TD Synnex Editor
- Photo
- /content/dam/techdata/language-masters/americas/english/about-us/blog/author-bios/robyn-itule-tech-data.jpg
- Name
- Robyn Itule
- Title
- I help businesses find the right words.
TD SYNNEX Quotables: Week of March 21, 2022
Posted by Robyn Itule on Mar 24, 2022
The week in one-liners from across the Tech Ecosystem
At TD SYNNEX we know achieving great outcomes means moving — and reading — at the speed of technology and business. Each week we scour the landscape of IT ecosystem news and ideas to bring you the sound bites, key stats and thought starters to keep you up to speed from intelligent edge to cloud.
This week, we’ve accomplished the remarkable feat of not featuring any NCAA Basketball Tournament content in Quotables. That’s as amazing as the greatest March Madness moments for all 68 teams dancing this year. (Insert shameless GO ZAGS! here.)
Worth Sharing: From tech shortage to talent shortage…
“The most important, and one of the most vulnerable, supply chains the American semiconductor industry is facing today, is the supply chain of human talents.”
— Mung Chiang, executive vice president of Purdue University for strategic initiatives and the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering
The technology skills gap strikes again. The semiconductor industry and higher education institutions are teaming up to offer training and grow talent through programs like a new Purdue degree program and an intensive development program offered through Arizona community colleges.
Visual Appeal
Apple launched its first driver’s license and state ID in Wallet in Arizona this week. More states will be releasing this functionality soon including:
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Utah
- The territory of Puerto Rico
Know Your Numbers: 81%
According to a recent survey by Ernst & Young, 70% of large companies with $30B+ in revenue are allocating between $2–6M on tax automation technology. Meanwhile, 81% of smaller companies with less than $1B in revenue are allocating $1–3.99M in similar automation technologies. That’s a proportionally significant capital investment for this size business, and a proportionally significant opportunity for the tech ecosystem to support financial companies adopt automation.
Verbatim
“It’s pronounced ‘jif.’”
Dancing baby…the GIF that went viral before going viral was a thing.
Stephen Wilhite creator of the GIF (that’s Graphics Interchange Format) passed away last week at the age of 74.
The GIF began as a personal project during Wilhite’s tenure at CompuServe — the first major online service provider — during the 1980’s as a way to distribute high-quality, high-resolution graphics in color.
Wilhite received a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. Appropriately, he accepted his award using animation.
In honor of his life and contribution, say it with a soft ‘g.’
Thought Starter: Are you developing skills that won’t be automated?
Some reports estimate that close to half of jobs will be replaced by automation in the next decade. But which half? A Harvard Business Review article suggests that the roles — or parts of roles — automation won’t be able to touch involve emotion and context. In other words, invest in the skills that make you human. Being you just might be the most future-proof career path available.
A Bit of Sage Wisdom:
“While it may be tempting to dismiss LAPSUS$ as an immature and fame-seeking group, their tactics should make anyone in charge of corporate security sit up and take notice.”
Christopher Krebs, Krebs on Security
LAPSUS$ is getting a lot of headlines this week. Especially in conjunction with a warning from the White House that the U.S. may be a target of Russian cyberattacks.
While the jury is out on who is behind LAPSUS$ — could be a teenager outside Oxford, England, could be a state-sponsored group — Krebs’ advice is clear: take it seriously either way.
On the Lighter Side: Also file under ‘A Bit of Sage Wisdom’
New Yorker Cartoons on Instagram will program a smile into your feed’s algorithm.
The wisdom of felines. A New Yorker cartoon by Carolita Johnson
More helpful than a feline-staffed IT help desk, we’re here to help you decode life from edge to cloud. Want more tech ecosystem insights? Subscribe to The Update from TD SYNNEX.