DIGITAL BYTE: Disruptive Technology

Technology is driving major changes, affecting nearly every aspect of our world at breakneck speed. This has been accelerated even more by the pandemic, forcing businesses in every industry to adapt quickly in the present – and to plan differently for the future.

As we build mobility and simplicity into how we work, HP’s focus is on further enhancing how we connect, work, and innovate. Best-in-class, cutting-edge technologies are digitalizing our workplace, reducing repetitive work, improving services delivery and providing better business insights so that we can provide better experiences for our customers, partners and employees.

The shift toward disruptive technology is not a passing fad, but a new business reality. And, it will only advance, further changing the structure of our work and lives. This includes robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), data analytics and other tools. This is giving rise to both new jobs and industries.

The World Economic Forum predicts that 133 million new jobs will develop by 2022 through AI. Among these millions of new jobs, data analysts and scientists, AI and ML specialists, and general and operations managers will emerge as the top three roles.

This begs the question: As technology advances, how do we prepare today’s students to become the workforce of the future?

I’m pleased that the University of St. Thomas- Houston is responding to the challenge and developing specialized programs and a curriculum to prepare students for careers in innovative, emerging technologies.

Because, as technologies become more powerful and capable over a range of professions, it will become increasingly important for today’s students to be equipped with the right skills.

And, I have to add, this applies to both technical skills as well as “soft skills” such as teamwork, critical thinking, building relationships and communicating effectively.

Author: Marie Meyers, MBA ‘96, serves as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Transformational Officer for HP Inc.