| | December 20168CIOReviewHow the Internet of Things is Changing the Approach to Technology and BusinessEd McLaughlin, CIO, MastercardWith the ongoing and accelerating changes in the technologies available to your (and your competitors') business, it is certainly an exciting time to sit in the Chief Information Officer seat. The changing technical landscape creates great opportunities, but introduces considerable new dangers.It is a tremendous responsibility you have to help your organization comprehend the transformation that's happening, and how it must translate into both immediate and longer-term strategic planning (all while accounting for the unforeseeable). You must understand the impact it is having on consumer behavior and expectations, potential changes to the very fundamentals of your business, and, of course, navigating a disruptive and rapidly changing competitive landscape.For Mastercard, one of the most exciting new developments is the ongoing expansion of connectivity to everyday devices ­ automotive, home, industrial, and municipal. By one measure (according to Cisco), more than 50 Bn connected devices are projected to be in place around the world by 2020. The line between online and offline is progressively being obliterated­every device can now be intelligently connected. This Internet of Things is evolving rapidly, and with it, consumers are more connected than ever before. And, they have a larger voice in how they want to see things evolve.That's powerful. From your dishwasher automatically reordering supplies, to your self-driving car paying for its own parking, the ability to make things more integrated, more convenient, is in front of all of us. And we all have to think about how this works­not just the potential benefits of connectivity, but with many more implications in mind:Security. Now is a time of insecurity for consumers­we are all more dependent on our devices, but are beginning to trust them less. They're seeing news of attacks each day, and it makes them IN MY OPINIONBy a bit bewildered and justifiably concerned. So, it's our role and responsibility as chief information officers to place security at the forefront of everything we do. We need to be relentless in how we solve for this. Consumer trust is everything when it comes to Ed McLaughlin
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