2018’s Triple Threat to Forward Thinking Businesses

Today,
immersive technologies like AR/VR and pervasive AI are becoming commonplace,
autonomous vehicle fleets are upcoming, and Netflix subscribers number in the
hundreds of millions. All these applications run on edge computing – a key
process that acts as a network bridge between devices and a centralized cloud,
thus driving the growth of IoT.

Computing boundaries will be pushed
even further in 2018 to meet the needs of IoT’s demanding applications. As
such, the spending on IoT will increase over the years. Gartner has mentioned
that 4.9 billion connected things are in use as
of 2015 and this figure is expected to grow to 25 billion by 2020[1]. 2018
may see a proliferation on business-relevant IoT devices, aided and abetted by
IoT management tools such as AWS IoT Platform.

Similarly, IDC’s Worldwide
Semiannual Internet of Things Spending Guide forecasts that by 2021,
global IoT spending is expected to total nearly $1.4 trillion as organizations
continue to invest in the hardware, software, services, and connectivity that
enable the IoT. Asia will be at the forefront of IoT investment, with spending expected
to reach $455 billion in 2021.[2]

Given the interdependent relationship of edge and IoT, businesses
which recognize that edge computing is fundamental in helping IoT connect data
can develop real-time decisions that shape business and operational outcomes.

Edge will develop an ability to enable
locally processed environment data and deliver the kind of speed that
bandwidth-intensive content (such as video streaming) requires. It must also
provide the capacity to prioritize and analyze data at the source, and enable
near real-time decisions.

There’s a dearth of security professionals – a recent
cybersecurity survey revealed that fewer
than one in four security professionals have the qualifications needed to keep
an organization secure. Considering the steady proliferation of end point
devices and increasingly sophisticated cybercriminals this is an immediate
business concern.

A recent example of the key role that cybersecurity experts play
came in the form of the WannaCry ransomware cyberhero, Marcus Hutchins. The
attack was defused, saving potentially millions for various businesses across
different sectors. Closer to home, Singapore’s government agencies and
universities have been targets of cyber-attacks. While not directly successful
due to competent cybersecurity measures, it highlights the rising frequency of
attacks and the need for organizations to be vigilant.

Ambitious businesses will be very much dependent on digital devices,
and the success of the business will be very dependent on security researchers aptitude
to keep the organization abreast of potential attacks on fundamental
technological infrastructure that could cause downtime, reduce productivity and
potential lost revenue.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning
capabilities is widely perceived as critical for business success in the coming
years. In fact, a study conducted by Accenture Research predicts that AI could nearly
double Singapore’s annual economic growth rates by 2035[3]. However, while this
technology is poised to offer breakthrough possibilities to business leaders, there
has been concerns around AI replacing jobs – and not just in IT, but for
professionals across a variety of industries.

This is poised to change as we’ll see a decrease in automation
anxiety as more organizations begin to embrace AI and machine learning as a way
to augment their existing human resources. New tools will establish new
baselines for efficiency and effectiveness in every industry, and afford
enterprises the valuable opportunity to redeploy their workforces to address
other challenges.

Businesses planning to adopt AI should
cultivate or hire IT professionals with AI- and automation-era skills such as
programming, coding, a basic understanding of the algorithms that govern AI and
machine learning functionality, and a strong security posture in the face of more
sophisticated cyberattacks. At the same time stakeholders across other industry
disciplines should recognize that dissecting such broad technology into a
specific value-add for a business, and communicating the ROI to decision-makers
will be a challenge. To tackle this, they must illustrate that while AI will
take over some technical functions, it cannot replace humans for certain
activities. Therefore, AI will impact managed services, but it cannot entirely
replace people as certain job functions still require a human touch.