{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Episode 60: Thanks to the internet and copious amounts of data, the future is now","description":"Rodney Clark helps deliver the future.  As the vice president of the Microsoft Azure Worldwide Internet of Things and Mixed Reality Team, Clark and his crew work with more than 8,000 partners and clients to connect billions of everyday devices to the cloud.  Sensors on stop lights, cash registers, automobiles, home appliances, exercise monitors, video doorbells. They all generate information and data that allows organizations to take action on that data and insights.  \u201cIt\u2019s a wave, it\u2019s a reality,\u201d Clark said.  It\u2019s no longer \u201cthe future.\u201d  \u201cThe job that I have and the privilege that I have is working with companies who want to participate in this new reality and new opportunity of building solutions that connect everyday devices and experiences to cloud and data,\u201d Clark said.  Microsoft calls it \u201cedge to cloud,\u201d and Clark said the company believes that cloud computing is \u201cthe here and now.\u201d He acknowledges it\u2019s a lot to process.  As a real-world example, consider a Fitbit exercise monitor.  \u201cWhen I think of Fitbit, I think of personal cloud,\u201d Clark told Check It Out! podcast host Ken Harvey, Director of Communications for Sno-Isle Libraries. \u201cSo I always ask the question, \u2018How many personal clouds, Ken, do you have, or do you think you have?\u2019 Do you think you have zero, or do you think you have 10?\u201d  Harvey thought he might have as many as 25 personal clouds. Clark said that\u2019s probably right.  He explained how personal clouds work, with Fitbit, SimpliSafe alarms and Ring video doorbells as examples.  Fitbit tracks your steps, heartbeat, pulse and more, and stores that data in the cloud. It\u2019s powerful information for your health provider, Clark said. The SimpliSafe alarm and Ring doorbell camera in his home send notifications directly to his smartphone, so he knows if his son is trying to get in the house because he forgot his key, or if it\u2019s something bigger.   \u201cI can control my home from the other side of the state,\u201d Clark said.  SimpliSafe and Ring devices collect household and neighborhood data and images. The companies can share that data with consumers, potentially to improve neighborhood security.   \u201cAll of those are just real practical examples of the Internet of Things at work,\u201d Clark said. \u201cWe don\u2019t realize it every single day but it is the reality that I mentioned.\u201d  During the interview, episode co-host Lynne Varner, Associate Vice Chancellor at WSU Everett, said she got a phone notification about her dogwalker\u2019s location in her house.  As a self-described technologist, Clark thinks constantly about the internet of things and the insights its data provides to numerous industries.  \u201cYou name it, there\u2019s an industry at play for the internet of things,\u201d he said.  Clark has been fascinated by the possibilities in scientific solutions since he was a student, but he\u2019s no engineer. He worked for IBM for nine years in sales and marketing. He came to Microsoft 21 years ago so he could answer all of his \u201cWhat if?\u201d questions.   "I saw an opportunity about six years ago for these devices that were embedded and fixed, and at the time we were building our cloud business,\u201d Clark said. \u201cI asked, \u2018What if we were actually talking about cloud for those things that are traditionally fixed-purpose devices?\u2019 It wasn\u2019t the birth of our internet of things business. But it was for me the continuation of this fascination of technology.\u201d  \u201cBut it all started with you being curious and asking, \u2018What if?\u2019\u201d Varner said.  Clark agreed.  Now he tells STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) students and young professionals to focus less on what they want to be when they grow up. It\u2019s more important to be flexible.  \u201cYou have to allow yourself to experience different things,\u201d Clark said. \u201cIf I hadn\u2019t, I wouldn\u2019t be sitting here in this podcast and I wouldn\u2019t have the role that I have today.\u201d  Varner says WSU emphasizes that kind of flexibility with the use of interdisciplinary instruction and broad communication skills.  \u201cI tell our students to prepare yourself to be flexible and to be nimble,\u201d Varner said. \u201cWhat you get your degree in may not necessarily be what you work in.\u201d  That\u2019s good advice for workers today and tomorrow, Harvey said. To remain relevant, they'll need to keep adapting to new jobs as emergent technologies alter the traditional workplace.   In an increasingly digital workplace, Clark said, \u201cyou have to have some minimum level of digital competency in order to stay relevant.\u201d  It applies to all positions, all the way up to chief executive officer.  \u201cBecause tomorrow\u2019s CEOs are today\u2019s technologists, it\u2019s ever so important that we accelerate STEM programs, that we have our females, our students of color, even that mid-career person thinking about, \u2018What impact do I want to make in the business?\u2019\u201d Clark said. \u201cNot every person mid-career or every student has an ambition to be in C-suite, the point is to stay relevant and in the game.\u201d  Varner agreed.   \u201cWe think every student needs to have comfort with technology, whether you\u2019re going into retail, whether you plan to be a writer,\u201d she said. \u201cYou need to be able to explain ideas that are technical in nature. You need to be able to communicate with software engineers, software designers. So, everyone has to have some capacity in STEM, no matter where you happen to end up in your career. We try to encourage our students that way.   \u201cNot everyone wants to major in engineering, but you do want to understand how engineers think and how to convey possibilities to them so they can actually create it for you.\u201d  ","author_name":"Check It Out!","author_url":"https:\/\/podcast.sno-isle.org\/","html":"