With food-and-beverage outlets now among the fastest-growing categories in retail centers, a CBRE Group, Inc., report identifies four formats poised for significant expansion: food trucks, food halls, celebrity-chef restaurants and "grocerants."

The unprecedented transformation of consumer demand is driving cost and complexity into the supply chain. Keeping up in today's fast-paced business environment is forcing mid-market companies to analyze and implement responsive supply chain strategies that meet market expectations while driving greater profitability to the business. Despite reshoring and in-house efforts, outsourcing remains a reality for many supply chains.

Modern business not only relies on IT, but in fact is made possible by IT. If you believe that, then surely the fact that "IT" and "the business" are often at loggerheads appears to be insane. But the fact is that the divide and the rancor persist.

If you manage factories, airlines, hospitals or farms, you probably know something about the Internet of Things. If you don't, your thoughts on the IoT may start and end with wondering why a coffeepot needs to talk to a toaster. But the fact is that the continuing development of precision technologies could dramatically transform our planet's fundamental infrastructure.