Data on Wheels

Cool Technology and the Intelligent Enterprise 
Data on Wheels 

Hey everybody. Thanks, as always, for reading my blog. As you know, I started an investigation about the technology we use in our everyday lives. You know I’m a simple guy, but I gotta tell you, this stuff is cool. Keep reading. I’m as curious as you are to see where we go with this. 

A few years back I went to one of those horrible charity events where you have to pay an absurd amount of money for a ticketeat dry chicken and asparagus tipsengage in vapid party chatter, and bid on silent auction items. To be fair, they did have free watered-down beer from Milwaukee, and I did win a gift certificate to a day spa in a raffle, but in case you’re wondering, I’m not exactly a day spa kind of guy. 
There was another guy thereRajesh Mohan, who had it worse than I did; due to his religious beliefs he couldn’t even drink the lousy beer. Rajesh was more amiable than I and more generous with his wallet too, but it wasn’t long before we found ourselves cowering in the farthest corner from the deafening music trying to have a conversationlearned he was an executive at the credit bureau in town, and I thought he might be an interesting guy to interview someday. More recent events prompted me to think of him again, and so I set up that long overdue interview. 
As I picked up my visitor badge and rode the elevator to the top floor of his West Loop office building, I became aware of the heightened security of the place. The credit bureau is one of the most mysterious and feared institutions in the country. And going up in the elevator had that same feeling you have when the dentist asks if you’ve been flossing; you want to plead the fifth and get the hell out of thereNaturally this was irrational. Rajesh wasn’t going to interrogate me about my credit score, but if knowledge is power, the massive amount of data at his disposal made Rajesh a very powerful man. 
When the elevator reached its destination and the doors pealed open, Rajesh was waiting for me. His smile was big and welcoming, but it was clear that I wasn’t going anywhere in the building without an escortHe guided me through a maze of standard gray cubicles and brought me to his corner office. I was expecting it to be something befitting an evil corporate mastermind, but it was more Herman Miller than Lex Luthor. 
We began with the standard chitchat about the weather, but I was anxious to get to down to itWord on the street is you guys look out for the fat cats and throw Joe Sixpack under the bus. What’s up with that?” 
Rajesh smiled knowingly. Hed heard this before. “First,” he said in a droning recitation, “theres more than one credit bureau, and despite the name, we aren’t a part of the government. However, we do receive a lot of government scrutiny. Second, take a look at why credit bureaus were created to begin with. Throughout much of history, if you wanted to borrow money for a business or to start a new life, you had to get it from a friend or relative. For example, if you remember Shakespeare’s Merchant of Veniceyou will recall that during the Renaissance loaning money for profit was outlawed by most religions. 
To be perfectly honest, my knowledge of Shakespeare failed me on that point, but I let it pass. 
However, in the early days of this country, a small business, such as a general store or saloon, might extend credit to someone from the community and keep a running tab. As the country grew, larger businesses might extend credit to other businesses or individuals who were the pillars of the community. With the growth of urban areas, the volume of credit records increased exponentially, and businesses needed clearinghouse to maintain and share credit records. Initially our information was kept in a card catalog system, and young women on roller skates would rush about retrieving and filing the data.” 
Wait a second. You’re telling me this whole place ran on index cards and moonlighting roller derby queens? 
“Indeed. It was not very efficient, accurate or secure, but we’ve come a long way. In the 1960’s all of the information was computerized, and we gathered more and more data. was working here when we achieved our first terabyte of data in 1997That was a very big deal. Today, we have more than 50,000 terabytes and the data is stored much more efficiently. 
Somehow that sounds scarier than the bobbysoxers on roller skates. Are you telling me you can tap a few things into that computer and look up Mike Ditka’s credit card? 
“I don’t know this Mike Ditka, but no. By law only someone with a legitimate need can access an individual’s credit report. But to answer your first question, we are here to help Joe Sixpack prove he is credit worthy, and we are also here for businesses that want to extend him credit. Even as late as the 1970’s it was very difficult to establish credit. Our ability to gather massive amounts of data has made it all much simpler. 
Well that’s the $64,000 QuestionIs it simpler or does collecting and maintaining all that data make it more complicated? How do you know the data is reliable? 
“It’s difficult, but our greatest concern is the accuracy of our data. If our data isn’t reliable, we’re out of business. This also means our databases must be secure. If they’re not, how can we be certain they’re accurate?” 
Yeah, but I keep hearing that identity theft is on the rise. 
Indeedwere under constant attack, and while it would be foolish to think our databases are impenetrable, fraudsters find easier targets elsewhereIt is most often the consumer who is careless with their information.” 
“Okay, now let me ask you some weird questions. Can you steal the identity of a dead person?” 
“Yes indeed. It’s called ‘ghosting.’ Because dead people obviously don’t check their credit history, it happens frequently. 
“Yeah, but what if you were to steal the identity of someone who was living like 500 years ago.” 
Well, that would be very difficult. There would be no information for someone from that long ago. There would be nothing to steal.” 
“Right. So if you were a time traveler from 500 years ago and you came to today, you’d have a heck of a time putting together a credit history, right?” 
You’re pulling my leg now.” 
“Yeah, I guess I am. It’s just that I have this friend, Charlotte, who does this podcast and she thinks she’s run into this time traveler. It’s really rather incredible and I have a hard time explaining it, but if you listen to the podcast yourself, you’ll understand what I’m talking about.” 
The smile left Rajesh’s face and he stared at me for what seemed like a minute and a half, and then finally repeated, “You’re pulling my leg now.” 
“Yeah, I guess I am.” Then, completely intimidated and wanting to change the topic as fast as possible, I asked what happens to all this data that’s out there. 
Big Data can be used in very many ways. Every day people are coming up with new ways of using data to solve problems and make things simpler.” 
“Simpler? Not more complicated?” 
“That is correct.” 
“Well, color me skeptical. Who are these people who manipulate the data? 
“They are data scientists. They are the ones who take the data and put it to use. They turn information into knowledge. This is not my field, but I can put you in touch with a brilliant data scientist at Discover Financial. Her name is Rita Davies and she can tell you how it all works. It’s very interesting.” 
“That would be terrific. I’d love to talk to her. I’m fascinated by this now.” 
“But don’t talk to her about dead people.” 
“Dead people? Nah . . . I wouldn’t . . .” 
“Or time travelers. You’ll make me look bad.” 
“No. I wouldn’t do that . . . but if you listen to the podcast . . .” 
“No. No talk about time travel. No talk about dead people. 
“No dead people or time travel. Got it. 
As I got up and turned toward the door, I noticed the same poster of the da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man on an office wall that I had seen at the libraryI was going to ask about it, but I decided it might lead to those forbidden topics, and perhaps I should leave well enough alone. Nonetheless, it felt like some sort of omen. Perhaps Charlotte’s podcast has me spooked. 
I thanked Rajesh profusely as he guided me to the elevator and pushed the button. I wouldn’t be able to catch up to Rita Davies until the following week. The next day, however, I went to the Air and Water Show with my friends Russo, Charlotte, and Kay, and my quest to learn how we know what we think we know, and whether technology truly simplifies our life got a little more interesting. You can read more about that in my next blog, In the meantime, you can listen to Charlotte’s show on Apple Podcasts if you want to hear more about time-traveling dead people. 

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Tony 
Blogger Extraordinaire  

DISCLAIMER: The Searching for Salaì podcast and the “Cool Technology and the Intelligent Enterprise” blog series are works of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. 



[KEYWORDS] 
SAP Leonardo podcast, Innovation, Digital Transformation, Intelligent Enterprise, Analytics, Big Data, Blockchain, The Cloud, Design Thinking, The Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning, Data Intelligence, Digital Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci, Searching for Salaì, Cool Technology

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