Fiorina: 'Tech will be invisible by 2030'

The dot-com bust signalled the "end of the beginning" for technology, according to Carly Fiorina, ex-chief executive officer of HP.

According to Fiorina, within 25 years, technology will be so integral to our lives we will take it for granted.

Speaking at the Global Business Forum in Sydney on Wednesday, she told the audience of business leaders that by 2030, technology would be "woven into the fabric of life".

Fiorina said: "The dot-com bust signalled the end of the beginning - now we have entered the main event of technology… We are talking about an era where technology is woven into the fabric of life and almost disappears. It means that technology is in everything and everywhere."

According to Fiorina, the change will happen gradually, "although it is clearly going on now".

Fiorina also explained her decision to take up positions on the boards of two companies - Cybertrust and Revolution Health - since her departure from HP just over a year ago: "In the next five years the biggest areas of technological change will be in cyber security and healthcare. That is why I have chosen to sit on some company boards."

Fiorina offered advice to anyone looking to transform their business using something called her "leadership framework", which means viewing an organisation as a combination of hardware and software.

She said: "I would argue that structure, process, measurement and results are, to use technology terms, the hardware of the institution. The software is culture, behaviour, personality, values.

"Just like a computer will not work without hardware and software, neither will an institution. We can't just change the hardware, you also have to change the software."

According to Fiorina, a successful transformation also requires a balance of optimism and realism: "Optimism fundamentally is the belief that things can be better and people are capable of achieving more. Realism is what provides the discipline and rigour around change."

She added: "All change takes discipline and rigour. I don't care if change is losing weight or transforming a company. You better have discipline, rigour and measurement. And by the way, change happens in small steps."

Munir Kotadia writes for ZDNet Australia