More attitude/less latitude -- The past eight years have seen federal administrators and agencies largely stay out of the way of businesses doing business. That is likely to change and not just in the banking and investment industries, as anyone following the news this past week can attest. After some early digital TV broadcast transition efforts ran into problems and the program providing coupons for digital converter boxes ran out of funds, House and Senate Democrats announced legislation delaying the changeover for six months. Broadcasters complained and Republican Senators blocked the bill, so expect fireworks in the coming days.
But also expect this to be the first of numerous disagreements on technology-related programs and policies. Net neutrality and broadcast diversity are pet subjects of Julius Genachowski, Obama's choice as the next chairman of the FCC. We would not be surprised if the new administration also supports other controversial IT issues, such as repurposing the soon-to-be unused VHF broadcast spectrum for a national broadband wireless network. These and other acts will earn the administration quick enemies among broadcasters, telcos, and cable network operators, but one company's loss is anothers opportunity.
Rebuilding global reputation = changes at home -- The new president has stated clearly that rebuilding the reputation of the U.S. abroad is a key goal of his administration. That will certainly bring political and economic repercussions, particularly in global trade issues and agreements. But we wonder whether building closer ties with allies might create substantial ripples at home. Areas of particular IT interest include intellectual property (IP), privacy, and anti-trust enforcement. IP infringements have for years been a thorn in the side of numerous vendors, especially in China where software piracy is rampant and 4 of 5 programs sold are reportedly pirated. The unusually harsh jail terms recently handed down to 11 Chinese software pirates make one wonder whether China's government was trying to make a preemptive statement to the incoming administration. If so, it will be interesting to see what comes next.
We also wonder whether closer ties with the European Union (EU) might influence the way the U.S. approaches and enforces antitrust and online privacy, both of which languished under the previous administration. Since these resonate with the consumer-friendly approach wed expect from Obama's appointees, concerned vendors should be watchful until the Justice Department takes a stand on those issues.
There are numerous other government programs where we expect technology to play a major role or exert significant influence, including driving education and job development, setting agendas for research and scientific development, and improving the performance of and access to government officials and processes. Most importantly, we believe that the new president and his administration are well suited to address these many challenges. Barack Obama enters office as the most technologically astute and mindful president in history -- a point illustrated by everything from his highly publicized Blackberry "addiction" to his campaign's masterful use of the Internet and new media. In essence, technology fundamentally helped to shape Obama the candidate. Now, President Obama has the opportunity and responsibility to help shape technology.
By combining resources and expertise, the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium will offer a blueprint for how industries can adapt to an AI-dominated future.
IT leaders should heed the guidance of cybersecurity insurance providers who think businesses should prioritize security education, incident preparedness, regular internal audits, and ongoing vulnerability scanning and patching.
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