Stansted Airport IT problems are another warning sign of potential digital blackouts - Ismail Mulla

In theory, obviously, this should make everything easier. Not that many of our public institutions have caught up with the technological revolution. Many are still stuck in the age of the fax machine, a bit like our rail services.

The technological revolution has also brought with it an achilles heel that not enough people are talking about. That is what happens in the event of an outage?

IT problems that hit London's Stansted Airport on Sunday were a perfect illustration of this. Hundreds of passengers were stuck in long queues outside and inside the terminal building with flights also delayed.

Check-in, baggage and security operations were all affected by the IT problems and even after they were resolved flights ran behind schedule.

While for many this was an example of great inconvenience, it’s not too hard to imagine instances where critical functions go dark in other industries such as healthcare.

That is why the Government should be calling on every single public sector body to show how it intends to cope in the case of outages.

I do believe the transition to net zero brings with it opportunities. However, how we’re going about harnessing these opportunities is unconvincing.

Carpet bombing the countryside with wind turbines and solar panels is not the answer when you don’t have the storage capacity.

Before last year’s general election, the emphasis was on building infrastructure. But with a lot of political promises, the emphasis was on the shiny tech. Not the nuts and bolts of storage facilities. The Energy Secretary would do well to match his zeal for wind and solar farms with a determination for energy storage capabilities.

Especially if we are going to keep up with demands being made on the grid as a result of our increased reliance on tech.

The fire at an electrical substation in March caused over 800 flights to be canceled in and out of London Heathrow in March. That just highlights the need for the physical infrastructure to be just as robust as the intangible.

In an increasingly destabilised world, all public institutions need to make sure that their security systems are robust. That doesn’t just mean training staff, anyone who has worked for a competent organisation will have had some form of training on how to deal with phishing emails etc. But also making sure that the actual tech is robust enough to cope with potential attacks from hostile groups.

More importantly, at times of compromise they need contingency plans in place - so as to ensure that disruption is minimal.

The Government’s pledge earlier this year to build more data centres was a welcome one. It shows that there’s a recognition that the technology revolution won’t come to the nation unless the infrastructure is there to welcome it.

Skills are also a major piece of the puzzle when it comes to digital resilience. While great strides have been made in recent years on tech skills, the pipeline needs to produce much more for the society of tomorrow.

When we’re turning away from overseas labour, we need to ensure that there is sufficient homegrown talent to not only build out the tech of tomorrow but also maintain the platforms that are becoming an integral part of our daily lives.

Unfortunately, there are no quick fixes. The education system is not churning out oven-ready talent. It may never do, given how often and quickly things change in technology.

However, the one thing that the education system can do is encourage young people to consider a career in tech. It is more a case of inspiration rather than subjugation.

Finally, as we career further into this brave new world, we need greater scrutiny of the companies that control our data and are involved in our public institutions.

Without going all tinfoil hat on people, what happens when a foreign tech firm decides it no longer wants to support tech that has become important to the nation?