There’s a moment I remember from a trip to Lisbon a few years ago. I was walking past a small café, and in the window was a hand-painted sign:

Coffee first, then the world.

It was a throwaway phrase, a bit of local charm. But for some reason, it stuck with me. Not because I’m particularly obsessed with caffeine (although I am), but because it reminded me of how often the big ideas in life start with the small, seemingly unrelated ones.

That’s been a theme in my career, though I didn’t realise it at first. I’ve always been drawn to connecting things. Not just people, or ideas, but actual things. Tools. Technologies. Systems. And, more recently, stories. Especially customer stories. Because when you start connecting the right things, you get more than the sum of the parts. You get momentum. You get meaning. You get magic.

From standalone tools to solution stacks

There was a time when everything in tech was siloed. Your CRM didn’t talk to your marketing platform. Your analytics lived in a different universe from your customer support. It was like trying to create great music when every band member was playing a different tune, in a different room, on a different day.

But now? The instruments are finally tuning up together. APIs, cloud platforms, and AI are turning those standalone tools into music. And the conductor? That’s now you. Or me. Or anyone with a bit of curiosity and a willingness to experiment.

It’s not about inventing something new, it’s about seeing something old in a new way and asking, what if I connected this to that?

At inEvidence, we’ve been doing a lot of that lately. Not just in how we build our own internal systems, but in how we help our clients tell their stories. Because a good customer story isn’t just a case study, it can be a connected experience. It’s about weaving together the customer’s voice, the solution’s impact, and the business outcome into something that resonates.

The future is frictionless

One of the most exciting things on the horizon is the increasing ease with which we can connect cloud-based applications. Mix in a bit of AI, and suddenly,

you’re not just automating tasks – you’re orchestrating experiences.

Seamless, personalised, intelligent experiences that make life easier for users and more rewarding for businesses.

We’re entering an era where anyone with a smart idea can build something brilliant by simply connecting the right tools in the right way.

That’s a game-changer. Because it lowers the barrier to innovation. You don’t need a team of developers or a million-pound budget. You just need a clear vision of the user experience you want to create, and the curiosity to explore how existing tools can help you get there.

And let’s be honest – it’s also a lot of fun. There’s something deeply satisfying about spotting a connection no one else has spotted, plugging it in, and hearing it come to life.

Connecting stories, not just systems

Of course, this idea of connection goes beyond tech. It’s at the heart of what we do with customer advocacy. Because when you connect a customer’s positive experience with your brand’s narrative, you create something powerful. You create trust. You create proof (evidence 🙂 ). You create the kind of story that doesn’t just inform – it inspires.

That’s why I believe the next chapter in our industry isn’t just about better tools. It’s about better connections. Between platforms. Between people. Between purpose and performance.

In a world full of noise, the brands that win will be the ones that connect with clarity, consistency, and a bit of creative spark.

So what’s next?

For me, it’s about continuing to explore how we can use technology to make storytelling smarter, more scalable, and more human. It’s about helping our clients not just collect customer stories, but connect them – into themes, into campaigns, into conversations that drive real business value.

And yes, it’s about staying curious. About keeping my eyes open for the new, the next.