5 Insightful Forbes Technology Council Contributions from our CTO
Tom Altman, Leverage CTO
We’re excited to share that our motorcycle riding CTO, Tom Altman, is an active member of The Forbes Technology Council. Organized by the century-old business magazine, this prestigious invitation-only council serves as an outlet for senior technology leaders and entrepreneurs across the country to make connections and collaborate with those in their field and beyond.
On top of the inbound insights and advice this technology council brings Leverage IT, it also serves as a platform for Tom to share his profound wisdom and information technology acumen supported by two decades of technology/web development, search engine optimization, and marketing experience.
Since becoming a member in 2017, Tom has been a fervent contributor to many articles published on Forbes.com. Below you’ll find his contributions to 5 recently-published “Forbes CommunityVoice” articles. In their entirety, these articles are a compilation of answers from various members of The Forbes Technology Council. You can read the full articles by clicking the link below each section.
1. Should CTOs Stop Coding And Only Focus On Their Management Duties?
Tom’s Take: Focus On Vision And Strategy Instead
Being a CTO, like all C-level positions, is about the strategy and future of technology in the company. CTOs need to look ahead at what is coming up in tech and where the company is headed. The CTO must prepare the company to be technologically ready for their next move. A great IT team will be one to two steps ahead of the company and be invisible. IT should never get in the way.
2. What’s a Trend that Amazon has Made Better?
Tom’s Take: Voice Search
The landscape changed when Alexa came on the scene — likely because Amazon had a big e-commerce website that could easily be searched. Google followed suit with Google Home, and Apple is struggling to find a way to the market with its HomePod. It’s the first step to getting rid of input devices and fully embracing the untethered world.
3. When Is The Right Time To Revamp Important Software?
Tom’s Take: As Soon As Possible
It’s so hard to know if the product is bad or if you have not been able to reach the right people. In this case, it is clear because Apple basically forces it on you. But in the real world, you have to look at the data. What did you anticipate would happen? Why did it not happen? You then need to shift, re-test and then be ready to make a very hard decision. The hardest part may be trying to understand why something failed.
4. What Should You Remember when Rolling Out System Updates?
Tom’s Take: Release Updates Using Virtualization
We need to rethink how this all works. If desktops were treated like modern virtualized servers, you would never notice down time. The underlying operating system would make a clone of the current running OS, upgrade the clone and when ready, flip you to the updated clone seamlessly. You’d never be the wiser. What we do today is a relic compared to what we already have available.
5. What’s the Future of Drone Delivery?
Tom’s Take: Drones Will Need To Be Used In Conjunction With Ground Delivery Vehicles
Drones are a key to same-day delivery in conjunction with current delivery vehicles. If a current delivery driver were able to pull into a neighborhood and release four to six drones and monitor those deliveries from the vehicle, its a win-win. A value add for the consumer would be to get a picture of the exact location a package was placed via MMS at the delivery time.