I had the great pleasure last week attending and speaking at our joint Logicalis and IBM Business Intelligence & Analytics event in London, alongside some of IBM’s data and AI experts, Matthew Robinson and Louis Regan. From hearing about IBM’s future technology roadmap and how IBM tooling can deliver greater insights, it was the open conversations between customers and Logicalis and IBM experts that was truly insightful. Here are the key takeaways I learnt from the event:

More and more climate-conscious travellers are opting to take the train instead of flying. With this in mind, and a business meeting coming up in Cologne, I decided to take the 580km trip by train.

Business conditions have never been more volatile due to the cost-of-living crisis and subsequent economic shocks. How do businesses stay healthy amid inflationary worries, supply chain constraints, increasing security threats and skills shortages? The Logicalis 2021 CIO Survey found businesses are thinking outside the box. Technology decision-makers are planning to innovate their way through changing times over the next 12 months.

At a time when agility, security and resilience have never been more important, Logicalis has developed several expert service offerings that enable customers to automate cloud resource optimisation and maximise their Microsoft investment across their IT environments.

It goes without saying that the pandemic permanently changed the way people work and how organisations operate. Hybrid working has become the norm and employee expectations have evolved – and will continue to do so – as people balance professional and personal responsibilities in a way that works for them.

Business leaders need to redefine workstyles and empower people using the digital workplace as we move forward. Equipping people with optimised spaces, streamlined processes and cutting-edge technologies will support collaboration, innovation and productivity.

The workplace of today is hybrid in many ways. Physical office space remains but is combined with remote working capabilities and virtual communications. There are those who work from home full-time and there are those who split their time across different locations. The hours people work vary greatly, as do the locations they work in.

Oracle users of Database version 12.1 will move from Extended Support to Sustaining Support at the end of July 2022, ending access to new security patches and bug fixes, which would inevitably leave the database less secure, and potentially at risk of tax, legal and regulatory non-compliance.

Hybrid working, an increase in cyber-attacks and a focus on sustainability have caused businesses to confront a big decision: transition into a digital-first business or face being left behind by the competition.