Keynote Case Study: Microsoft Canada FutureNow — The Whirlwind Is The New Normal

At Microsoft Canada’s largest event, with more than 2,000 senior executives and IT professionals, futurist Jim Carroll opened FutureNow 2019 with a fast tour of the technologies redefining industries.

The Whirlwind Is The New Normal

Leaders need to make sense of multiple technology waves arriving at once — not one trend at a time. Jim’s opening keynote made the point directly: AI, robotics, IoT, virtualization and augmented reality are converging into one accelerating future.

Six trends are shaping that shift.

• Artificial Intelligence. AI adds a new layer of intelligence to products, processes and decision-making.
• Robotics. Automation increasingly moves from software into the physical world of work.
• Internet of Things. Connected devices create continuous streams of data, visibility and control.
• Industry Virtualization. More activities, services and operating models shift into digital environments.
• Augmented Reality. Digital information increasingly overlays and enhances the physical experience.
• Innovation Velocity. The combined effect is a world where change compounds and arrives faster.

The real disruption is not any one technology, Jim told the FutureNow audience. It is the speed of their convergence.

It’s the framing that opened three days of sessions built around a single accelerating story. Explore more keynote case studies.