Digital humans, satellite communications, the tiny ambient internet of things, secure computation, and autonomic robots are the five technologies that can transform the digital future of organisations, according to Gartner Inc.
All five of these technologies are potentially transformational and should be investigated now due to their wide scope and ability to enable new business models or significant new capabilities, according to Gartner experts.
However, enterprises must consider their individual business needs and examine the effect of these technologies on them, the research and consulting firm said. Organisations can deploy individual technologies as well as identify different permutations and combinations of the technologies to best leverage business opportunities.
"Everyone's definition of disruptive is different, however, so evaluate them from your organisation's unique perspective and their potential impact," Nick Jones, VP analyst at Gartner, said. "Then consider new business opportunities enabled by individual technologies, as well as combinations of them."
Transformative Technologies
Below are the five technologies identified by Gartner that have transformative potential when it comes to the digital future of enterprises, along with some challenges that organisations should address before deploying the technologies.
Satellite Communication
Increasing interest in low-earth-orbit satellite communications is being driven by the democratisation and commercialisation of space. Low latency makes LEO an important technology for enterprises to modernise communications between people and things.
According to Gartner, LEO will deliver broadband with global coverage and low-enough latency for a wide range of tasks, including direct satellite connection for small IoT devices to provide affordable global coverage without involving SIMs, telecommunication providers and roaming complications, along with voice and data services from a satellite to an unmodified 4G smartphone to extend coverage to remote locations.
"The industry remains nascent, with a lot of evolution expected, so take a cautious approach to adopting LEO early as this is an emergent technology in a complex market," Jones said.
Tiny Ambient IoT
Tiny ambient IoT enables tagging, tracking and sensing of anything without the complexity or cost of battery-powered devices. The result is the ability to unobtrusively sense more information, about more things, in more ways, at a lower cost than in the past.
This will enable new ecosystems, new business models based on knowing the location or behaviour of objects, smarter products with new behaviours and a lower cost of tracking and monitoring. Tiny ambient IoT will expand opportunities for a wide range of businesses, but potential social and regulatory issues must be assessed before adoption, according to Gartner.
Secure Computation
The importance of secure computation is growing as the world becomes more interconnected and as ecosystems have access to more private data. Secure computation makes it possible to use data while maintaining privacy.
While many of the principles of secure computation are already established, implementation is challenging for reasons of cost, skills, performance and availability. To overcome these, emerging technologies like optical accelerators will be important to enable deployment, Gartner said.
Digital Humans
Digital humans are interactive, artificial intelligence-driven representations that imitate some characteristics, personality, knowledge and mindset of a human. They can range from physical (humanoid robots) and virtual (virtual pop stars) to human-driven (mimicking aspects of a human) and AI-driven where they do not need to be human-like in all aspects (digital twin or chatbot).
According to Gartner, despite their potential, digital humans pose challenges such as unethical applications, inappropriate behaviour, creation of bias and stereotypes, lack of regulation, risk of social backlash and varying cultural attitudes. Potential social and regulatory issues must be assessed before their adoption.
Adaptive Autonomic Drones And Robots
Autonomic systems are self-governing hardware or software that display autonomy, learning and agency while carrying out tasks. If technologies such as robots are to be scaled to realise their full potential, systems that learn and adapt on their own will be crucial.
However, there are a number of challenges, because it may not be clear what a robot or AI system has learnt or what it is capable of. Gartner recommends piloting them in complex and rapidly changing environments, where early adoption will deliver agility and performance benefits. Enterprises must also manage risk by analysing the business, legal and ethical consequences of this technology.
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