The Next Generation CTO and a pragmatic view of Future Tech

I created this blog to share my thoughts around the evolving roles of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Chief Innovation Officer and Chief Strategist. Please click on the 'subscribe' button to receive email notifications when articles are posted. Thank you for  contributing to this very important topic and don't forget to view my intro video  which attempts to articulate the reasoning behind the blog's creation. Phil West Here is more information about me. NOTE: If viewing 'full screen' on a PC, please ensure video playback is optimized by clicking on the YouTube settings icon and changing the Quality to 1080p Video Transcript As a technologist, I have always been fascinated with trends in technology and how businesses exploit these trends to create new markets or enable a competitive edge within their existing market. I believe that in this rapidly expanding, technology-fueled world of ours, the role of the CTO is becoming even more critical in...

Before we dive into why I believe Enterprise Architecture (EA) and Technology Strategy should belong within the same organization, I would like to take a moment to review some definitions. There are many ways to define these two functions based on how they are deployed within an enterprise and the problems that they are designed to address. My attempt here is to keep the following descriptions at a high level to incorporate all the common variations of Enterprise Architecture and Technology Strategy. What is Enterprise Architecture? Enterprise Architecture, at its core, focuses on ensuring that technology is aligned with business strategy and applied or adopted in such a way that technical debt is minimized. Additionally, functional, and technical fitness is measured along with the level of compatibility with existing technical architectures. The artifacts of EA include a view of the entire enterprise in the form of Business Capability Models and Architectural Models that represent eve...

Phil West interviews the CEO of Peachtree Corners, Georgia to understand how self driving scooters can one day change the way that we commute around the city. With the goal to be 30% autonomous & 70% teleoperated, Go X and Tortoise have teamed up to launch an experiment in Peachtree Corners to test the next phase of micromobility. The link to access the full Future Tech series is  here . NOTE: If viewing 'full screen' on a PC, please ensure video playback is optimized by clicking on the YouTube settings icon and changing the Quality to 4K

Phil West explores the world of smart rings and their readiness for use within Corporate America. With technology enabling the hyper-miniaturization of sensors and wireless components, the smart rings of today may soon be able to replace your smart watch. Phil interviews Melanie Shapiro, CEO of Token and discovers how Token's novel approach to authentication may be a game-changer for the corporate employee. The link to access the full Future Tech series is  here . NOTE: If viewing 'full screen' on a PC, please ensure video playback is optimized by clicking on the YouTube settings icon and changing the Quality to 1080p

In this episode we explore the world of virtual reality and its readiness for use within Corporate America. With use cases like the VR-enabled office and purpose-built VR conference ecosystems, how soon until this leading-edge technology becomes commonplace? Dive into the world's first Cyber Security Conference hosted entirely in VR as I share my experience during this 'mind blowing' journey. The link to access the full Future Tech series is  here . NOTE: If viewing 'full screen' on a PC, please ensure video playback is optimized by clicking on the YouTube settings icon and changing the Quality to 1080p Video Transcript It is April 21st 2020 and these are strange times. Most of the world is on lockdown due to the Coronavirus with many of us in the United States under ‘shelter in place’ orders. We are naturally social creatures and as such are struggling to find ways to interact with each other. A phone call is a good start, and a Microsoft Teams or Zoom ...

We explore a novel twist on a traditionally complicated topic of Internet security for the home. In this episode I interview Araz Feyzi, CEO of Syfer and discover that we don't have to be technology experts to have best-in-class protection against hackers and malware for our families. The link to access the full Future Tech series is  here . NOTE: If viewing 'full screen' on a PC, please ensure video playback is optimized by clicking on the YouTube settings icon and changing the Quality to 1080p Equipment/Software used for this episode Camera: Olympus OMD-EM1 Rig: Alzo with Fotga Rail/Matte Box Lights: Viltrox L116T Mic: Sure SM58 with NUX wireless Editing platform: Macbook Pro Intro rendering: Blender Post editing software: OpenShot & DiVinci Resolve

At some point, our interactions with humanoid robots will be commonplace. Already, we are seeing applications of robotic, AI technology in the areas of hospitality, food service and sales with more use cases rapidly emerging. In this video, I interview a humanoid robot named Pepper at the Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners, Georgia. The link to access the full Future Tech series is  here . NOTE: If viewing 'full screen' on a PC, please ensure video playback is optimized by clicking on the YouTube settings icon and changing the Quality to 1080p Equipment/Software used for this episode Camera: Olympus OMD-EM1 Rig: Alzo with Fotga Rail/Matte Box Lights: Viltrox L116T Mic: Sure SM58 with NUX wireless Editing platform: Macbook Pro Intro rendering: Blender Post editing software: OpenShot & DiVinci Resolve