Challenges of the Digital Age
Rick McCarten
This year’s EFC Future Forum was the best attended and well received to date. It featured speakers that truly presented “game-changing” technology. The technologies showcased are not only game changing, but they allow our industry to play a significant role. The purpose of the Future Forum is to present innovative products and solutions that will impact our industry.
David Houle, a futurist who spoke at our past EFC conference, said that this decade will prove to be the most transitional decade in human history. Just like in the 18th century, when we moved from the agricultural age to the industrial age, we are now moving from the industrial age into the digital age.
All of the things that we have been adapting to over the last 20 years are starting to come together, to reach adulthood and form a synergy that exponentially far surpasses our past analogue lifestyle.
In the 18th century, it took the automobile 30 years to become as fast and as reliable as a horse. To do so, it had to collaborate with paved roads, rubber tires, traffic signals, technology, and accepted standards. Today no one would think of comparing the two. The digital age will transform and offer us unimaginable speeds and connectivity that our industrial ancestors could not even imagine.
The Future Forum program began with Paul Bien from Deloitte who spoke about the “Age of Disruption: Are Canadians Firms Prepared?”
His five areas of disruption are
• advanced robotics
• artificial intelligence
• networks (Internet of Things)
• advanced manufacturing and
• collaborative connected platforms (crowd sourcing to research sharing)
His findings show that Canada is not as prepared as it should be. This is a reflection on us, but it is also an opportunity. We can take advantage of all five disruptions and we can help our customers with automation and connectivity that will move them into the realm of disruptor, not “disruptee.”
The next two speakers were on e-commerce and the need to improve the transmission of data from manufacturer to distributor to the Web. Evidence is already out there that online sales are growing. More and more internet sales and information are being handled by smartphones. Not only should our sales strategies be up and running on the Internet, but the material should all be accessible on mobile devices.
Bill MacGowan of Cisco gave an update on the Cisco initiative at Waterpark Place in Toronto. He spoke about how LED lighting is being powered by LVDC over Ethernet. This process reduces costs and improves information gathered by the WiFi connection on such things as occupancy, temperature and daylight. With the Internet of Things, every company (no matter what they produce) is in the technology business. Electrical companies can either ride the wave or be sidelined by it.
The speaker program concluded with a talk by Jason Rioux of NRStor. Jason stated that electricity is the only energy that does not have adequate storage. The result is we have to overproduce to ensure we meet customers’ needs. Not only are batteries for homes and offices being installed, but utilities are also moving to improve their efficiency by having back-up power in all forms — from fly wheel to compressed air stored in mines. Stored electrical power is the game changer for sustainable production.
These changes — these disruptors — have an impact on our industry and serve as much of an opportunity as they are a challenge. Our industry can play an active role in preparing Canada for the impending changes. As Paul Bien pointed out, to be successful, we must remain strong and competitive and meet these challenges head on.
Rick McCarten is VP, Operations, Electro-Federation Canada.
Read more in Canadian Electrical Wholesaler by Rick McCarten
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