I will try to keep this short and as helpful as possible to keep managers and business owners up to date on some big-picture items coming in IT strategy. Here are three things you should at least be aware of:
Windows "Recall" is Coming
Microsoft is about to roll out a very controversial "feature" called "Recall". It basically takes a snapshot of what is happening on your computer, all day, every day. You can then roll back and see what you were working on at any point in the day and bring that file or website or whatever back up again.
The controversy stems from it including with no filtering, everything. Every site you go to, your passwords, personal and confidential stuff... everything. It stores a ton of data in a massive database. It is a hacker's ideal dream to get that file. It would be better than just about anything a hacker could steal and would be extremely damaging to just about anyone. In some cases, a company or even other computer users may be able to see others' activities.
Cybersecurity experts have been losing their minds over it. Microsoft has been doubling down and telling them to suck it up. But the latest news is that it may not be on by default as they had originally insisted. My guess is they will wait until managers and users acclimate to the idea and at some future date quietly have it run automatically.
AI - Yeah, I know, shocking right?
There has never been this much hype in IT since... well... there has never been this much hype. Well, there is a lot of "fluff" in news stories about it, it really is shaping up to be a massive change not just in IT but in how entire companies will work, exist, and compete. Now, whether that remains to be seen if that happens now, in a year, or 3 years -- it's definitely happening at a shockingly fast rate.
You don't need to be an AI expert but I would strongly encourage you to keep a sharp eye on the changes and information. Businesses are already laying off tons of people and AI is in the infant stage. It will be ridiculously more powerful very soon. They will also be rapidly working this into every industry, accounting, legal, non-profits, you name it.
If you haven't already started playing with it, I can't encourage you enough to at least have some fun with it. Put the free ChatGPT app, the free Copilot app, or any of the other zillion out there on your phone. Need to write something, ask it for ideas. Need some expert strategic insight, ask it.
With the latest version, the phone app is already mind-blowing. Take a picture of just about anything and ask it to tell you about it and you may be stunned by what it tells you. I took a picture of a plate of food and asked it what the meal was, what the caloric intake would be, and a recipe for how to make it. It got it perfect. I took a picture of a random, modern, picture of just random colors and lines and it knew it was part of a limited series of 2,000 prints produced for, and sold by Target. It can crunch numbers like an expert. And the writing? It's easily graduate-level and often brilliant.
Windows 10 End of Life
Microsoft announced that Windows 10 end of life is next year. This means no more security patches. Right now Windows 11 is usually free for most people but they are talking about charging for the upgrade soon. Thus, now is the ideal time to upgrade and replace any remaining Windows 10 computers in your office. In fairness, if you still have Windows 10 in your office it's likely the computers are quite old and have other vulnerabilities on top of it.
We wrote and have a free downloadable guide on this you can get here: https://www.infostream.cc/2024/06/its-time-to-say-goodbye-to-windows-10/?c
A huge (at least I think so) bonus...
It sounds sales-y and even cliche but I love helping people with planning, strategy, and IT questions. If I can ever help you with some free advice or brainstorming I would love to. No strings attached, no sales push (I'm a nerd and to say I am awful at sales is an understatement anyway). Even if you have questions about a project one of our competitors is doing for you I love to help business owners and managers. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me any time: [email protected]
Thank you for taking the time to read or skim this and I hope your year is going fantastic.
