Microsoft has changed the name of its annual Dynamics conference from Convergence to Envision. The change is more than cosmetic, though. Envision is an event that targets business leaders, and a separate event, Ignite, will focus more specifically on the technical aspects that used to be covered by Convergence. Envision focuses more on emerging business trends such as IoT (Internet of Things), big data, cloud computing and integrated business solutions. Still, many of our Calitech^TM friends from Convergence have chosen to also attend Envision, and it’s great to see everyone again.

Two highlights of today’s sessions were an appearance by astronaut Captain Scott Kelly, fresh from his 340 days at the International Space Station, and a conversation between Microsoft executive Peggy Johnson and Dan Schulman, President and CEO of PayPal.

Captain Kelly talked about using the Microsoft HoloLens in space and about getting accustomed to living with few personal belongings and no privacy. Still, his overall message was that, if we want something, we first need to dream it and then put the resources behind it. Certainly this applies to cloud computing as well!

Dan Schulman talked about the ongoing digitization of money and the future of remittances and payments for people with scant resources: by making money transfers mobile (something which PayPal wants to achieve by expanding its acquisition Xoom), it’s possible to eliminate the middlemen and therefore cut costs. At a different level, the same applies to the free digital wallet Venmo, also a recent PayPal acquisition. So, again: First dream it and then put the resources behind it. A great summary to our first day at Envision.