My colleagues here at INN just published a list of “
Vinnie's thesis is that the world now demands new polymaths—the Greek word for "renaissance man"—to leverage converging technologies, such as advanced analytics, cloud computing, sustainability and social networks. The world demands new versatility, which will not only come from inspired individuals, but entire companies as well, he writes.
IT is leading the polymath revolution. Technologies such as business analytics are opening up new possibilities for coaxing businesses out of their comfortable boxes and launching new endeavors. For example, tech companies are extending their expertise into green technologies.
Vinnie cautions that while analytics are helping guide corporate decisions, it still takes knowledgeable humans to make the most of the capabilities unleashed by the technology. He writes “a wide range of analytical tools and technologies is available to enterprises today. Particularly encouraging is the progress around unstructured analytics, predictive analytics, and data visualization. Of course, recent misses in economic forecasting have reemphasized the need for ‘human intelligence.’”
Joe McKendrick is an author, consultant, blogger and frequent INN contributor specializing in information technology.
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