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A lot of material comes across our desks at CFIN, and we love to share new information with YODLers! This one in a series of articles highlighting what CFIN staff are reading, listening to, watching, and posting. This time we’re checking in with CFIN’s IT Lead Support, Rajiv Ramalingam.
What technology is out there right now that really excites?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a wide-ranging tool that enables people to rethink how we integrate information, analyze data, and use the resulting insights to improve decision making, and already it is transforming every walk of life. AI’s application across a variety of sectors addresses issues in its development, and offers recommendations for getting the most out of AI while still protecting important human values.
What tech tools do you think food and beverage companies should be investing in?
Food and beverage businesses continue to be affected by industry trends and must contend with evolving regulatory compliance and changing consumer preferences. To manage it all, food and beverage companies should invest in technologies like machine learning and AI that enables them to keep pace.
What tech companies interest you the most and why?
I love all the Microsoft products, especially the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office Suite, which have been responsible for the digital transformation of the modern world. Though Microsoft had a humble beginning, it has played a critical role in shaping the world of technology as we experience it today.
The other company that interests me is Google. It has changed how search engines work, by using a PageRank algorithm which prioritized a website’s popularity over its relevance. This led to websites becoming more connected to each other, popular websites coming up more often during Google searches, and unpopular ones promptly dying off. Now, most websites work together and link to each other in what’s called backlinking, a process that contributed to Google’s growth. Also, by creating products and services like Gmail and Google Maps, Google arguably became the most centralized hub on the internet to get all those services in single place. Google has leaned into that description by expanding into online communication with Google Hangouts and online storage like the Google Cloud. Products like Google Docs, Google Sheets and the Android operating system for mobile devices have also helped Google become a “lifestyle brand.” They’ve already got 75 per cent of search traffic and 90 per cent of mobile search traffic. They’re going to be everywhere, including in sensors and in self-driving cars.
What are you currently reading, watching, or listening to?
I read technology related articles, especially from a tech website name called How to Geek – where experts will explain us technology. I started to follow them since 2008, until today I am getting their daily email notification about new technologies and problem-solving techniques. I highly recommend to anyone to visit their page who needs tech support or to learn about the latest technologies in the market.
I enjoy watching action and thriller movies together with my six-year-old daughter on Netflix and Amazon. We repeatedly watch Grizzy and the Lemmings and Paw Patrol.
You came to Canada from Singapore. What are the biggest differences you’ve noticed – from both a food and tech perspective?
#Google