Latest news with #technology leaders
Forbes
5 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
A New Question For CIOs - Technology Sovereignty?
Reflecting back on a high-level meeting with few colleagues in Spain last month – and recent conversations with technology leaders globally – one theme that has risen quickly on many board agendas is technology sovereignty. It is an emerging and challenging risk that directly affects global applications and cloud infrastructure, and its significance is growing rapidly in the new world order. Left unaddressed, it poses direct consequences for business continuity — threatening not only IT operations, but also financial performance, regulatory compliance, and customer trust. With rising and unpredictable geopolitical tensions around the world, policy changes in a jurisdiction could limit or even halt cross-border cloud data flows. If that were to occur, global corporations with in-country operations tied into centralized infrastructure could face immediate operational disruption. This is a low-probability, but high-impact risk - one that warrants inclusion in strategic thinking around resilience and business continuity and should be on board agendas. The 'to-do' list for technology leaders was already daunting. The deck is already full and dominated by the pace of AI-driven innovation and the need to place substantial, and sometimes uncomfortable, bets on emerging technology. Equally, macroeconomic uncertainty and shifting trade policies are forcing a careful re-balancing – between driving cost optimization through global standardization – and building agility through more distributed infrastructure. Now, an additional layer of complexity has surfaced. Policy changes linked to geopolitical events could render parts of today's global application and infrastructure landscape unusable — overnight. Developing true alternatives quickly is extraordinarily difficult. Indeed, the technology market today offers few short-term answers, and establishing viable sovereign options or credible contingency plans requires both time and significant investment. This reality pushes CIOs and their corporate boards toward a fundamental reassessment of technology models, enterprise architectures, and cloud strategies. A pragmatic way forward is a framework across three lenses: - Risk Assessment & Exposure — map critical workloads and data dependencies that hinge on cross-border flows, identifying potential points of failure. - Strategic Options — diversify providers and regions, strengthen hybrid capabilities, and ensure data portability to reduce lock-in. - Governance & Partnerships — establish contingency playbooks, engage early with policy and regulatory bodies, and explore alliances with sovereign technology providers. Hard to do today, challenging to execute — and yet, a risk that cannot be ignored. This is on the agenda for one of our upcoming board meetings at the Executive Technology Board – as we tap into the collective intelligence of a curated group of Global CIO/CTO/CDO/CAIOs. Appreciate your perspectives on this.
Forbes
28-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The One Question To Ask Yourself So You Can Get The Most Out Of AI
Photo credit AI is a force unlike anything we've experienced in our lifetimes. It's generating both exuberant excitement and a fair amount of fear. Regardless of the emotions it's eliciting, AI is pervasive and is becoming an integral part of virtually every aspect of business. According to PwC's Pulse Survey, 'Nearly half (49%) of technology leaders said that AI was fully integrated into their companies' core business strategy and a third said AI was fully integrated into products and services.' But how thoroughly have you integrated AI into your work processes? What if one simple question could transform the way you think about and engage with AI? These Key Facts About AI Are Undeniable Over the past few years, we've all been in learning mode when it comes to AI. We've discovered a few essential truths about this impactful, evolving technology. I've never heard anyone say, 'AI is just not that impressive.' In fact, most professionals I meet can't wait to share how it has helped them in so many ways. Whether it's drafting a complex client proposal in minutes, generating a dozen compelling headline options for an email marketing campaign, or instantly summarizing a 30-page industry report into three bullet points, AI has wowed those who use it. Once you've seen what AI can do and the speed at which it works, it's hard to ignore its potential. Although many think AI is best at tasks that involve writing, like crafting challenging emails, producing a weekly newsletter, or writing an article for a trade publication. But AI is actually helpful in so many ways, it's impossible to list them all here. As we engage with AI, we learn that it can help us devise a strategy for growing product revenue with a new audience, build a complete learning program on the topic of leadership for health care executives, and create an entire social media campaign for multiple platforms. Despite the pervasive fear of AI and the big questions we have, 'Will AI take over my job?' How do we handle hallucinations?', and 'Can AI turn against us or corrupt society?', there's no turning back. This generative genie is out of the bottle, and it's not going back in. The rapid adoption of AI tells us that it's no longer an experiment. AI is embedded into how business happens. As people experiment with AI, they're starting to realize that they get the best out of AI when they get specific. They also know that they need to build a relationship with their preferred AI tool to get customized output that will be most helpful to them. That relationship requires giving AI feedback, feeding it context, and making sure it gets to know your goals, preferences, and style so it can deliver more accurate and personalized results. To maximize the power and impact of AI and leverage it fully, be prepared to integrate it into all relevant activities. The best way to make the most of AI is to do this: Before starting any project or activity, ask yourself this question: How can AI help with this? That question is subtly different from 'Can AI help?'. The latter gives us the opportunity to say, nah, that's probably not something AI can do. The former assumes that AI can play a role. And for a lot of what you have on your to-do list, AI can make a meaningful contribution. If you can't readily come up with the answer to that question on your own, ask AI the question. You'll likely get a bulleted list of possibilities. Why Asking This Question About AI Matters Now AI is advancing at breakneck speed, becoming more capable and accessible with each passing day. Those who consistently ask, 'How can AI help?' are learning faster, working smarter, and positioning themselves as innovative, future-focused professionals. The question is less about productivity and more about relevance. And if you are a leader, you can help your people remain relevant. AI expert Matt Strain said, 'One of the most powerful signals a leader can send is asking, 'How did you use AI to shape this?' It sets the expectation that responsible AI use isn't a shortcut—it's a skill.' What's The Risk Of Not Asking Yourself This Powerful AI Question? If you're not actively looking for ways AI can support your work, you risk falling behind. Not because AI will replace you, but because someone who knows how to use AI will build a competitive advantage. Forgetting to ask this question creates blind spots. Embracing it opens up new levels of creativity, efficiency, and opportunity while helping you bolster your personal brand. Asking that one simple question can change your standard operating system and inspire you to engage in AI more frequently and productively. It will enable you to adopt a future-focused mindset that integrates AI into all relevant work and life activities. That will help you: Asking 'How Can AI Help?' Is The Simplest Way To Thrive At Work Today By saying nothing, you risk getting left behind. Asking 'How can AI help?' ushers in a mindset aligned with reality that equips you to lead, not react, as AI reshapes your job and industry. To get in the habit of infusing AI into every activity that makes sense, start each day, each project, and each task with that question. The more you learn what AI is capable of, the more it becomes a trusted partner and support system for delivering on-brand work. And the more your AI platform gets to know you, the more valuable it will become. And as a bonus, you'll also understand where your true human skills are important, valuable, and irreplaceable by AI. William Arruda is a keynote speaker, author, and personal branding pioneer. Join him as he discusses clever strategies for using AI to express and expand your brand in Maven's free Lightning Lesson. Register to receive the replay.
