Recently, I asked my friend, Ray, to list those he believes are the top 10 most forward thinkers in the IT industry.  Below is the list he generated. 

Like most smart people, Ray gets his information from institutions such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Huffington Post, Ted Talks ...  Ray is not an IT expert; he is, however, a marketer: the type that has an opinion on everything and is all too willing to share it.  Unfortunately, many of his opinions are based upon the writings/editorials of those attempting to appeal to the reading level of an 8th grader.  I suppose it could be worse.  He could be referencing Yahoo News, where important stories get priority placement such as when the voluptuous Kate Upton holds a computer close to her breasts.

Before you read further, note that missing from this list and not credited are innovators: Bill Joy, Dennis Ritchie, Linus Torvalds, Alan Turing, Edward Howard Armstrong, Peter Andreas Grunberg and Albert Fent, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz/Hermann Grassmann ... You know the type:  the type of individual who burns the midnight oil and rarely, if ever, guffaws over their discoveries or achievements.

People are optimistic about problem solving, but in most cases this is easier said than done. How do you do it?

In Adobe’s 2016 global study on creativity in business, 96% of people identified creativity as essential to their success, both in terms of their income and the value they bring to the world. Moreover, 78% wished they were capable of thinking differently, believing that they would progress through their careers more quickly if they did.

According to Malcom Gladwell, the world's most successful people have one thing in common: they think differently from most everyone else.  In his book, How Successful People Think, Malcom opens with the following:        “Good thinkers are always in demand.  A person who knows how may always have a job, but the person who knows why will always be his boss. Good thinkers solve problems, they never lack ideas that can build an organization, and they always have hope for a better future”
Too often we attribute creative and “different” thinking to natural, innate characteristics that belong only to the lucky. The truth is that you can study how ridiculously successful people think and incorporate their approach into your world.

Snippets and Quotes from Tech Innovators.
 

Microsoft has now come up with a surface tablet to compete with the Apple iPad. The Surface is the known as the ‘iPad killer’ and ‘Microsoft iPad’. Microsoft has stuck to production of software till date but this is one of its latest hardware devices that is expected to take over the Apple iPad. This is a new challenge posed by Microsoft to Apple.

            The Microsoft Surface saw its official release on 19^th June in the city of Los Angeles. It has made a great first impression and seems to be beginning a new start in the competition between the best tablets in the international market. It has 10.6’’ screen and a magnetic cover that can be used as a keyboard and also as a kickstand in order to place the device upright on tables. There has been a paradigm shift in Microsoft’s policy when it decided to do away with the tile-based Metro theme for its Desktop that is almost a trademark with it.

            There are many features that make the Surface more like a laptop than like a tablet- the most prominent one being the built- in keyboard that will be useful for business customers. As Microsoft Surface employs Windows 8 as an operating system, which is also used in its computers and laptops, it will be a lot easier for customers to switch among their devices.

            The tablet was announced by Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, in Los Angeles at a special press conference. It was hailed to be the first of an entirely new family of a number of devices being created and developed by the company. The Surface has a thickness of 9.3mm and weighs 1.5 pounds. It has a kickstand and keyboard for its cover. It is 0.1 mm thinner than the iPad 3, which is the latest iPad from Apple.

Information Technology is one of the most dynamic industries with new technologies surfacing frequently. In such a scenario, it can get intimidating for information technology professionals at all levels to keep abreast of the latest technology innovations worth investing time and resources into.

It can therefore get daunting for entry and mid-level IT professionals to decide which technologies they should potentially be developing skills. However, the biggest challenge comes for senior information technology professionals responsible for driving the IT strategy in their organizations.

It is therefore important to keep abreast of the latest technology trends and get them from reputable sources. Here are some of the ways to keep on top of the latest trends in Information Technology.

·         Subscribe to leading Analyst Firms: If you work for a leading IT organization, chances are that you already have subscription to leading IT analyst firms notably Gartner and Forrester. These two firms are some of the most recognized analyst firms with extensive coverage on almost every enterprise technology including hardware and software. These Analyst firms frequently publish reports on global IT spending and trends that are based on primary research conducted on vendors and global CIOs & CTOs. However, subscription to these reports is very expensive and if you are a part of a small organization you may have issues securing access to these reports. One of the most important pieces of research published by these firms happens to be the Gartner Hype Cycle which plots leading technologies and their maturity curve.Even if you do not have access to Gartner research, you can hack your way by searching for “Gartner Hype Cycle” on Google Images and you will in most cases be able to see the plots similar to the one below