Shaping the Future of Sustainability and IoT

Exciting times!

Over the coming months, creative thinkers, change agents, and industry experts will gather around the world to co-create a new reality – Society 5.0. Technologies like the internet of things (IoT) and 5G will transform how we interact with the places and things around us in our work and personal lives. Initiatives around sustainability and smart cities will be fueled by digitization that will make everything smarter and cleaner.

These are exciting times! Climate Week in NYC, Mobile World Congress Americas, and IoT Solutions World Congress are just a few stops I’ll be making before year end. I’ll also be participating in several events around diversity and advancing opportunities for women in technology.

I’d like to start a conversation about a few of the topics on my agenda. Your opinions really matter to me, so please share your thoughts and what’s on your mind.

Sustainability through IoT

Digital transformation has shaped the options we have and the choices we make to live cleaner lives and create a more sustainable world. The most powerful innovations are co-created, inspired by a spectrum of tech leaders, start-ups, academia, and industries. IoT ecosystems are dynamic and collaborative. On the verge of Society 5.0, we’re faced with enormous opportunities to become smarter and even more collaborative – from our homes to our cars, from our farms and to our factories - and the data that makes it all work seamlessly.

We are in the early stages of transformations enabled by IoT, but the promise of these technologies to achieve sustainability goals and reduce our environmental impact is great. We all play a role as consumers and business leaders to apply technology for “goodness” sake.

Whether we collaborate across the table or across social media, I’d love to hear your vision for a more sustainable future.

5G – to be 5G or not

5G is coming, but is it just the next “G” in the progression or will it be revolutionary? What about 3G and 4G – are those technologies going away? What are the benefits of digitizing now or waiting for 5G?

5G is incredibly fast, and it will enable industries to rapidly develop cutting-edge technologies related to IoT, connected cars, remote healthcare, smart cities and logistics, to name a few. Coupled with augmented reality and virtual reality, 5G will create new capabilities that we are just beginning to explore.

At Mobile World Congress Americas and IoT Solutions World Congress, I will be joined by other technology leaders where we will discuss this topic and how we can navigate this technological evolution.

Women in Technology

Those who know me understand my commitment to diversity and advancing opportunities for women in technology. The work going on in this area is inspiring, and momentum is building across the tech community and beyond. Dialog is more open and inclusive around recruiting, hiring, and promoting women in tech fields.

Epic female change-agents and role models have shattered the glass ceiling, making headlines for their great work and leadership. Melinda Gates, Meg Whitman, Sheryl Sandberg, Beth Comstock, Mary Barra, Anne Chow are all great examples of women in powerful positions making a difference. These foundational programs and real-life tech heroines will create the next generation of tech leaders.

It’s important to ensure this increase continues by creating programs which focus on planting the seeds early to create educational opportunities and spark passion for science and technology among young girls. It will also be crucial to ensure women with these skills stay in the technology workforce, as in today’s landscape there is a high percentage of churn. Lastly, I believe it is critical that every woman who holds one of these positions, or who has crashed through the glass ceiling, continues to pay it forward by sponsoring the next generation and getting more women involved at all levels.

Over the next few months, I’ll be participating in a myriad of events with some other incredible women where we will cover all of these topics. I look forward to seeing you there.

Follow my journey here and on Twitter @BeverlyDRider.