Episode 4

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Published on:

17th Apr 2020

Technology Owes the World

From humble beginnings growing up in Hawaii, Mark Thiele found himself

doing odd jobs after high school trying to find his way in the world. He found

himself in the unlikely position of being a computer technician, and with no

formal education quickly became a self-taught engineer; rebuilding

computers and then complex software environments such as kernels and

operating systems. Mark then got involved with data centers quite by

accident, just being in the right place at the right time. Throughout his

storied career, he has been involved in every facet of the data center and

critical infrastructure; from construction to turn-up, site reliability

engineering, DevOps, SaaS, Cloud, and now 5G and Edge. His passion for

technology is only surpassed by his drive towards making things more

efficient and creating unique solutions to complex problems.

As Thiele puts it, the next generation won’t know how to start a fire, make

dinner, find and meet friends or simply know the essential life skills without

technology. We have created an “information now” culture where everyone

expects information at their fingertips in real-time, wherever they may be.

Change is inevitable; it is evident by the experiential transformation

generated by companies like Amazon, Uber, Lyft, Door Dash, Uber Eats,

Facebook, and other such platforms. As the world becomes more connected,

and we become increasingly dependent on technology, the infrastructure

supporting it becomes society’s lifeblood.


We’re on the precipice, and the future could be extremely tenuous if we don’t

address the foundational needs of technology and humanity. COVID-19 is an

excellent example of mother nature telling us; it’s time to reset. This is an

opportunity to work on the basics, a foundation whereby we don’t end up

building a house of cards. It’s not the end of the world; it’s a new beginning.


According to Thiele, “The technology industry owes the world now; the

industry has made a lot of money off the world. The vast majority of that

money has been made off of nothing. Facebook is 80% nothing. Google

searches. 80% nothing. It's not like we're sending somebody to the moon

with the technology built. It's not like we're curing cancer with the

technology being built, we are creating a lot of nothing, and they're getting a

lot of money for it. And it's time for those industries to figure out a way to

help guide the population into the future”


Thiele has amassed a proven track record of trendspotting with a deep

understanding how those trends would impact the evolution of the

information technology industry. As a result, he has become one of the

industry’s preeminent thought leaders.

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Nomad Futurist
The #nomadfuturist show is a true tech podcast phenomenon. The two hosts are technologists and futurists, so they really know their stuff, and following their in-depth conversations feels like you have a backstage pass to a gathering of the best of the
The nomads put a new spin on the tech genre by shining a light not only on technology but also on the human side of the digital age. Tune in if you find yourself thinking about how to integrate into the digital landscape and be a part of the evolving industry.

For over two decades, Phil and Nabeel have provided a powerful catalyst for organizations to create a vision of the future and the will to innovate. As futurists, they deliver a dynamic and entertaining vision of change, blending technology, economics, demographics, culture, and human nature.

With real business experience and a deep understanding of technology, the two nomads know the difference between science fiction and useful forecasting. Rather than focusing on the distant future, they devote themselves to scanning the horizon for emerging technologies and disruptive shifts in human behavior, thereby sharing a compelling vision of tomorrow’s opportunities.