LIAM QUINN GREW up on the west coast of Ireland and was drawn to a career in IT by his curiosity about how things worked .
Taking apart and reassembling his uncle ’ s radio transmitters , Quinn soon discovered putting together the same components could only take him so far in his quest to improve the way the radio operated . He now believes the key to any improvement is the evolution of technology on all levels , in all disciplines , coupled with that innate curiosity . Today , in his role as Dell ’ s Chief Technology Officer , Quinn is responsible for looking after the management , security and integration of ever more intelligent personal computer devices . With digital transformation occurring across a range of industries , to many adopters the emergence of ‘ intelligent things ’ may seem like bolting on a new service to an existing enterprise solution . However , Quinn feels the opportunities arising from IoT offer a whole new way of thinking about business .
Dell has been in business for over 30 years and during that time the world has gone from huge computing machines like the VAX 11 / 780 , which had large fans and a bulky power supply , to an iPhone you can hold in your hand with a quad-core processor offering greater power than a computer the size of a small shed . “ In the next ten to 20 years that quad core processor will get even smaller ,” notes Quinn , who sees technology accelerating to become more integrated , smarter and cheaper . “ In the late 1980s the VAX cost $ 1mn ,” recalls Quinn . “ But today the quadcore processor in your iPhone maybe costs less than $ 60 . In 10 years ’ time will it be $ 6 ? That trend will continue and we will see a lot more capability in things that are non-IT . This is where IoT can bring the internet to the physical world . Right now , you ’ re sat at a dumb table and chair but in the future , they will be smart . The building will know people are sitting here at this end of the hallway , therefore it will be intelligent enough to know it needs to put more power where the people are , versus an empty conference room next door , so power consumption can be directed where it ’ s needed .”
IoT is driving the evolution of physical objects into the internet world through the application of sensors and devices . The cars of tomorrow will be even smarter than
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