Mingis on Tech: How IT can prep for robots and avoid big cloud gotchas

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If it seems like the day when robots invade the workplace is drawing ever closer, that's because it is. But they're not necessarily coming for our jobs -- at least, not yet. In fact, they're more likely to be taking over menial tasks so that workers can get back to the business of being more productive.

But the coming robotics revolution is going to require a lot of changes to IT, according to Computerworld's Sharon Gaudin -- and before it gets here, a lot of planning. New employees will need to be hired -- Chief Robotics Officer anyone? -- and current techies will need to bolster their skills.

Gaudin sat down with Executive News & Strategy Editor Ken Mingis to detail what companies need to know to get ready. Not only will new workers with expertise in robotics be needed, but current IT staffers will need to bolster their own skills. Infrastructure will needs to be updated, and worried employees will need to be reassured.

The goal: avoid the kinds of mistakes companies made in their rush to migrate to the cloud.

That was topic No. 2 in this episode, as Gaudin explained that companies all too often don't really think about why they're migrating to the cloud. Nor do they analyze the apps they want to move. Or calculate costs. Or work through the IT changes needed post-migration.

That said, a wide range of companies are finding all sorts of reasons to move their data and business processes to the cloud. 

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