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Life, as we know it is in a state of change; everything is getting smarter, from PCs to conference room systems to our light bulbs. As humans and societies, we are adjusting and growing the way we connect with our technologies - in the workplace and at home - for faster consumption and productivity, and more suitable connections. The advancements in technologies is improving our quality of life in many ways. In 2019, the beginning of unlimited connectivity, full computerization and immersion into extended realities will inch nearer than ever before, and it will expand horizons and form the way in which humans can be connected to smart technologies in the time of intelligent transformation.

TECH PREDICTION #1

Everything is getting smarter, so what’s missing?

Smart spaces, whether physical or digital, are those marvelous environments where humans, devices and systems work together in open, connected and professional ways. Everything, such as a smart city, a digital workspace or a smart home, these ecosystems are all growing.

So where are the gaps? According to recent research, the saving time, making comfort and enabling real human connections are what people worth most in their technology. If a smart piece of technology fails to provide those major human needs, then users will immediately discard it as they are to take up.

For consumers, having much less annoying and time-consuming experience when setting up their smart home with devices from a slew of different manufacturers with little-to-no assimilation. The smart home category will continue to increase as advantageous solutions that offer quick configuration, a trouble-free user experience and interoperability between devices and ecosystems will be deployed.

The acceptance of PCs with smarter, connected features like voice recognition, biometric authentication and always-on connectivity, besides a rising category of smart displays that combine sight (touchscreen displays) with sound (voice assistants) will also develop the way we engage with technology for faster information consumption and more suitable connections.

In the workplace, in order to attract and retain the best talent and drive modern and profitable organizations, employers must identify and accommodate the changes in how millennials and post-millennials perform and what they anticipate in the workplace, in addition, to respect their personal feelings. Tech-enriched, assistive spaces which are configurable and flexible are definitely trending, but all of us still need a sense of comfort and belonging.

Advanced organizations will move their attention to the theory of transitional, mobile engagement and spaces that promote greater collaboration and human connection -- whether in hallways, cafeterias or huddle rooms. These communal spaces will need smarter, more independent and responsive tools for immediate collaboration and co-creation, as well as smart meeting room solutions, interactive displays and more.

Additionally, since the tech-savvy Generation Z enters the workforce, they want control over the available technologies to them – supporting the technology they raised up with and employ in other aspects of their lives – because they become more familiar than ever to accept the decision-making power of the IT department. Companies which will become easily successful in workplace transformation, we think, will gracefully balance those goals with complete cultural policies and personal touches that connect employees to new ways of working.

One more feature of workplace transformation will be progressive organizations’ ability to use pre-configured or ready-for-cloud arranged devices to their workforce. Smart vending solutions is another trend driven by a transformation in the workplace that allows employees to acquire various IT products, from fully configured laptops all the way down to a mouse, keyboard or headset.

The smart part of these vending solutions obtains the boring paperwork out of the procurement process and authorizes employees and end-users to center on productivity. By leveraging the next wave of smart office technology, enterprises can design a workplace for alertness, creativity, and at last increased for output.

TECH PREDICTION #2

Tech for good: How IoT, AI and AR/VR are making us happier and healthier

The Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) are hot industry topics, and indeed the promise of limitless connectivity, complete automation and immersion into extended realities is intriguing.

The acceptance of these intelligent assistance will continue to balance into different verticals from manufacturing to education, retail and more in 2019. In fact, a recent Accenture study says that 72 percent of health executives agree that comprehensive reality will be widespread and virtually impact every industry over the next five years.

In the healthcare sector, IoT and artificially intelligent enhanced applications have the capability to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges. Leveraging these technologies has the potential to start a wealth of developments in future.

Reducing emergency waiting room times, enabling remote health care and monitoring, offering the availability and accessibility of critical hardware, and even freeing up doctors’ time through the use of AI in detecting and diagnosing tumors are all examples.

AR/VR has exciting future inferences for the healthcare field too. For example, patient can virtually visit a hospital prior to being hospitalized by the help of AR/VR or patients can imagine procedures to reduce anxiety. VR can also offer hospitalized children with the vital disruption needed through fun, dynamic entertainment, meditation exercises and therapeutic games to deal with their hospitalization.

In the education sector, VR in the classroom lets students to immerse themselves in experiences they normally wouldn’t have access to, like learning about wildlife on other continents through an online field trip or participating in RNA sequencing to recognize a new gene in a virtual lab. For the students facing physical, social or cognitive disabilities, VR builds an inclusive environment and potentially even levels in the playing field.

Retail is also going through a transformation too, with new ways to recognize and connect customers early in the shopping experience, and enable customers the freedom to buy flexibly, whether via mobile, self-checkout, online or regular checkout. The drive to cohesive commerce applications in retail is leading to an up rise in transactional point-of-sale devices.

As new technologies and applications create their way into various verticals, wait to see accelerated adoption as technology costs drop and organizational and business outcomes get better.

TECH PREDICTION #3

AR moves from fun to function

The mesmeric technology market is rapidly getting advance; actually, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) products and services spending are forecasted to reach $27 billion this year, a 92 percent year over year jump according to IDC. VR has by now made its mark in gaming, journalism, film-making, education, sports and music and is also well established in training and data visualization.

The larger craving will be around AR, which is already being used for consumer entertainment and in the commercial sector, allowing efficiencies in training, maintenance and knowledge transfer into immersive environments. With the onset of 5G, the rich and meaningful capabilities of AR – real life enhanced with computer-generated images, remote assistance, object identification, workflow builders and other powerful content – will go forward and make a meaningful impact to businesses.

After using AR glasses as part of a larger technology system can give manufacturing and field workers real-time data which helps to lessen errors and advance accuracy, safety and quality. With AR remote assistance, a worker on an offshore oil rig could get help by an office-based worker who will be able to see the happenings live through the glasses. With object acknowledgment, AR glasses worn by an airplane mechanic working on a runway could connect to a remote server to automatically recognize the parts being worked on and pull up diagrams and other critical materials. By the help of new AR workflows and tools, a factory line worker on the first day can see through their AR glasses for step by step assistance on how to achieve the task at hand with minimal training.

In addition, there will be a rise in demand for more hardware/software doubter solutions to simplify users’ pain point of experiencing incompatibility between AR headsets and glasses with AR content and platforms. Content creators and hardware makers may unite to develop a more holistic and faultless hardware plus software solution for businesses.


TECH PREDICTION #4

The future of security

Humans, most of the time considered to be the weakest link in security. The development of mobility, BYOD, remote working and the gig economy have all contributed to the security challenges companies are facing today. Well-meaning employees who ignore or having lack of knowledge about security protocols can make the enterprises vulnerable to significant security threats, financial loss and reputational damage. Digital natives are familiar to technologies that are more ‘intimate’ in terms of personal data access, but people of all ages can be accountable of giving priority to convenience over compliance.

AI has been pushed as the path to protection; but because of having many powerful tools, it can be used for good or for evil, as AI platforms are favored by cybercriminals too. We wait to see much more focus on machine learning to address security vulnerabilities and more of a spotlight on end-to-end security solutions versus a mess collection of separate tools. There are four sectors where companies and end users should focus to shield themselves – data, identity, online and device – it’s critically important to develop a holistic plan against threats in each of these sectors.

The movement from two-factor to multi-factor validation on personal devices, for example, will persist to grow as security industry bodies like the FIDO Alliance integrate with Windows Hello to enable safer authentication. The increase of smart devices in the home and office which are all interconnected will also cause security vulnerabilities that will need to be addressed. A vital aspect will be learned from users through heuristics and new learning models addressing not just transformations in technology but also changes in human behaviors. Companies will need to understand their multi-generational workforce, to better control and guard devices as well as expand strong security protocols and practices.

DaaS (Device-as-a-Service) is a smart way to tackle security issues, mainly as they become increasingly complex and more common due to the expanding mobile workforce. As a result, companies will need to search for agile, customizable solutions and greater control of the device ecosystem and these must be security implemented. This is a rising trend; almost 30% of CIOs who reacted to a Gartner study in 2018 are considering DaaS as part of their device strategy in the next five years, and a recent IDC study shows total market value tripling between now and 2020. In the short-term, there are built-in challenges that will need to be solved. A recent report by IDC stressed over the issues organizations face when it comes to device lifecycle management, with more than half admitting they could advance.

The improvement of technology is set to modify our lives both in the personal and professional sphere. Smart technology, IoT, AI, AR/VR, security are topics that are achieving traction in daily conversations about the future. Customers are quick to leap on the bandwagon and add these technologies in daily personal lives. Beyond that, our workplace is transitioning too as we move towards new workspaces, which allows us to be more movable, capable and collaborative. This will, earlier or later, shape our work culture and the wider workforce. Organizations should be ready to navigate this change with a policy on how to maximize the opportunities best, which come with the budding technologies.