It seems everyone is talking about artificial intelligence, with many of its enthusiasts lauding it as the potential answer to just about everything. AI is now being used in everything from web search to photography… and even in toothbrushes.

There’s an old marketing adage along the lines of “I know half my advertising budget is wasted, but I don’t know which half”.

While this might make for a wry summary of the subjective nature of marketing, I suspect the phrase itself is only half true...

In the Christmas Story, the three wise men follow a bright star to Bethlehem to pay homage to the baby Jesus and offer him gifts. But did you know there's a link between the three kings of the Nativity and operational metrics?

In the past, when an organisation needed IT support for its operations, it was possible for it to consider using a single computer system.

When they were younger, my daughters would describe one of our favourite holiday destinations as a ‘long-short’ cottage. At first, this sounded like a beautifully childish paradox. But in the literal minds of children, it made perfect sense.

It’s often thought that to be a good engineer you need a background in science, and especially its ‘language’: mathematics.

By 2025, 70% of organisations will shift their focus from ‘big’ to ‘small and wide’ data, according to predictions by technology research firm Gartner. The company believes this change will provide better operational data, more context for analytics, and make artificial intelligence (AI) less data hungry.

What’s remarkable about the recent spate of flight delays is not so much there are so many, but so few. Today’s travel networks rely on such close co-ordination it’s surprising the connections don’t break more often.

I often travel by train as part of my work. But rather than having a daily short commute, my journeys tend to be less frequent and longer.

Ahead of each trip, I receive a reminder email with ticket confirmation, as well as advice about timings, luggage, connections, and Covid-19 precautions.

When I explain what I do – to family, friends and acquaintances – it can be all too easy to disappear into a world of jargon and abbreviations.

Job titles can also be unhelpful, rarely showing what’s involved in a role or what experience is needed.