Interview: Nigel Lester, Pitney Bowes Software

Which technologies or innovations do you think will be game changers or reach maturity in 2019?

Digital technologies that support the ‘smart cities’ agenda backed by data will be a game changer in helping to meet the infrastructure asset management challenges. Solutions like Confirm on Demand will become an essential component to the development of smart cities. Our work with Sustainable Sydney 2030 is helping the city to realise this smart vision by providing real-time updates, helping to comply with legislative mandates and managing the life cycle of $12.7 billion worth of infrastructure assets. As the demand for asset management technology grows, government agencies will be able to evaluate data to demonstrate the improvement in delivery of services.

How are AI, IoT and cyber threats changing your industry sector, and what is your business doing to move with the changes?

Digital transformation is a key driver to the changing tech landscape and our customers tell us that to better manage AI and IoT they need best-in-class, data-driven, cloud-based and mobility solutions to drive business outcomes. With a renewed focus on IoT, Pitney Bowes Confirm capabilities enable companies to securely gather, process and analyse data collected through IoT devices to improve physical infrastructure efficiencies. We are in a fortunate position of supporting our customers with the provision of data streams and robust management systems, helping companies transform their data into actionable insights.

Which ICT innovations or disruptions are your customers telling you they are most worried or enthusiastic about in the year ahead?

With digitisation, customers get worried about the influx of data and how it is siloed across organisations. Understanding who a customer is, is more challenging than ever, as data is created both physically and digitally. But clients are excited that there are solutions for these challenges with Single Customer View (SCV). Fortunately, advanced data management solutions, such as SCV, can assist with delivering a single view of the customer, achieved by improving the completeness, validity, consistency, timeliness and accuracy of customer data through standardisation, verification and, most importantly, the production of a ‘golden record’ of data.

What’s on your tech wish list from industry, regulators and innovators in 2019?

The projected number of connected devices is staggering: in 2020 we can expect this number to increase to over 20 billion. Businesses and our industry need to consider the role of location intelligence to harness the power of ‘where’ and helping to recognise the spatial component of data. Mapping of sensor data can reveal geospatial relationships that expose macro-scale patterns such as ‘heat islands’ in cities where energy consumption may be expected to be high. The coming wave of sensor-based data from the Industrial Internet provides some really exciting opportunities for innovation across industries.

Nigel Lester is Managing Director for Pitney Bowes ANZ, responsible for growing sales in-country, as well as business management and the delivery of software and services across Pitney Bowes’ data, location intelligence, customer engagement and customer information management solutions.

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