By Milan Shetti, CEO Rocket Software
In the past year, we have experienced a global pandemic, social justice trials, political reforms and much more. As business leaders, we are usually concerned with finding solutions to answer our companies’ specific problems. We often don’t take a minute to look at the bigger picture of how we can aid today’s biggest global challenges through digital technology. At Rocket Software, we are led by our core values of empathy, humanity, trust, and love. These values guide us in trying to make the world a better place through technology.
On our podcast, Digital: Disrupted, we host a wide range of tech professionals every week. A question we like to ask each guest is, “What is one problem you would use technology to fix?” With technology playing a key role in advancing our world today, here are 10 experts’ responses on the biggest problems tech needs to solve.
Andrew Winston, Winston Eco-Strategies
Problem: Misinformation
Andrew is the co-author of Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take and the founder of Winston Eco-Strategies where he advises companies on managing today’s mega-trends. Winston says a problem he wishes tech could solve is the misinformation caused by technology.
“Misinformation is making all of today’s problems worse and we are at a time in history where we need to come together like never before.”
Bob Friday, Mist
Problem: Connectivity
Bob is an entrepreneur focused on developing wireless technologies and is currently the VP and CTO of Mist, a Juniper Company. Friday says a problem he wishes tech could change is connectivity.
“The more people that know about each other, the better off they are.”
Shirish Nadkarni, Serial Entrepreneur and Author
Problem: Climate change
Shirish started his career at Microsoft where he engineered the acquisition of Hotmail and launched MSN.com and has since created and sold multiple consumer businesses that have scaled to tens of millions of users worldwide. Most recently, he wrote the book, Startup to Exit – An Insider’s Guide to Launching and Scaling Your Tech Business. Nadkarni says a problem he wishes tech could solve is climate change.
“I did not think that climate change would happen in my lifetime, but it already is, and I believe with technology we can make advancements before it’s too late.”
Gary Chan, Alfizo
Problem: Healthcare
Gary runs Alfizo, a consultancy company helping businesses build and transform their information security programs. Chan says a problem he wishes tech could solve is healthcare. “I wish technology would be able to scan someone to find and fix their problem. I think that would be pretty cool.”
Dr. David A. Bishop, Agile Worx
Problem: Hunger
David is a technology consultant and researcher who has worked with companies such as AT&T, Delta Airlines and Toshiba. He is also an author and the creator of agile vortex theory, the subject of his book Metagility: Managing Agile Development for Competitive Advantage. Bishop says a problem he wishes tech could solve is hunger.
“Hunger, while it seems like a very simple thing off the cuff…it has such a great impact long-term on communities.”
Ed Skoudis, SANS Technology
Problem: Feelings of depression, loneliness, and isolation
Ed is the founder of Counter Hack, an information security consulting firm, and the president of the SANS Technology Institute where he developed their penetration testing curriculum. Skoudis says a problem he wishes tech could solve is the feelings of depression, loneliness, and isolation.
“I would love digital technology to be leveraged to limit the depression people are facing and turn it around.”
Josh Linkner, University of Michigan
Problem: Racial Injustice
Josh has founded and sold five tech companies and authored four bestselling books including his most recent, Big Little Breakthroughs. Linkner says a problem he wishes tech could solve is aiding in help of restoring the environment.
“I’d love to use technology to help solve issues like racial injustice and hunger. We have a long way to go, but I am an optimist and think that while technology will not solve all of these issues in one swoop, technology will certainly be able to aid in the solving of the most difficult and pesky problems.”
Camille Eddy, Open Tech Pledge
Problem: Misunderstanding of other cultures
Camille is the senior product engineer at the startup Sector and the co-founder of the Open Tech Pledge. Eddy says a problem she wishes tech could solve is misunderstanding other cultures.
“Not understanding other people gets in the way of innovation. I think if we could use technology to find a way to understand each other a little bit faster and easier that would be great.”
Tom Sweet, GM Financial
Problem: Privacy
Tom is the VP of Cloud Services at GM Financial, where he inspires colleagues to start a career in IT based on his own career journey. Sweet says a problem he wishes tech could solve is the lack of privacy.
“I think we are losing our privacy in a lot of different areas, and it is always at the top of my mind.”
Bill Miller, Beelinebill Enterprises
Problem: Cancer
Bill is an executive advisor and consultant, speaker, author, mentor, and coach who helps small and medium company CEOs and leaders who need a partner to guide them through overwhelming times and issues and get desired outcomes. Miller says an issue he wishes technology could fix is cancer.
“In the year of a pandemic and vaccines, I would love to see technology create a vaccine that cures cancer.”
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