Some years ago, ACUMEN sponsored a national user group meeting in beautiful Scottsdale, Arizona. There were several good presentations from business and accounting practitioners. That said, many dealt with the latest federal regulations or changes in tax laws. That sort of material, while helpful, can be sort of dry. In fact, think I spied a few attendees nodding out.
ACUMEN had the keynote speech on the last day of the conference and I was determined to build in a little levity to the proceedings. Mark Ownby, whom many of you know, was handling the audio-visual technology as he had done for me for many years. I decided to discuss what I call “enabling technologies”. To me an enabling technology is one that addresses a specific need rather than fueling our constant craving for gizmos.
We selected “What Is Hip?” as a name for the session. For those of you old enough to remember that is the name of a funky song by Tower of Power. Equating technological advances to hip culture, I discussed emerging and enabling technologies such as smart homes, podcasts and the extended and expanding capabilities of that generation of smart phones. I seem to recall we even touched on voice recognition, a technology whose offspring includes Siri and Alexa.
Seeking to involve the audience, we had them complete a ten-question quiz based upon the presentation. While they were busily working on that assignment we blasted “What Is Hip?” over the public address system. It was a bit distracting, but the audience played along and some even sang along as they worked. That trick probably didn’t improve their scores, but it beat another Sarbanes-Oxley presentation by a mile.
It’s been amazing to see how so many of the technologies we discussed have matured and are part of our everyday lives. We now talk to our cars, our televisions and other appliances. Our phones now take pictures and videos and can run thousands of apps. As a matter of fact, a recent study by Phoenix Marketing International, shows that “…88% of mobile users regularly exhibit appnostic behavior, while only 11% of users have a specific app in mind more than 90% of the time.” “…increasingly, consumers are unlocking their phones with no predetermined destination…” This is a state of mind the report defines as being ‘Appnostic.’
We now have smart homes and even robots to help around the house. Case in point, my wife and I are on our third generation of Rhoombas. And as predicted as far back as the sixties, soon many more cars will drive themselves, a prospect I rather dread. None the less, all the technologies I just mentioned are enabling in their own way.
Here at ACUMEN Corporation we try to be certain that any technology we promote, or implement is an enabling technology. Specifically, when a client asks us to research a compatible technology for them, we have a policy that dictates we ensure it’s “Fit for Purpose”. In other words, not just a gizmo or temporary appeaser, we aid in determining that your technology and add-ons actually meet a business need. Our partnership with companies such as SAP ensures that we are in a position to do so. To learn more about our offerings, drop us a note at letstalk@ACUMENcorp.com. Meanwhile, here’s a little gift…a link to the song “What Is Hip?”. Enjoy and please excuse any ads. Blame Google.
Just sayin.
