Last year, I was blessed to attend my first international conference hosted by the International Institute for Business Analysis (IIBA). I wrote about this amazing experience in my BBC 2017: Lifetime Memories from IIBA's Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida post.

Part of that post was being apparently the first Steemian to write about this awesome organization, as I searched and could find no other reference to it.

One year later, while some of our fellow Steemians are having an international conference at Steemfest 3 in Poland, I was privileged to attend BBC 2018 in San Antonio, Texas.

_{Source: Building Business Capability website}

Again, an incredible experience! I would like to share with you some highlights of this past week.

International Audience in a World-Class Venue

As mentioned last year, while I have attended "international conferences" in the past, this one truly lives up to that description.

Stats for 2018:

• Over 1,100 attendees, representing
  1. 45 of the United States.
  2. 8 of the provinces of Canada.
  3. 28 countries of the world.
• 3 Keynotes
• 6 Spotlights
• 127 sessions

And what can we say about the venues chosen by the IIBA? Last year was in the Universal Studios Resort in Orlando, Florida. This year was also very impressive:

_{Source: Marriott Website}

Next year's international conference will be held at the Diplomat Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, November 11-15, 2019.

_{Source: Hilton Diplomat Resort website}

Note: While members of IIBA, as I am, receive a discount, anyone can attend!

Future of Business

As was the case last year, a common theme was the major transformation now underway across the globe in redefining business as we know it.

And not a small little "speed bump" either, but a transformation of the magnitude of the shift between the Agricultural Age and the Industrial Age. According to presenters, that transformation took around 150 - 200 years to complete.

_{Source: Educating the New Professional post on The evolllution website}

The current transformation is from the Industrial Age to the "Knowledge Age." It is well underway and will happen much more quickly.

The disruptive nature of this transformation is hard to overstate. Contrasting with the Industrial Age, some common examples given of Knowledge Age organizations were Uber. Which owns no vehicles. And Airbnb. Which owns no hotels. These large organizations are effectively global networks brought together by technology only recently possible.

[Note: Our great fellow Steemian, @crypto-talk, the creator of Partiko (follow @partiko), works at Airbnb.]

_{Source: Building Business Capability website}

Fundamentally, the arguments made were we are in the early stages of major disruptions to our way of life, as "household" names of the Industrial Age steadily disappear, as "dinosaurs" far too slow to adapt to the rate of change needed to avoid becoming "extinct."

Much was made of the innovation required to "stay alive." Foundational concepts were presented in many sessions related to the restructuring needed to give your organization a "fighting chance" of not only surviving, but thriving in this new Age.

Future with AI, Blockchain, and "Bots"

As an essential part of what the future will look like, much discussion took place on AI (Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Intelligence), blockchains and distributed ledgers, and of course robotics or "bots."

Given the historical transformations briefly touched on above, whatever the future holds, it is comparatively speaking, complicated!

_{Source: Post in Journal of Open Innovation}

As discussed in my post from last year, the whole concept of "augmented" intelligence was new to me, but it is already here. In relatively primitive form, compared to what is already being tested for deployment in the near future.

Effectively, more and more of our work will be "augmented" by input from automated sources feeding us content "mined" from SMEs (subject matter experts) ...

Blockchain? Yep, it was definitely and prominently featured! Seems great care was taken, aside from the ubiquitous Bitcoin, to mention any specific ones, but I am certain two of them were Stellar (XLM) given its ties to IBM and VeChain (VET) given its proposed means of insuring the receipt by buyers of genuine vs. counterfeit product from sellers ...

A lot of work is clearly going into how to harness the power of blockchains and distributed ledgers in this new world we are entering. As an investor, I will take it as an overall positive that it is being discussed at all in a venue like this world-class organization. This means, in whatever form it takes, it is here to stay.

That, in and of itself, is a remarkable transformation, given what has been publicly stated about the future of blockchain technology in the very recent past.

What about the future of robotics? Filled with benevolent little creations that "live life" alongside us? Continually devoted to our overall well-being 24/7/365?

_{Source: Pixabay}

Or something more sinister? Perhaps far more …

Who knows what the future holds? Who can “see” into the future and tell us what is coming? I don’t profess to be wise enough to know. We have all certainly been exposed, though, in our various corners of this world, to those of our fellow man attempting to do it.

_{Source: Pixabay}

For me, I view this part of our history much as I do the past. These creations are, in and of themselves, neither “good” or “bad.” They are what “we the people” chose of our own free wills to make of them.

They can be and are magnificent works that inspire us all. They can also be dedicated to ends which serve no useful purpose whatsoever.

While technology continues to advance, what can we say of human nature? How is that going? Will the “good guys” win out over the “bad guys?”

_{Source: Pixabay}

For now, I am content and inspired by the potential of what is coming. In my belief, the creative spark which uniquely sets man apart is the essential common element to all that is unfolding before us.

With you, we’ll all find out together how that “plays out” …

Closing

Any one of the topics above could become several posts. For now, I simply wanted to present to you, dear reader, some of the highlights of this extraordinary conference.

I am thankful for the opportunity I have been given to attend this conference the last two years. They have been unforgettable experiences which will always be with me. They are likely to be the last of my career, given my plans to retire from at least this level of working in the near future …

We live in a remarkable time in human history. I’d love to hear any feedback you may be inspired to provide!

Until "next time," all the best to you for a better tomorrow, as we all work together to build our Steem Community! 👍 😊

Respectfully, fellow Steemian @ roleerob

Posted using SteemPeak and “immutably enshrined in the blockchain” on Monday, 12 November 2018!

Interested to read more of my business posts? Great! Here you go:

• BBC 2017: Lifetime Memories from IIBA's Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida
• Business Review: Great Creator of GIF Images - @skyleap!
• Business Review: Great Maker of Backlit LED Pictures
• Essential Foundation for Good Business

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