ICT Trends

Class room will learn you

Classrooms will soon learn about each student by using longitudinal data such as test scores, attendance and student's behavior on e-learning platforms. Sophisticated analytics delivered over the cloud will provide decision support to teachers so they can predict which students are struggling, identify their roadblocks and then suggest measures customized for a student's unique learning style. The same technology could change enterprise learning as well

(Retail): Buying local will beat online.

Today, most physical stores rely heavily—and sometimes solely—on point-of-sale systems to provide insights. As a result, they're at a disadvantage when competing against more nimble online retailers, and many fall victim to showrooming. But new innovations will make buying local appealing again, IBM predicts. Advanced analytics, improved browsing, augmented reality, virtual closets and robust social networks will tilt the equation back to brick-and-mortar stores. Retailers will anticipate with incredible accuracy the products a shopper most wants and needs. Stores will transform into immersive and highly customized environments.
(Health Care): Doctors will routinely use your DNA to keep you well.
More sophisticated big data analytics and cloud-based cognitive systems will digest far more complete genome data so that doctors can accurately diagnose cancer and create personalized treatment plans. In addition, smart machines will use full genome sequencing and scour vast repositories of medical records and publications to identify specific insights on treatment options. These systems will continue to learn over time, opening up the possibility of providing DNA-specific personalized treatment options for stroke, heart disease and other conditions.
(Security): A digital guardian will protect you online.
Today, multiple user IDs and passwords are the norm. In fact, the highly fragmented nature of authentication leaves everyone vulnerable. More than 12 million cases of identity fraud were reported in the United States in 2012. IBM predicts that future security will assimilate contextual, situational and historical data to verify a person's identity on different devices. By learning about users, a digital guardian could make inferences about what's normal or reasonable activity and what's not.
(Cities): A city will help you live in it.
Smarter cities will understand in real time how billions of events occur. Computers will identify what people need, what they like, what they do and how they move from place to place. In addition, next-generation mobile devices and social engagement—including more sophisticated crowdsourcing—will enable citizens to forge entirely different relationships with their city leaders

Proliferation of Languages on JVM

One of the most significant trends in the Java space is the proliferation of languages built on top of the JVM. There's a perception in some quarters that the Java language is gradually degrading and newer languages like Groovy, Scala and Clojure are the wave of the future. But the truth is that Java is still deeply entrenched in the hearts, minds and budgets of IT departments

The shift from personal devices to personal clouds accelerates.
Cloud computing is changing the face of the enterprise in profound ways. One of the most significant but overlooked areas involves personal clouds. Employees are turning to applications such as Salesforce, DropBox and Evernote in droves—in some cases leading organizations down the path of shadow IT. Personal clouds are also ushering in a more mobile-centric approach that allows users to rely on a spate of devices, including smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers.
Gartner predicts that in 2014 the personal cloud will replace the PC at the center of users' digital lives. "Personal clouds offer a much more flexible and productive way to manage applications and data,"

Web-scale IT

Companies like Facebook, Walmart and Amazon have contributed tremendously to innovative database systems and cloud services. From “eco-friendly” data centers to custom server hardware to distributed computing methods, the world’s largest companies are setting new standards for IT architecture. Gartner Research VP Cameron Haight explains that, "it's not the cloud per se that will save enterprise IT, but thinking and acting like the major cloud providers across all the key dimensions of IT that will." Now that such technology is available at a lower barrier to entry, expect to see mid-sized enterprises emulating data center architecture used by the world’s largest corporations.

Biometrics. Motion sensors. Facial recognition. Eyeball tracking. These are all potential new methods for human interaction with computing systems. Apple’s introduction of the fingerprint sensor is a major step forward for the consumerization of biometrics. And with the release of smartwatches such as the Samsung Galaxy Gear, developers and users will require a new approach to UI for such limited screen space. Expect to see a wave of new interfaces to expand beyond touch.

While Google Glass and FitBit are widely recognized by the public, it seems wearables may gain an initial foothold in the enterprise. Specifically in the area of industrial processing and high-tech mechanical engineering, wearable technology can create a smarter and safer factory floor. Toshiba engineers already use augmented reality apps for repairing machines. With the public sale of Google Glass in 2014, expect businesses to get creative on how they can use wearables to maximize productivity in the workplace.

Mobile DIversity and Management

Through 2018, the growing variety of devices, computing styles, user contexts and interaction paradigms will make "everything everywhere" strategies unachievable. The unexpected consequence of bring your own device (BYOD) programs is a doubling or even tripling of the size of the mobile workforce. This is placing tremendous strain on IT and finance organizations. Enterprise policies on employee-owned hardware usage need to be thoroughly reviewed and, where necessary, updated and extended. Most companies only have policies for employees accessing their networks through devices that the enterprise owns and manages. Set policies to define clear expectations around what they can and can't do. Balance flexibility with confidentiality and privacy requirements

Mobile Apps and Applications

Gartner predicts that through 2014, improved JavaScript performance will begin to push HTML5 and the browser as a mainstream enterprise application development environment. Gartner recommends that developers focus on creating expanded user interface models including richer voice and video that can connect people in new and different ways. Apps will continue to grow while applications will begin to shrink. Apps are smaller, and more targeted, while a larger application is more comprehensive. Developers should look for ways to snap together apps to create larger applications.

Building application user interfaces that span a variety of devices require an understanding of fragmented building blocks and an adaptable programming structure that assembles them into optimized content for each device. The market for tools to create consumer and enterprise facing apps is complex with well over 100 potential tools vendors. For the next few years no single tool will be optimal for all types of mobile application so expect to employ several. The next evolution in user experience will be to leverage intent, inferred from emotion and actions, to motivate changes in end-user behavior.

Internet of Everyting

The Internet is expanding beyond PCs and mobile devices into enterprise assets such as field equipment, and consumer items such as cars and televisions. The problem is that most enterprises and technology vendors have yet to explore the possibilities of an expanded Internet and are not operationally or organizationally ready.

Imagine digitizing the most important products, services and assets. The combination of data streams and services created by digitizing everything creates four basic usage models – manage; monetize; operate; extend. These four basic models can be applied to any of the four "Internets” (people, things, information and places).  Enterprises should not limit themselves to thinking that only the Internet of Things (i.e., assets and machines) has the potential to leverage these four models. Enterprises from all industries (heavy, mixed, and weightless) can leverage these four models.

Hybrid Cloud and IT as Service Broker

Bringing together personal clouds and external private cloud services is an imperative. Enterprises should design private cloud services with a hybrid future in mind and make sure future integration/interoperability is possible. Hybrid cloud services can be composed in many ways, varying from relatively static to very dynamic. Managing this composition will often be the responsibility of something filling the role of cloud service broker (CSB), which handles aggregation, integration and customization of services. Enterprises that are expanding into hybrid cloud computing from private cloud services are taking on the CSB role.

Terms like "overdrafting" and "cloudbursting" are often used to describe what hybrid cloud computing will make possible. However, the vast majority of hybrid cloud services will initially be much less dynamic than that. Early hybrid cloud services will likely be more static, engineered compositions (such as integration between an internal private cloud and a public cloud service for certain functionality or data). More deployment compositions will emerge as CSBs evolve (for example, private infrastructure as a service [IaaS] offerings that can leverage external service providers based on policy and utilization).