This article originally appeared in the October 2023 issue of Security Business magazine. When sharing, don’t forget to mention Security Business magazine on LinkedIn and @SecBusinessMag on Twitter.
When I started this gig 16 years ago, on my first day, I sat down at a big desk in an office, with a big desktop computer (with a tiny SD monitor), next to a telephone and a Rolodex, with a fax machine in the next room sitting next to an enormous printer/copier that had inter-office courier envelopes hanging from its side – which was adjacent to a full library of archived issues of several magazine titles. There was an endless supply of reporter’s notebooks and post-its and calculators and three-hole punches.
This wasn’t the Dark Ages…it was 2007 for heaven’s sake! But let’s roll the clock forward to 2023 and look around:
- No office (that office closed years ago, and I’ve been working from my basement ever since).
- No desktop computer (I have a laptop that is a tenth of the size with 100 times the computing power).
- Two giant, 32-inch connected monitors (if the old me could see this…my goodness).
- No phone (hello, VoIP headset).
- No Rolodex (duh).
- No fax machine (thankfully).
- No inter-office mail pouches (that’s just laughable).
- No physical paper archives (OK that’s a lie, I’m a print editor and I keep a copy of my magazines, but the old bound volumes of 50-year-old issues unfortunately made it into the dumpster).
- No notebooks, calculators or three-hole punches.
For security integrators and consultants, the list is even bigger, as it extends beyond the office. No more coax, or multiplexers, or VHS cassettes; no more POTS lines (hopefully), or physical keys (still working on that one) …the list goes on.
That is a long way of getting to my point: In five more years, what will be the outdated technology that only the old-timer dinosaurs (yikes, will that be me) still use? I fear the easy answer is...email.
I was at my high school son’s baseball practice the other day, and between drills, I got to talking to one of the kids about email – something to the effect of, “I can't believe it took me 3 hours to clear 800 unread emails out of my inbox today (true story).” He turned to me and earnestly said, who the hell uses email anymore?
So, I took an informal poll, and, for the most part, every one of my son’s teammates – ages 15-18 – actually snickered when I asked if they use email. The common refrain: “Why would I send an email when I can just send them a text?”
Not a bad question, but I countered with, just wait ’til you have to work for a big corporation…you’ll see.
But will he? The death of email is not a new concept, as technology comes to bear on our everyday work life. Platforms like Teams and Slack have rendered internal emails at the least super-annoying, or on the other end, a thing of the past.
Email from external senders is out of control. Not a day goes by when I don’t receive a bogus “contract to sign” from one of my confirmed and vetted contacts, and it goes without saying that email is the primary ransomware attack vector.
It poses an interesting conundrum for all of us when it comes to interacting with our most valued and trusted customers. If email is dying, and if it is dangerous to use, how do we maintain a good relationship? How do we send them a real, honest-to-goodness contract to sign? How do we maintain a connection with hundreds – if not thousands – of customers? Is it Instagram? LinkedIn? WhatsApp? Something not yet invented?
Whatever it is, as a business executive, it pays to be forward-looking. Send up some trial balloons to customers about alternative methods of communication. Try to wean yourself and your company off email. If you don’t, who knows – at some point, you might find yourself flipping through a Rolodex trying to find some help.
Paul Rothman is Editor-in-Chief of Security Business magazine. Email him your comments and questions at [email protected]. Access the current issue, full archives and apply for a free subscription at www.securitybusinessmag.com.
