2018 Futures, by Ted Jenkins
It’s 2018. The holidays give all of us a chance to pause just long enough to reflect on the past business year and all that’s happened…
Throughout 2017, I was struck by the avalanche of technological advances and practical innovations seen in both the consumer and business-to-business landscape. We continue to experience the emergence of more “on demand” services that have been disruptive to some, yet remarkably valuable and convenient to others. Certainly Uber and Amazon come to mind as they eliminate the intermediaries that have been a core part of legacy business models. The trend for disintermediation is likely to grow quickly across many key sectors of our economy in 2018. And what about the much talked about Internet of Things (IoT)?
Is “it” delivering value in the water market? With the growth of sensors relaying virtually real-time data, users can cost effectively evaluate information from multiple sources for actionable intelligence. From energy analytics, to an automated surveillance drone protecting remote sites, IoT applications are well on the way to driving the next layer of insights for water. Like it or not we live in a highly connected world and IoT technologies will become even more pervasive over the next few years. If you feel like this is all too much to think about, not to worry, Artificial Intelligence or AI, is here to help – it can do the thinking for you. The advances made in the application of AI, also referred to as Machine Learning, is leading to interesting advances in the fields of safety, healthcare and transportation. We will likely see AI embedded more deeply in the water market, by providing assistance in the automation of technology to help balance the treatment process and maintain regulatory compliance.
As an industry that is relatively risk adverse and comparatively slow to adopt new technology, I noticed a meaningful change this year at WEFTEC. There was an unapologetic display of innovation, including a sizable increase in the number of cloud-based solutions and the use of big data applications designed to help drive our industry forward. At the show, my team and I spoke with owners, operators, and the engineering community about their interest to embed sensors across the campus to manage assets and monitor energy use more closely. In short, we detected a new sense of interest in exploring the possibilities what technology can do.
In the meantime, we continue to build on our core mixing and process controls solutions offering high-value solutions focused on reducing operating costs. Like most of you, I’m optimistic about the year ahead and confident we will continue to engage the most innovative people and technology to solve challenges across the water sector. On behalf of our entire team at EnviroMix, we wish you a healthy, safe, and prosperous 2018.
Ted Jenkins, CEO