The large-scale adoption of third-platform technologies such as the cloud, Big Data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics and augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), besides others, will require new skills, technologies, strategies and business models.
In the new era, large companies will be forced to globally reinvent and restructure their entire systems of production, management and governance, with yearly spend on digital transformation initiatives in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa region predicted to surpass $38-billion by 2021.
“[The year] 2019 will bring an evolution of change,” says Lenovo Data Centre Group South Africa country head Jim Holland, citing the top trends for empowering intelligent transformation and the way large organisations can position themselves to thrive in the new landscape.
While cloud, infrastructure and devices form the connective tissue of intelligent transformation, AI, AR, IoT and fifth-generation (5G) will be the fuel that enables new ways of working and accelerates the pace at which the transformation occurs.
Among the top trends is smart IoT, which dictates that, while great products should satisfy consumers, large organisations will need great solutions.
“The feedback that we get from large customers who deploy our technology is [that] the products must naturally be compelling, but the ecosystem into which they settle is everything,” he explains.
“It’s no longer enough for technology companies to provide smartphones, laptops, servers, storage and networking products and then step aside. Their value comes in helping their customers pull it all together in providing a holistic vision of a world that is not only connected but also smart.”
Alongside this, Lenovo predicts that emerging technologies that leverage AI will, in large part, define the future.
This vision will be defined and enriched by advances in AI, speech recognition, machine learning and cloud computing.
Further, the company bets on 5G technology among these emerging technologies to fuel the pace of transformation.
“Smart devices are ubiquitous, infrastructure is in place, networks are accelerating [and] 5G connectivity is really what will make all the other trends mentioned . . . scalable.”
The impact of AR and VR on gaming has been well documented and continues to grab the headlines in the mainstream press; however, the effect these fast-developing technologies are having on business is “nothing short of transformational”, he says.
To take advantage of these trends next year and beyond, businesses will need to invest in infrastructure that is open, yet secure and flexible, and delivers speed and reliability.