Irving Wladawsky-Berger is uniquely positioned to answer that question. He spent 37 years with IBM, where he was responsible for identifying emerging technologies and monitoring the marketplace for developments that could affect the future of the IT industry. Since retiring, he acts as a strategic advisor for blue-chip clients, serves as a visiting lecturer at MIT's Sloan School of Management, writes a weekly blog, and contributes regularly to the Wall Street Journal's CIO Journal. Wladawsky-Berger recently sat down with Martin Reeves, a BCG senior partner and the leader of the firm's BCG Henderson Institute. Edited excerpts from that conversation follow.