Intelligent CIO North America Issue 04 | Page 7

EDITOR ’ S NOTE

Welcome to the latest edition of

Intelligent CIO magazine for the North America region . This month ’ s cover features an exclusive interview with Brian Cobb , Chief Innovation Officer at Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky International Airport . With the aviation industry being one of the sectors most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic , Cobb tells us how it is utilising technology to put itself back on the road to recovery .
We look at how the airport has been using data to lead its fightback against the pandemic ; how data created by the airport ’ s monitoring system is vital ; and even the way data is being used for contact tracing .
He tells us : “ Using the expression , ‘ Cash is King ’, then I contend like others , ‘ Data is Gold ’. We collectively have vast amounts of unmined data at our fingertips while generating more billions of bits of data each and every day .
“ Refined data through Artificial Intelligence , Deep Learning across multiple industries and generating predictive analytics from the same will continue to accelerate the pace by which we do business .” To read the full interview turn to p56 .
In this month ’ s Final Word , Steve Vatidis , Executive Chairman at Massachusettsbased Smartway2 , explains how companies can ensure employees can stay safe in the office , despite continuing problems with COVID-19 . He tells us : “ Businesses need to make data-led decisions made by senior execs at C-level . Enter the CIO .
“ CIOs , who need to provide the communication platforms all employees expect , now have a tough gig . They are tasked with evaluating the situation , specific to their organisation and making sure it can not only open safely but can adapt quickly to meet the evolving needs of the organisation and the employees as official guidance changes .” For more opinions from Vatidis turn to p82 .
On p48 we look at how Equinix has opened a new data center enabling businesses to grow at scale and speed following a US $ 200 million investment in 2020 in the Washington DC area .
Jon Lin , President , Americas , Equinix , said : “ DC continues to prosper as a key digital hub for businesses around the world despite the challenges faced with the COVID-19 pandemic .
“ Our continued expansion in this important metro creates more opportunities for businesses to leverage Platform Equinix as the central component to their digital foundation while enabling them to grow and scale at software speed .”
Don ’ t forget you can read daily news updates at https :// www . intelligentcio . com / north-america /.
Once again , I ’ d like to wish you a good month ahead and please enjoy the read !
Mark Bowen Editor www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO
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