After a long pause, I felt that it would be wise to collect my thoughts in one a general commentary about the state of the industry. In particular the shifting priorities, rapidly changing workforce, a return to a perceived normalcy, and near-future predictions. Diverging Paths: Business & Technology Despite arguably ample warning the pandemic arrived abruptly. People were sent home with little notice, or promise that they'd return, to find that that remote work was going to be reality for awhile. Two things arose from this: first companies began to posture themselves very quickly to preserve profitability, and second IT departments were tasked with supporting their entire workforce working from home. Many IT teams were also given notice that their internal priorities may be shifting. As a security engineer the question that was often posed: Do we need to continue on this path, or is our time better spent elsewhere? For many of us in the retail space these diverging pa...