Current Trends of ICT

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) refers to all the technology used to handle telecommunications, broadcast media, intelligent building management systems, audiovisual processing and transmission systems, and network-based control and monitoring functions.Although ICT is often considered an extended synonym for information technology (IT), its scope is more broad.

ICT has more recently been used to describe the convergence of several technologies and the use of common transmission lines carrying very diverse data and communication types and formats.

Latest Trends in ICT 2018 : 

The past 12 months witnessed some significant developments in major ICT trends such as the IoT, smart cities and the cloud. In 2018, we fully expect to see a continuation of these and other ICT trends that shaped the CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) region in the last 12 months, with plenty of new twists and turns along the way. Here’s an overview of some of the ICT trends that are set to change the business world in the year ahead.

IoT (Internet of Things) : 

The Internet of Things is a network of smart objects and cloud infrastructure; exchanging data and then transforming it into actionable intelligence. This convergence of IT (information technology) and OT (operations technology), draws its strengths from both worlds such as use of sensor technology to gather insights from the field, and using data analytic capabilities in the cloud.

Working with enterprises, industrial OEM, consumer OEM, mobile network operators and cloud service providers, Gemalto has a holistic view on the different building blocks like software, hardware and data are gelling together to build robust IoT ecosystems. In order to realize the benefits of IoT, such as increasing customer intimacy, improving operational excellence and generating new revenue streams through business model innovation; there are three critical components for the ecosystem to thrive: reliable connectivity, reliable security and an agile monetization framework.

Smart Cities : 

Smart City Illustration

A smart city is a framework, predominantly composed of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), to develop, deploy and promote sustainable development practices to address growing urbanization challenges. A big part of this ICT framework is essentially an intelligent network of connected objects and machines that transmit data using wireless technology and the cloud. Cloud-based IoT applications receive, analyze and manage data in real time to help municipalities, enterprises and citizens make better decisions in the moment that improve quality of life.

Citizens engage with smart city ecosystems in a variety of ways using smartphones and mobile devices, as well as connected cars and homes. Pairing devices and data with a city’s physical infrastructure and services can cut costs and improve sustainability. Communities can improve energy distribution, streamline trash collection, decrease traffic congestion and even improve air quality with help from the IoT.

For instance, connected traffic lights receive data from sensors and cars adjusting light cadence and timing to respond to real time traffic thereby reducing road congestion. Connected cars can communicate with parking meters and EV charging docks and direct drivers to the nearest available spot. Smart garbage cans automatically send data to waste management companies and schedule pick-up as needed versus on a pre-planned schedule. And citizens’ smartphone become their mobile driver’s license and ID card, which speeds and simplifies government services. Together, these smart city technologies are optimizing infrastructure, mobility, public services and utilities.

Cloud Computing:

Cloud has permanently changed the IT industry. In 2017, cloud services grew three-times faster than cloud/DC hardware and software. In 2018, more than half of global enterprises will rely on at least one public cloud platform. However, some public workloads will also back-track to private cloud. Hyperconvergence dominates private cloud infrastructure and the use of containers as a deployment vehicle for applications will grow quickly. Kubernetes wins the war for container orchestration and by 2021, over 95 percent of new microservices will be deployed in containers. Cloud functions (serverless, or pay-per-second compute) will transition to mainstream. By 2021, 80 percent of Fortune 1000 companies will conduct at least one routine task using cloud functions.

Artificial Intelligence (AI):

Computers are now able to learn in much the same way as we humans do, and this leap in AI capabilities has been made possible by the massive increases in data and computing power. It’s the incredible explosion in data that has allowed AI to advance so quickly over the last couple of years; the more data an AI system has, the quicker it can learn and the more accurate it becomes. This huge step forward in AI mean computers can now undertake more and more human tasks. In fact, it’s AI that allows computers to see (e.g. facial recognition software), read (e.g. analyzing social media messages), listen (e.g. Alexa standing by to answer your every command), speak (e.g. Alexa being able to answer you) and gauge our emotions (e.g. affective computing).

Blockchain:

Blockchain is evolving from a digital currency infrastructure into a platform for digital transformation. Blockchain technologies offer a radical departure from the current centralized transaction and record-keeping mechanisms and can serve as a foundation of disruptive digital business for both established enterprises and startups. Although the hype surrounding blockchains originally focused on the financial services industry, blockchains have many potential applications, including government, healthcare, manufacturing, media distribution, identity verification, title registry and supply chain. Although it holds long-term promise and will undoubtedly create disruption, blockchain promise outstrips blockchain reality, and many of the associated technologies are immature for the next two to three years.

Cybersecurity and AI:

Cybersecurity is becoming essential to everyday life and business, yet it is increasingly hard to manage. Exploits have become extremely sophisticated and it is hard for IT to keep up. Pure automation no longer suffices and AI is required to enhance data analytics and automated scripts. It is expected that humans will still be in the loop of taking actions; hence, the relationship to ethics (#8). But AI itself is not immune to cyberattacks. We will need to make AI/DL techniques more robust in the presence of adversarial traffic in any application area.

AR, VR and MR :

As augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies support increasingly immersive experiences in the digital world, “mixed reality” (MR) — or sometimes hybrid reality —is increasingly being used to describe the user experience when the physical world is blended with the digital world. Gartner suggests that the focus will be placed more on mixed reality, “which is emerging as the immersive experience of choice, where the user interacts with digital and real-world objects while maintaining a presence in the physical world.” AR, VR and MR are about much more than gaming and other consumer applications: the enterprise potential is also proving to be a cause for excitement. Think smart goggles for maintenance workers, the overlaying of holographic elements onto real-world environments and 3D models, to name just some.

5G :

The coming 12 months will be a critical period for 5G, marking the start of a new era for mobile network technologies. The 3GPP is working towards a functional freeze date for Release 15, which will include the first set of 5G standards, in September 2018. One of the most important aspects of 5G will be its ability to transform entire industries, not to mention its role in supporting Industry 4.0. Network slicing, in other words, the allocation and deployment of virtualised network resources on demand, is regarded as one solution that will simultaneously accommodate applications with vastly different characteristics over a common network infrastructure — applications like the remote operation of machinery, tele-surgery and smart metering.

Workspace :

Gen-Y predominantly meet, speak and make arrangements digitally using social apps like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp. As the dominant segment in the workforce, their expectations will influence and change the workspace. They expect digital social habits to be the default workspace practice. Unfortunately, most organisations have deployed a plethora of collaboration tools, introducing complexity and fragmenting teamwork. Organisations will start consolidating collaboration options to empower people, projects and teams. The user interface will become more intelligent, frictionless and intuitive, leverage technologies such as AI, VR and AR and respond to speech and presence. Digital distraction will be an increasing challenge at work and in your car.

Autonomous Vehicles :

The vehicle industry continues to be a global exemplar for both constructive and destructive disruption enabled by mobile, IoT, AI and cloud. All-electric car sales will surge in 2018 and car ownership will decline as sharing and subscription grow rapidly. The incentives leading transformation of the industry are more compelling – fewer lives lost, lower costs and a cleaner environment. We can expect further government legislation to enable accelerated progress in intelligent transport systems.

Digital Twin :

A digital twin refers to the digital representation of a real-world entity or system. Digital twins in the context of IoT projects is particularly promising over the next three to five years and is leading the interest in digital twins today. Well-designed digital twins of assets have the potential to significantly improve enterprise decision making. These digital twins are linked to their real-world counterparts and are used to understand the state of the thing or system, respond to changes, improve operations and add value. Organizations will implement digital twins simply at first, then evolve them over time, improving their ability to collect and visualize the right data, apply the right analytics and rules, and respond effectively to business objectives.

Over time, digital representations of virtually every aspect of our world will be connected dynamically with their real-world counterpart and with one another and infused with AI-based capabilities to enable advanced simulation, operation and analysis. City planners, digital marketers, healthcare professionals and industrial planners will all benefit from this long-term shift to the integrated digital twin world.