Tech Trends 2019: Beyond Digital (part 1)

The tech-fuelled innovation agenda at many organisations this year will feature advances in AI, the next stage in cloud computing, and reimagined approaches to marketing and cybersecurity.

Disruptive technology change can be daunting, and yet “new technologies that may have overwhelmed organisations a decade ago when they were first introduced now drive everyday business without any fuss or fanfare,” says Bill Briggs, global CTO at Deloitte Consulting LLP. “And the technologies we’re focused on now—including cognitive, blockchain, and digital reality—will likely have the same feeling of comfort, familiarity, and even inevitability in the near future.”

This journey from uncertainty to digital transformation guides “Tech Trends 2019: Beyond the digital frontier,” Deloitte’s 10th annual report on the technology innovations likely to disrupt businesses in the next 18 to 24 months.

Meanwhile, Briggs says, emerging technology is increasingly shaping strategic business conversations across functions. “Ten years ago, CIOs, CTOs, and their technology organisations were largely responsible for helping other leaders understand the potential of new tools,” he says. “Now, the dialogue has shifted to the boardroom and the broader management team. Every executive benefits from demonstrating tech savviness, fluency, and curiosity because every company is a technology company, with existing and emerging technologies forming the fulcrum of business strategy and the future.”

We take a look at the first set of four technology trends which are covered in more detail by Deloitte Insights:

Macro technology forces at work. Over the past decade, cloud, analytics, and technologies empowering digital experiences have steadily disrupted IT operations, business models, and markets. Recently three new technologies— blockchain, cognitive, and digital reality tools including augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR), internet of things (IoT), and others—have taken up the disruptor mantle. Meanwhile, three foundational forces make it possible for organisations to harness innovation while maintaining operational integrity: modernising legacy core systems, transforming the business of technology, and evolving cyber risk strategies beyond security and privacy. These nine formative forces are the backbone of technology innovation past and present, and their intersection compounds their overall ability to drive purposeful transformation.

AI-fuelled organisations. For some organisations, harnessing AI’s full potential begins with exploring select enterprise opportunities and a few potential use cases. While testing the waters can deliver valuable insights, companies may want to fundamentally rethink the way humans and machines interact within working environments. Organisations can also con- sider deploying machine learning and other cognitive tools systematically across core business processes and enterprise operations to support data-driven decision making; they may even contemplate new offerings and business models built on AI’s growing potential. These are not minor steps, but as technologies standardise rapidly across industries, AI will likely be more than a strategy for success—it could be essential for survival.

NoOps in a serverless world. The next stage in the evolution of cloud computing finds technical resources now completely abstracted from the underlying system infrastructure and enabling tools. Cloud providers, rather than simply providing everything “from the hypervisor on down,” are taking on many core systems administration tasks. Together, these capabilities create a NoOps environment where software and software-defined hardware are provisioned dynamically. Going further, with serverless computing, cloud providers or development teams can automate traditional infrastructure and security management tasks. Freed from server management, operations talent can transition into new roles as computing farm engineers who help drive business outcomes.

Connectivity of tomorrow. Advanced networking is the unsung hero of the dig- ital future, supporting the development of new products and services and transforming inefficient operating models. Increasingly, digital transformation through data- and networking-dependent technologies such as cognitive, IoT, blockchain, and advanced analytics is fuelling connectivity advances. Next-generation technologies such as 5G, low-Earth-orbit satellites, and ultrabroadband solutions can confer order-ofmagnitude improvements that support reliable, high-performance communication, while techniques like software-defined networking and network function virtualisation help companies manage evolving connectivity options. Locally, mesh and edge computing allow advanced technology decisions to be made on-site—in the cockpit of an autonomous vehicle, on the floor of a connected factory, or in the aisle of a retail store, for example. In the coming months, expect to see companies configure and operate tomorrow’s enterprise networks. ***

While disruption can seem intimidating, many organisations are increasingly harnessing connections between powerful macro forces, emerging technologies, and business priorities to create a road map to opportunities and growth. “Companies are rightfully sceptical about hype surrounding emerging technologies. They have a desire to do something real and impactful,” says Scott Buchholz, emerging technologies research director and Government & Public Services CTO at Deloitte Consulting LLP. “However, they don’t have unlimited resources. ‘Tech Trends 2019’ can spark conversations that help organisations imagine tomorrow and understand how to get there from the realities of today.”

Look out for part two in the next issue of the Independent on Sunday.