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Stevie Dennis, the UK Channel Manager at identity and access management company Okta, reveals five pieces of tech that have shaped her life, from her early obsession with communication, through to the latest smart assistant technology.
INSTANT MESSAGING
In its many forms, the speed at which we communicate has been so important to me throughout my life. My obsession with communication started with MSN in my bedroom after school. This evolved to the concept of video chat with my family when I was at university, who lived far from where I studied. But as I’ve gotten older, this communication has still played an important part in adult life, as I am obsessed with people and love to be connected all the time. In particular, communication tools are now as big a part of business life as they are in our personal lives. Tools such as WhatsApp, Zoom, and Slack are all making communication so much easier.
KINDLE
I love reading and went through a book a week as a teenager. Unfortunately, with a handbag full of heavy and unnecessary rubbish, when I moved to London and started commuting, I stopped reading. Technology has been a good way around this as my Kindle travels everywhere with me now and I read for at least an hour a day. Reading on my morning commute is my ‘me time’ and puts me in a great mood for whatever the day is going to throw my way. I can load multiple books on this, all while keeping the weight of my handbag down!
ALEXA
Alexa might just be my best friend. I have a thousand things spinning around my head at any one time and it’s impossible to remember them all and organise my thoughts. Alexa is my very own PA full of to-do lists and reminders from my brainstorming shower sessions. She answers all of my silly questions and plays my favourite podcasts every morning. Hard to imagine a morning without her now.
IPHONE
It may come across as a cliché answer, but surely the iPhone has shaped everyone’s life in one way or another. It has, in its broadest sense, it brought to life the very meaning of a smartphone and changed the way we engage with handheld devices. Work is now constantly on-the-go, and being able to do my job anywhere through my phone has been a massive enabler of this. Having my calendar, emails, and all of my collaboration tools on my phone with me at all times is amazing. It’s also ideal that I have maps on my phone – making it very difficult to get lost these days.
APPS
The more I think about it, being able to do everything on an app has changed my life more than I thought. Whether it’s paying bills, booking trains, planes and hotels, shopping, communicating, reading, writing or buying a house, there’s an app that powers everything. I do everything now from a phone or a laptop, rather than having to pick up the phone to speak to a customer rep or going through painful long-winded forms. That doesn’t mean I sit behind my screen all the time, but having the option means I haven’t missed a bill payment for years.
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