The subtitle of the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases Annual Scientific Meeting was 'Sailing into the Future', and speakers from both adult and pediatric infectious diseases explored this theme in relation to the management of sepsis. The future will entail better risk prediction tools for patients at risk for sepsis. Such risk prediction tools are likely to incorporate genetic profiling of the host to identify the groups at highest risk for disease and death. Focused diagnostic testing in these patients will include molecular diagnostics for early detection of infection.