The EmTech Next agenda has been designed to provide guidance to leaders that will enable them to make the right decisions for their market, their strategy, their clients, and their workforce. Over our three days, we will focus on Leadership, Technology, and the Future of Work.
June 8 - Leadership
The opening day of EmTech Next dives into what it takes to prepare for change, crisis, and technologies that are creating new opportunities for businesses to position themselves for smart decisions made from a position of knowledge.
June 9 - Technology
On day two, we examine the role of technology in transformation. We explore how businesses adapt to and drive emerging technologies that disrupt the status quo in areas such as cloud, 5G tech, and the future of manufacturing.
June 10 - The Future of Work
On our final day, we explore the future of work and the new technologies that are shaping how we work, where we work, and the way we will interact with work.
EmTech Next offers unprecedented access to our speakers. Through interactive sessions and online networking, you’ll be able to have your say and get answers to your questions from all of our invited experts.
*Sessions are listed in Eastern Daylight Time.
Log in before the start of the show for a behind-the-scenes preview on the day's sessions and speakers. Get the inside track on the can't miss sessions and tips for making the most out of your EmTech Next experience.
Innovation is the fuel that drives business. What then is the formula for innovation? What does it take to foster a culture that will not only transform internal business practices but will create new products and open new markets for new customers? We open EmTech Next by exploring how smart leaders develop, adopt, and fund the efforts to foster disruptive technologies.
Communication is vital in a time of crisis, and vital to communication is a stable and resilient infrastructure. This session examines the importance of communications with clients, employees, society, and shareholders and the process of ensuring the critical infrastructure is in place to enable the world to connect.
A leader has two jobs: deliver today, and create the future. Innovation is fundamental to both. Too many companies view innovation as a nicety that can be dialed up and down depending on business conditions. It isn’t. Innovation is a necessity, regardless of the conditions. In times of uncertainty, innovation is not risky. Not innovating is the greater risk.
There’s only one way to ensure sustained innovation: you need to lead it. Leading innovation takes a distinctive kind of leadership, one that unleashes and harnesses the collective genius of the people in the organization. This session examines the concrete, practical guidance you need to weave innovation into the fabric of your business.
Our speakers return for a special panel discussion and audience Q&A.
From personal data breaches to corporate espionage and ransomware, the impact of cybersecurity breaches is no longer constrained to the IT department. From prevention to response, our experts examine the steps organizations must take to defend their data and the process to follow when defenses have been breached.
With the constant churn of emerging technology, what does it take to effectively modernize client systems to be ready for today’s (and tomorrow’s) cyber risks, and what does cybersecurity actually look like in 2020?
Organizations in both the private and public sectors must remain vigilant against the near constant stream of breach attempts and attacks. How are public entities and government agencies positioning themselves to better guard against threats, especially during times of crisis? How are they responding internally to boost defensive efforts? And are there new lessons learned during the Covid-19 crisis?
Not only are cyber attacks on the rise, they are growing more sophisticated as adversaries find new ways to breach critical infrastructure. From accessing personal data to stealing trade secrets, how are organizations working to guard against breach attempts to access their client data, financial information, and other critical systems? Moreover, what do organizations need to do if they have been compromised?
Our speakers return for a special panel discussion and audience Q&A.
EmTech’s Spotlight on the Future takes a deep dive into today’s issues that will have a direct impact on emerging technologies, leadership decisions, and business strategies for the future.
Digital currencies are creating new opportunities and new risks within the market. How do we trust and rely upon these currencies without standardization and the ability to convert between currencies and platforms? What do business leaders need to know to move forward with safe financial transactions based upon digital currencies? What’s stable? What’s not? And how are cryptocurrencies starting to drive world economies?
From intelligent algorithms to synthetic biology—and the connections between them—emerging technologies give rise to questions about whether we have out-designed evolution. How is synthetic tech influencing and driving business? And what strategic guidance do business leaders need to make smart, relevant, and informed decisions in the synthetic decade?
Join our hosts and editors for off-stage networking and a wrap-up on the topics of the day.
Log in before the start of the show for a behind-the-scenes preview on the day's sessions and speakers. Get the inside track on the can't miss sessions and tips for making the most out of your EmTech Next experience.
A continuous stream of emerging technologies is radically transforming business, disrupting the technological status quo, and reinventing the way people work. Our opening session takes a deep dive into the state of technology today and what leaders need to know now in order to prosper and thrive.
Technology is changing. Business is changing. Work is changing. How do business leaders convert the power of emerging digital technologies into new customer value propositions and radically improved operations? MIT CISR research has explored the transformation journeys of successful companies.
We’ll examine the drivers of today’s cloud-based technologies, including a look at how platforms have evolved for digital at scale. Why are enterprises embracing a multi-cloud strategy? How do technologies like containerization and serverless computing fit into the mix as more companies go cloud-native? And how do IT teams build, run, and manage applications across clouds with enterprise-class security, all while working toward sustainability goals?
Our speakers return for a special panel discussion and audience Q&A.
5G technology is unlocking the potential of advanced communications, enabling smart machines, AI, and people to interconnect on a vastly deeper and more effective level. Where is the baseline for 5G? What is its true potential, and what is just industry hype? And how is 5G disrupting business technology today?
What does it take to develop a strategy to launch a new technology on a global scale? From network rollouts to device launches, taking 5G from concept to commercialization was a major engineering feat. With multi-gigabit speeds now available, what are the broader implications? And what comes next in creating a reliable 5G ecosystem?
Wireless advancements such as 5G, Wi-Fi 6, and Private Cellular, amplified with AI, are enabling the development of novel networked systems and applications, advanced IoT, and other smart technology. How will these wireless and AI technologies get us closer to developing smart spaces and cities? And how will they help us turn valuable, emerging enterprise use cases into reality?
5G research has progressed to the point of implementation and use, but what are we missing? What areas of 5G technology need more scrutiny? What will the potential hits and misses be for industry leaders who aren’t already building 5G into their plans. And what comes next? What role will 6G play and what more will it add to the power and promise of a 5G network?
Our speakers return for a special panel discussion and audience Q&A.
We are at the beginnings of understanding the significant capabilities of 5G and its ability to transform businesses as well as communities. Supporting service providers and network and technology vendors will be instrumental in helping businesses and government transform, evolve, and rebuild. This discussion examines the opportunities 5G brings to communities and corporations looking to digitally transform and what we all need to be doing to be prepared to embrace it. In many ways the pandemic has accelerated the desire for progress in key technology areas such as edge, AI, and automation. What is 5G’s role in addressing our new reality?
Industry 4.0 has taken hold; smart manufacturing is a reality. Now what? How thoroughly has emerging technology disrupted the manufacturing business, and how can decision-makers make better use of massive data, smart innovations, increased compute power, and the potential 5G windfall?
From the factory floor to the drawing board, Artificial Intelligence is transforming design and manufacturing in radical ways. How does the technology-driven approach affect the processes and structures that propel digital design and manufacturing? From additive manufacturing to wearables, what new trends are shaping technological decision-making today?
From design to deployment, the Industrial Internet of Things is changing the way that manufacturing gets done. Through the smart factory lens, what does a successful IIoT entail? What does it include, and how can organizations capitalize on their existing infrastructure when incorporating emerging technologies into their systems?
Manufacturing underlies every aspect of modern life, but in recent years productivity growth has been declining. To keep pace with rapidly changing market needs, manufacturing must become flexible enough to adapt. What will it take to make modern manufacturing flexible and adaptable, and why will humans and machines working together be at the core of this transformation?
Our speakers return for a special panel discussion and audience Q&A.
Join our hosts and editors for off-stage networking and a wrap-up on the topics of the day.
Log in before the start of the show for a behind-the-scenes preview on the day's sessions and speakers. Get the inside track on the can't miss sessions and tips for making the most out of your EmTech Next experience.
Technology is impacting the nature of work on every level of an organization, from workforce talent to digital implementation and automation. What technology is having the most significant impact? How do we make the smart practical decisions that enhance and embrace the technology that is changing the way we work today?
A strong communication infrastructure is the bloodline of an organization; an uninterruptible flow of information that courses its way through individuals and teams, keeping all updated and informed, regardless of location. This session explores the needs, challenges, and future of team collaboration in a socially distanced world.
The ability to connect visually, on a moment’s notice, with anyone, anywhere, has transformed organizational communication forever. Transcending both physical and organizational barriers, video meetings enable transmission of non-verbal cues that account for 55% of understanding. This session explores the explosive growth of the online meeting and what it means for the future of team collaboration.
Today’s artificial intelligence is driven by colossal data sets, pumped into gigantic cloud data centers, to be analyzed by endless algorithms. As AI evolves, what technologies will take us to the next level? This session examines the new role of the cloud and the advent of Tiny AI, the latest advances in data federation to ensure the privacy of sensitive data.
Right now, businesses are facing a three-dimensional challenge—survival while remaining competitive, re-engagement of the workforce, and continuous cultivation of the customer base—coupled with rapidly adopting new technologies like 5G, AI, cloud, and blockchain. In this “new normal” should organizations stay the course or chart a new path? Going back to business-as-usual is not an option, and organizations must embrace technology to empower workers and create new opportunities.
Join the discussion during this virtual panel session, where we’ll take an in-depth look at Deloitte and MIT Sloan Management Review’s recently released research on the opportunity marketplace, which sits at the center of this paradigm shift in business strategy. Are you ready to fast forward and accelerate the future of work?
Plug and play AI is on its way. What will the impact of truly accessible AI look like within the workplace, and will deep learning capabilities be just a click away? How will this work? What technology is making this possible? And, what challenges do organizations face when putting AI into the hands of non-AI experts?
Using intelligent tech changes the way we work, but what about how we learn? We will see how our current use of intelligent technologies is blocking accepted “on the job” learning pathways, how a few of us are bending the rules to learn anyway, and we'll explore the guidance these “Shadow Learners” are offering us in the workplace of the 21st century.
In the face of a worldwide epidemic, people are turning to technology and artificial intelligence for possible answers. While promising results are apparent, AI is also producing disappointing results. What role should AI take in medicine? Are the problems experienced in the medical industry relatable across other organizations? How do we factor failure and mixed results into the AI revolution?
EmTech’s Spotlight on the Future takes a deep dive into today’s issues that will have a direct impact on emerging technologies, leadership decisions, and business strategies for the future.
Social, political, and global threats have the power to create dramatic change that can severely disrupt strong systems and destabilize global supply chain. How can organizations plan resilience into their systems and how can technology help to plan for the unexpected? As global supply chain shift, how do organization shift workloads, stabilize productivity, and respond to sudden and unexpected change?
Economies are in turmoil. What will it take to stabilize and to boost regional, national, and global economies? What can business leaders do today to prepare for growth tomorrow? And in this near worldwide pause, how can they reset, rethink, and innovate the way business is done in order to become more resilient in the face of future threats?