About the author Sanjiv Gossain is responsible for digital business in Europe at Cognizant. Today's digital age offers unprecedented technological innovations where artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) combine to make devices and businesses intelligent, responsive, and increasingly connected. This paves the way for organizations to turn insights into forecasts and leaders to make more informed, accurate, and timely decisions. Transformational technologies such as 5G networks, interconnected IoT devices, ad hoc and decentralized networks, and collaborative autonomous systems open up new means of communication with significant data exchanges. Therefore, it is crucial for companies to secure their systems more than ever, not only to protect themselves from threats, but also to remain competitive and comply with regulatory changes. However, five converging forces are guiding the evolution and construction of a new technological future and can help companies stay one step ahead.
1. The desire to create intelligent systems powered by AI.
From 5G to robotics, through application and vehicle development, the world as we know it is becoming largely autonomous and interconnected. This enables companies to streamline business processes, transform the customer experience, reduce costs, and drive remarkable growth and profitability. Aggressive efforts by companies to modernize IT systems, applications, and processes to make them scalable and agile also contributed to this increase. These advances in automation will undoubtedly push AI to new heights. For example, human-robot collaboration should transform the workforce by eliminating key tasks and allowing humans to spend more time on personal development and acquiring new skills.
2. The genesis of interconnected systems.
The IoT is driving significant business changes across all industries. Many sensors are deployed every day, generating huge volumes of data that will help organizations make better decisions. Some examples include better predictive maintenance software, supply chain optimization, fraud detection, remote monitoring of insured assets, remote patient monitoring, and driverless cars. Interconnected systems whose computing power is located at the edge of the network increase the power of intelligence systems. Data collected can be instantly analyzed for real-time insights, enabling people, devices, and organizations to work smarter and react faster. This helps business systems become collaborative, cooperative, and connected, with interconnected tools enabling the next evolution of device-independent, working collaboratively, sharing workloads, and managing complex computations. .
3. Need for more efficient man-machine interfaces.
In all scenarios where the digital meets the physical world, human-machine interaction is essential. More immersive experiences will lead to better acceptance of products, services, and interactions with intelligent machines. This is why organizations that provide immersive, personalized, AI-powered user experiences will gain a competitive advantage. Rapid advances have already been made with Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR), such as AR applications, virtual reality headsets with immersive experiences, and applications based on Microsoft Hololens. Mix real and virtual worlds. These technologies are applied to real-life use cases, such as virtual car or home showrooms. Going a little further, holography could help doctors prepare for surgery by recreating human anatomy in 3D. However, a critical hurdle to overcome is ensuring that the representation of simulated environments in the field can compensate for the errors and incomplete data streams that often occur in real-world scenarios.
4. The demand for advanced communication technologies.
Advanced communication technologies will form the foundation of the essential infrastructure needed for a digital and intelligent future. This fuels the growth of technologies such as 5G and Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) technology. These new technologies can transfer large volumes of data at extremely high speeds, revolutionizing the future of intelligent interconnected systems. Soon, IoT-enabled devices will touch every aspect of our physical lives, requiring the transfer of huge amounts of data at very high speeds to create truly connected ecosystems. Although Wi-Fi accounts for 60% of global data transfer today, it must overcome the lack of persistent network connections and security concerns.
5. The push to apply emerging technologies.
In the fields of computing, sensing, imaging, and metrology, quantum technologies help us transcend conventional boundaries by opening up new technological possibilities across industries. Quantum's impact on communications security is already visible. Emerging technologies such as quantum key distribution and post-quantum cryptography are revolutionizing the IT security landscape, forcing business leaders and technology leaders to evolve and rethink their security strategies. . Quantum sensing and imaging technologies help us visualize and measure physical dimensions in unprecedented detail, promising to revolutionize industries like oil and gas, astronomy, optics, and more. Traditionally, companies have been built around three main objectives: increase productivity and efficiency, provide better experiences for users (customers, partners and employees) and stay relevant in the market. To help achieve these goals, business leaders must know when to evaluate and adopt emerging technologies. The necessary investments generate optimal returns and a competitive advantage. That's why organizations need to start by recognizing that technologies aren't evolving at the same pace and developing a roadmap for each. They then need to assess the actual impact of these technologies on the business as a whole, prior to activating the programs to ensure that current and future business needs are not only met, but exceeded by these evolving technologies. And fully ripe. Sanjiv Gossain has been with Cognizant for more than 13 years. He is the Senior Vice President of Cognizant's Digital Business Services Unit in Europe.