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Forbes Technology Council members are in a wide range of industries and come from a diverse set of experiences. However, they all have lots of great insights to share, from best practices for technology departments to smart predictions for the future of tech. To showcase their expertise, we’re profiling Forbes Technology Council members here on the blog. This week: Alex Zhitomirsky.
Alex Zhitomirsky is the CTO of Petplan, a pet insurance company.
We asked him three important questions. His answers are below:
What is your background, and how has it influenced what you do today?
I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems from Drexel University in Philadelphia and decided to focus my career on custom software development and integration. By helping a variety of companies -- from startups to Fortune 100 -- in a variety of industries from banking to healthcare to pharmaceuticals, I quickly learned that technology is the greatest enabler and disruptor as well as super collaborative, creative and fun.
Later in my career I decided to pursue a part-time MBA and settled on one of the best programs in our region from Villanova University. I believe that this has prepared me well for more senior roles within an organization and to be able to manage project portfolios and evaluate and analyze the potential for various opportunities.
What do you think is the most interesting piece of new technology today? (And / or how do you see the technology landscape changing in the next 5 - 10 years?)
Cloud computing is probably the most interesting paradigm, in my opinion. Ability to scale with a click of a button -- or in a completely automated fashion -- is fascinating. The ability to perform heavy processing tasks in the off-hours using available resources halfway across the globe for a fraction of the cost is very cool. This will become the norm in the near future and the word “cloud” will be dropped from the term. Private and public clouds (Infrastructure as a Service) will overtake the market as the go-to method of running an enterprise.
What's your best piece of advice for technology executives to keep on top of the rapidly evolving tech space?
I believe that being flexible and open to new and disruptive technologies, adapting and moving quickly is the only way to stay relevant and competitive.
