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Is It Santa or Software?

By December 15, 2016

The holiday season is in full swing and many of us are shopping for presents. We’ve talked a lot on TechPost about how software affects almost every aspect of our daily lives, and gift-giving is no exception. From making the present to capturing the joy, software is helping us out this holiday season.

Let’s say you want to buy a stuffed bear for your baby niece – let’s call her Zoe. Software can help you every step of the way.

Making

There would be no stuffed bears without the toy companies that design and make them. Before we even start to think about gifts, toymakers are hard at work preparing for the holiday season. Software allows manufacturers to get instant feedback from their customers to design the best possible product. Design software combines 3D modeling with IoT development tools, so that manufacturers can build smart components into their products right from the start. So not only can designers model the bear’s features from 360 degrees, they can also plan to program an “intelligent assistant” so the bear can speak to Zoe.

Shopping

Once you find the perfect bear, it’s time to buy it. Software and chip technology protect your information by generating a unique one-time code for every transaction that verifies the card’s authenticity. The chip also encrypts your information during the transaction to guard against identify theft. Banks use software to flag suspicious purchases and alert you of any potential credit card fraud.

Shipping

Software helps get the bear to Zoe quickly and accurately. During peak holiday season, companies like UPS each deliver around 30 million packages. Telematic sensors in tens of thousands of delivery trucks track engine performance, improve routes, and anticipate maintenance or route problems in advance. Shipping companies use data collected by vehicle sensors to save millions of gallons of fuel through more efficient logistics. Thanks to GPS tracking and AI, companies can predict weather patterns and anticipate delays. Cloud computing helps expand these systems to the thousands of additional employees hired during the holiday rush, and makes sure the bear gets to Zoe on time.

Sharing the Joy

Zoe loves her bear and her mom texts you a photo of her giggling with her new toy. Photo software helps ensure the picture is of the highest resolution and the lighting is just right. Once Zoe’s mom has a great photo, she sends it to you over a wireless network that runs on software. Wherever you are in the world, you can share in the joy.

In the mad rush between buying presents and spending time with family and friends, we may not realize how much work software does behind the scenes. Whether it’s a stuffed bear or the latest tech gadget, software helps businesses and people select, purchase, create, send, and receive their gifts on time. In the season of giving, software is doing just that.

Happy Holidays from BSA!

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Victoria Espinel is a global leader advancing the future of technology innovation.  

As CEO of BSA | The Software Alliance, Victoria has grown the organization’s worldwide presence in over 30 countries, distinguishing BSA as the leader for enterprise software companies on issues including artificial intelligence, privacy, cybersecurity, and digital trade. She launched the Digital Transformation Network and the Global Data Alliance, flagship BSA initiatives to further BSA’s collaboration with 15+ industry sectors globally. Victoria founded Software.org, the enterprise software industry’s nonprofit partner that educates policymakers and the public about the impact of software and careers within the industry. 

Victoria serves on President Biden’s National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (Chair of the International Working Group), served as a member of the President’s USTR Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN), and chaired the Future of Software and Society Group at the World Economic Forum. She is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. 

 Victoria has testified on multiple occasions before the US Congress, European Parliament, and Japanese Diet. Victoria speaks frequently to groups about AI, cybersecurity, and STEM education, including Latinas in Tech, Girls Rule the Law, the Congressional Staff Hispanic Association, Women’s Congressional Staff Associations, Girls Who Code, EqualAI, CSIS, and numerous academic institutions. She has been featured in a wide range of media outlets, including New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, Forbes, C-SPAN, BBC, Bloomberg Business, The New Yorker, and NPR. 

Prior to BSA, Victoria was confirmed by the US Senate to serve as the first White House “IP Czar,” establishing a new office in the White House and advising President Obama on intellectual property. She also served in the Bush Administration as the first chief US trade negotiator for intellectual property and innovation, a role in which she created the office of Intellectual Property and Innovation at USTR and led negotiations with over 70 countries. 

Victoria launched Girls Who Code’s Washington, DC summer program and serves on the Board of Directors for ChIPs, a nonprofit organization advancing women in technology law and policy. 

She holds an LLM from the London School of Economics, a JD from Georgetown University Law School, and a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. She is a native of Washington, DC, and the proud proprietor of Jewel of the South, a restaurant in New Orleans. 

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