The Next Big "Thing" is Coming....

The CEO Simulator class was photographed by Kanji Takeno for an article in The Baltimore Sun. There are only 7 of us in the course!

You’re officially reading a post from Microsoft’s new CEO! (Okay, not the real one…)

At the beginning of the semester, I was assigned the title of “Chief Executive Officer” for Microsoft in my “CEO Simulator” course led by Sam Polakoff of TBB Global Logistics. Throughout the semester, I’ve been keeping tabs on Microsoft’s stock and current events that have been happening throughout the organization and its environment. I must say that it has been incredible so far!


For our midterm project, each “CEO” was required to give a mock Board of Directors meeting that outlined our vision, as the CEO, for our company.

For my Board of Directors meeting last Monday, I presented to 6 business professionals in the Baltimore area on a strategy for Microsoft to get involved in the Internet of Things (IoT), a revolutionary idea of the next stage of the Internet.

This concept has completely intrigued me and I’m sure it will do the same for others, too. So, I wanted to write a little about it.

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To put it in very broad terms, the idea of the Internet of Things (IoT) is that everything will be a tagged, locatable object on the Internet and have a physical web presence. What does this mean you ask?

We will be able to go up to any object with our smart phone devices and “learn” about them. It will make Google and Siri look dumb. The IoT will bring about a completely new way of interacting with the world and learning about the things you encounter.

You could walk up to a piano and learn about who played it recently and what music was played on it. You’ll even be able to walk up to a person and learn about them with the information they’ve agreed to share. It will change social media, as we know it!

Aside from learning about things, we will also be able to monitor things. The next generation of heart monitors will be connected via the IoT to a nearby hospital with powerful algorithms that could detect if the patient is headed for heart risks weeks or months ahead!

Furthermore, the IoT will help us to save money if we willingly give up partial control of some everyday appliances. For example, your washer will be connected to a smart meter and the grid that controls it. By using the IoT, the grid will decide when to turn on the washer based off of balancing the load, renewables, and green energy. It could save us money, but also help to save the Earth in the long run.

All of these examples are just a few of the many things that will be enabled with the implementation of the Internet of Things. It will change how individuals interact with the world and it will also change the way business is conducted.

If you’re intrigued, as I am, I strongly encourage you to check out this Tedx Talk by John Barrett. Do some reasearch on your own, too. And, let me know what you find!

So, what are you initial thoughts on this upcoming technology that will apparently be the wave of the future? Let me know in the comments below!