opening keynote – day one

10:00 – 11:00 Opening keynote

What’s the future (WTF) – the effect of emerging technologies on business and culture

At work, and in our lives, we face a daily onslaught of new devices and tidal waves of information, opinion and noise. Digital analyst and anthropologist Brian Solis is an expert in the effects of technology on the behaviour of both businesses and individuals. Join him in this insightful, challenging keynote, as he explores the impact of technology today and its likely future implications. Brian will explore how the way we connect and communicate has fundamentally altered…everything.

He’ll explore how this impacts the world of workplace learning both today and tomorrow. How does social media affect the way we learn and interact with each other? If information is now costless, ubiquitous and instant, what does this mean for a profession once centred on giving people access to information? And, crucially, if people behave differently in today’s hyper-connected world of instant information (as they do) then what does their behaviour mean to us in the learning and development profession?

Brian will show how businesses are facing fierce pressure to change. The alternative is being driven to the wall by the new behaviours and expectations of customers and employees – and by disruptive technologies and innovative business models.

Does organisational learning face the same sorts of pressures? It does. But this new digital environment also offers tremendous opportunities. If we are able to respond to them, Brian will show, learning and development could find itself with more influence and impact on the business than ever before.

Brian Solis is globally recognised as one of the most prominent thought leaders and published authors in new media. A digital analyst, sociologist, and futurist, Solis has studied and influenced the effects of social media and disruptive technology on business, marketing, entertainment and culture and we are delighted to have him open the conference this year.

Click here to register for the conference.