The Fourth Industrial Revolution is here. And I can’t think of a better place to be at this point in history than my hometown of Boston and my role as regional general manager for Lumen Technologies.

From the American Revolution to the original Industrial Revolution, the city has played pivotal roles in world-changing innovation. Boston is often referred to as “The Hub,” short for “The Hub of the Solar System” or “The Hub of the Universe.” Oliver Wendell Holmes coined the moniker in 1858 in reference to the Massachusetts State House and the status of Boston as a center of commercial and intellectual endeavors. This reputation lives on today.

These same forces continue to drive us forward as we embark on the Fourth Industrial Revolution which we define as the 21st century convergence of digital, physical and bio technologies driving an unrelenting acceleration of human progress. When we sit down with our enterprise customers spanning all industries from high tech start-ups to financial services and defense contractors to healthcare, we talk about where they want to be in the future. We talk about their goals and aspirations.

Not only is Boston a hub for commercial trade, but it also has one of the highest concentrations of higher learning institutions in the country. Academic powerhouses such as MIT, Harvard, and Tufts reside within a few square miles of each other. These institutions have a long history of turning out world-changing technology and innovative thinkers in a variety of industries, from Campbell’s condensed soups to the World Wide Web to the latest in data science methods. Today, they serve as incubators for ground-breaking technology and new businesses that will have huge impacts on this next industrial revolution.

What we’ve learned by our engagements is that nearly all of these organizations are asset-intensive and interaction-intensive. They produce a lot of operational data in a typical day and need a better way to harness and activate that data into their operations for greater efficiency, innovation and safety.

This is where Lumen can help.

We operate one of the world’s most connected and deeply peered networks that delivers the world to Boston’s front door through exceptional application experiences while processing data faster in the data center, cloud or edge.  We are partnering with clients every day to understand how they are using data and can apply the Lumen platform of integrated network, compute, security and collaboration services to acquire, analyze and act on data faster.

The Revolution Continues, From Boston

Boston is a city of close-knit neighborhoods where everyone is within one or two degrees of separation from each other. I was born and raised here. The city is part of my blood. Most of the people I meet on the street are either friends or family. I know them, and they know me. These connections give me a unique perspective on challenges businesses face in the region as they look to compete on the global stage.

Boston and our larger region are once again part of a revolution. How we harness the power of data will create the future.  Together, we will make Boston the Hub of the 21^st century.