Eric Chaniot: SDE indicates that everything is becoming software, and software should be at the heart of everything. I’ll use three examples to illustrate what that means.
The first is Microsoft’s work with building owners in big cities. We are helping them to connect everything: elevators, safety suspension, doors, air conditioning, heating etc. It means that we now have a complete digital twin and representation of what’s going on in the physical world, which enables us to know more about the building. As a result, the building owners discovered that on Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m., there are far less people at a particular level inside the building, so they can reduce the heating, lighting, and air conditioning accordingly.
Another example is companies telling us the new healthcare is self-care. If we could connect all the actions we take every day relating to our health, we would be able to make much better decisions around what we should and should not do. Sooner rather than later, we’re going to have digital twins of ourselves and we will see the connection between the drugs we take, the exercise we do, the food we eat, the medical test we are doing, and what the impact is on our health.
The last example is how cars are becoming like cell phones: everything in cars is software driven. Just think of the autonomous driving vehicle and the customer experience that is continually improving. Cars are becoming software with a purpose, and that purpose is to transport people and goods. I really believe that software defines the next-gen vehicle – and the customer and employee experience.
