2018 is approaching, which is why it is time to look forward and consider the new technologies that might hit us in 2018. This is also an opportunity for businesses to look into what new technologies might offer them. From conversational platforms to edge computing, here are six ways technology will disrupt and evolve in 2018 as well as years ahead.
Related: Top 8 tech trends of 2017
Intelligent things
The Internet of Things (IoT) has been a part of technology forecasts for several years. What has changed is the level of smartness. As IoT grows to include an ever increasing number of “things”, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning will allow these “things” to work almost autonomously. For example, technological advances will group intelligent devices that can work together in order to accomplish a specific goal. An example of this could be a robotic vacuum cleaner with computer vision, which can navigate and clean a house with minimal human involvement. In 2018 we will see new dimensions to what “things” can do without human interaction and interference.
Related: How Internet of Things impact our everyday life
Edge computing
Edge computing makes it possible for data produced by IoT devices to move computation and processing closer to the “edge” of the network and the source of the information. This means that data is processed closer to where it is created instead of sending it back to data centers or to the cloud for processing. Compared to traditional cloud computing, this reduces the bandwidth needed and reduces also the latency between sensors and data processing. Processing data closer to the edge of the network makes it possible for businesses to analyze data in real-time – a wish across many industries and businesses including finance, telecommunication, health care and manufacturing.
Conversational platforms
Conversational platforms are changing the way people relate and interact with machines and the digital world. Instead of having to learn how the computer operates and communicates, conversational platforms make it possible for the user to have a more dynamic user experience. Over the next couple of years, conversational interfaces will become a primary design goal for user interaction and may become the main way users communicate with devices in the digital world. An example is Amazon’s Echo unit that can play music but it is also possible to order a pizza just by talking to it.
Mixed reality
There is no need to further introduce Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies and how they are changing the way we interact with the digital world. The focus instead will be on mixed reality (MR) where a user is able to maintain a presence in the physical world, while interacting with objects in the digital and virtual world. In this way VR and AR technologies are mixed and becoming MR. However, MR it is not just an advanced gaming console, it is also a technology which can be used to educate, for example medical students, about the human anatomy in a more interesting way. Combined with conversational platforms, these technologies will develop in to more invisible computing.
Event thinking
Event driven thinking and Event Driven Architecture (EDA) will evolve in the years to come. Event thinking should be embraced, as events are a critical part of many businesses as they reflect the remarkable states and changes in a business. With the advancements, improvements and possibilities in IoT and AI, critical business events can be discovered and identified more quickly. This means that events can be analyzed in detail with more accuracy and processed in real time. Businesses should embrace “event thinking”, as it is predicted that this method will be needed for many digital business solutions in a few years.
Security
The security world is constantly changing as threats and cyberattacks evolves, as demonstrated by the series of high profile attacks that happened over the summer of 2017, for example in the shipping industry. Businesses should consider integrating security into their development efforts in order to deliver a continuous security process where everyone is responsible for security, as well as explore deception technologies to catch hackers that have unauthorized access to the organization’s network. Businesses need to look at building security into their applications or they will always be one or two steps behind hackers and intruders.
Related: The technology of 2016
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