leaders shouldn’t have to put up with “good enough” visibility and control of endpoints, and how Tanium is helping through unprecedented innovation and cross-industry partnerships. 

We learned how Tanium customers are not just surviving but thriving in the new reality of life amidst a pandemic. And we heard how important it is to understand our adversaries in cyberspace, to future-proof our defenses for a new era of distributed IT.  

But we’re not done yet. On the final day, our keynote speakers took two paths that ultimately met in the middle. On the technology side, Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon and former Ford CEO Mark Fields discussed the future of the edge, in a world of 5G and AI. 

And on the human side, award-winning speaker and former monk Jay Shetty sat down with Tanium CMO Chris Pick to share his thoughts on how organizations can improve collaboration, resilience and purpose among their employees.

5G, AI and the future of the edge

Few technologies have been as hotly anticipated as 5G. It has the potential to transform entire industries and create new ways of working that haven’t been conceived. It will also drive an exponential increase in the number of connected devices. These are devices that, from an enterprise perspective, must be managed and secured at speed and scale. This where the Tanium platform comes into its own. 

But how exactly will this play out? Fortunately, we had an industry visionary to tell us more.

Qualcomm’s Amon said the 5G era will usher in a new age of unlimited data at gigabyte speeds for all mobile users. It will support mission critical services for everything from industrial robotics to autonomous cars to virtual manufacturing. 

And with hundreds of billions of devices connecting to the cloud at high-speed, 5G will provide the data lakes via which AI can finally realize its full potential, he said. The opportunities are limitless, and include:

Digital twin environments (digital replicas of physical entities) that will be fed data at high-speed, via 5G connectivity, to reduce downtime and improve network and operational performance. AI capabilities layered on top will provide rapidly self-healing networks if faults occur in facilities such as utility substations.

Lighter mobile devices and wearables, as more computing power is done off-device. The new 5G era will also drive adoption of augmented reality headsets to help with job training and other workplace scenarios.

Major manufacturing changes that will reinvent how factories are built. With 5G, companies can create smaller, more nimble facilities that are linked together and where computing is done off-site in the cloud.

Workplace transformation in a new post-pandemic era that makes it possible for those inside and outside the office to enjoy seamless connectivity.

Telehealth, which has already seen significant digital transformation during the past year, will come of age with 5G connectivity by making it simple, quick and easy to share the most advanced medical imagery.

To put a point on it: If you hadn’t bought into the idea that every company is a technology company, 5G will make that an absolute necessity.

The human side: creating purpose, thriving through challenges

We’ve spoken a great deal about technology during the show so far. But ultimately, the most important asset for an organization are its people — the way they live, work and feel is vital to business success. 

To say that the past few months have been challenging from a human and emotional perspective is an understatement. But if anyone can show us the way to a brighter future, it’s mindfulness expert and storyteller Jay Shetty. 

Shetty explained that the key to resilience is reflection. Looking back is something we often forget to do as we continue driving forward to the next goal…and the one after that. 

But we should all take time out to pause and reflect more often, to see how far we’ve come, and to get the emotional boost of resilience that comes with it.

Part of this newfound awareness should be focused on those around us, by devoting more of our time to collaboration and communication, Shetty advised. 

In Tanium’s world, collaboration between IT operations and security is crucial to closing visibility and accountability gaps, and it’s something our platform helps to achieve by presenting a single version of the truth for all teams to unify around. 

But as Shetty emphasized, technology is only part of the equation when it comes to personal and organizational excellence. Ultimately, the success of an individual or a collective group is about personal choices and human interactions. To succeed, whether that is for protecting corporate endpoints or reaching personal goals, we need to think more carefully and act with purpose.

To help us through these challenging times, why not try his simple four-point “TIME” plan? It offers a blueprint for a more mindful, aware and purposeful life, comprising: Thankfulness, Inspiration, Meditation and Exercise. Good words for these challenging times.

That’s a wrap for Tanium Converge 2020. But stay tuned for our five key takeaways from the show.