Top 10 ICT Trends for 2017

David Chin
BICSI Southeast Asia
Gartners Top 10 IT Trends for 2017
1. AI & Advanced 6. Blockchain
Machine Learning 7. Conversational Systems
2. Intelligent Apps 8. Mesh App and Service
3. Intelligent Things Architecture
4. Virtual & 9. Digital Technology
Augmented Reality Platforms
5. Digital Twin 10. Adaptive Security
Architecture
 # 1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and
machine learning
AI and machine learning will enhance every technology-enabled
service, thing or application.
The next progression will be systems that are able to learn from
feedback and act autonomously.
Actionable Advice
Data centre providers will host more machine learning
applications that require hyperscale processing capabilities
Learn from weather patterns, financial fraud, network security,
market trends, buying behaviour, big data from or about people.
Machine learning can beat humans in complex games (Googles
Deepmind beat world Go champion in Korea and will take on
Starcraft 2, a real-time strategy game).
Source: Gartner (BICSI Presenters Opinion in Italics)
 After Go, Starcraft is next

Google's AlphaGo AI beats

Lee Se-dol

March 2016
 # 2. Intelligent Apps
AI and machine learning will become part of intelligent apps like Siri and
Google Now. They will learn individual preferences and behaviour and start
to automate actions and prioritise information that is important to you.
By 2018, the top 200 global companies will exploit intelligent apps to
analyse big data to enhance business and customer experience through
automation.

Actionable Advice
This represents an opportunity for data centre providers as the hype of big
data and advanced analytics becomes reality.
As real-time customer service chat apps are not scalable, intelligent apps
will provide a scalable virtual service response via online chats that can
mimic a person to solve a problem or collect enough relevant information to
speed up human resolution.

Source: Gartner (BICSI Presenters Opinion in Italics)

Assistant, Siri, Cortana, Alexa
 # 3. Intelligent Things
Drones and self-driving vehicles will lead the cutting edge here
and the embedded AI technologies and sensors will start to
filter down into connected homes, smart offices and hospitals.
From drones and cars to the lights at home, devices will start to
collaborate with other intelligent things and work together to
exchange information to get tasks done more efficiently.
Privacy and liability issues will hamper adoption.

Actionable Advice
Embrace intelligent things to enhance efficiency in areas like
patrolling physical areas, providing transport in closed road
systems and the transfer of documents and materials.

Source: Gartner (BICSI Presenters Opinion in Italics)

 Beyond Drones

Silicon Valley company, Knightscope looks

to replace physical security guards
Delivering food for 1000 patients at a
hospital in the UK
 # 4. Virtual & Augmented Reality
VR and AR will change the way people interact with each as well
as tasks in every aspect of work, life, learning and play.
From immersive remote learning to playing with a real opponent
who is thousands of miles away, Gartner recommends that
enterprises look at specific VR and AR applications through 2020.
Actionable Advice
For the data centre and infrastructure market, look at AR
technologies to overlay visual information on hidden data and
power cabling infrastructure to enhance moves, adds and
changes.
Mixed reality of MR will be the next big thing and this
will enable the next trend: Digital twin.
Source: Gartner (BICSI Presenters Opinion in Italics)
 AR and VR

Adapted graphic of visualization of

IBMs pilot project in using AR for
data centers Mixed Reality
(MR) from
Zappars $30
ZapBox.
Pokmon GO
 # 5. Digital Twin
Gartner expects that in 3-5 years, billions of things will be
represented by a digital twina dynamic software model of
the real thing.
By programming in the physical characteristics into the digital
twin, real-time hypothetical modelling can be done to see how
the physical model would respond to specific changes.
Actionable Advice
Start to develop digital representations of data centre and
building facilities with input from experienced data centre and
IT professionals.
Work with DCIM monitoring and control solutions that can map
onto the digital twin for analysis, simulation, planning and
control.
Source: Gartner (BICSI Presenters Opinion in Italics)
 Real-time Digital Twin

Digital twin concept from Siemens Digital Twin

Summit in 2016
Siemens Digital Twin virtualization of a
manufacturing plant
 # 6. Blockchain
Distributed system that groups transactions into sequential
blocks; proven on a large-scale with bitcoin.
Key benefit is no single point of failure; potential to transform
operations for music distribution, identity verification, etc.
Actionable Advice
A Deutche Bank 2016 survey found that 78% believe that
blockchain will be widespread in 5-6 years.
Potential to reduce cost by 20% due to higher efficiency and
lower risk of market disruption.
Countries like Singapore and Korea are developing blockchain
for interbank transactions and high potential for big data
record keeping including medical records.

Source: Gartner (BICSI Presenters Opinion in Italics)

 Blockchain beyond cryptocurrency

cryptoscene.com

More than 50 startup companies

exploring non-financial uses of
blockchain.
 # 7. Conversational Systems
Conversations like simple information retrieval (e.g. Siri) will get
more complex (e.g. draw out information to complete a task).
Computers starting to adapt to users through multiple input
mechanisms (voice, text, video, sound, touch, etc.) rather than
users adapting to computers.
Actionable Advice
Computers will soon be able to have a meaningful dialogue
with a human, including reading facial expressions, tone of
voice and other non-verbal cues.
This will change customer relationship management models by
enabling mass conversations to take place remotely and
physically.
Source: Gartner (BICSI Presenters Opinion in Italics)
 Conversations with Viv
May 2016
Person: Get me a pizza from Pizza Chicago near
my office

Viv: Would you like toppings with that?

Person: Pepperoni, half cheese, Caesar salad

Pizza arrives later

Demonstrates real world transaction done with a

conversational system without any phone calls, no
online searching, no typing, no specific app download.
# 8. Mesh App and Service Architecture (MASA)
Dynamic networks of people, services and connected objects in a digital
ecosystem.
Architecture will require significant changes to infrastructure and
technology that is able to connect everything to everything.

Actionable Advice
Reference a real MASA @ Bristol Is Open, a live R&D project with
underground fibre, a mesh bouncing from lamppost to lamppost across the
city, all controlled by a Software Defined Network (SDN).
Data centres can adopt device meshes to monitor and manage, cooling,
security, etc.
MASA also growing in the connected home to enable security, comfort and
energy savings.

Source: Gartner (BICSI Presenters Opinion in Italics)

Mesh R&D City

Fibre in the ground; a mesh

bouncing from lamppost to
lamppost across the City; and a
mile of experimental wireless
connectivity along Harbourside
 # 9. Digital Technology Platforms
5 building blocks in digital technology platforms: Information
systems, customer experience, analytics and intelligence, the IoT
and business ecosystems.
New platforms and services for IoT, AI and conversational systems
will be a key focus through 2020.
Actionable Advice
Re-invent the enterprise based on cloud-based digital platforms
including Google Cloud, MS Azure, Amazon Web Services,
Salesforce.com.
Develop a platform strategy by identifying the right combination
of digital platform partners that can create an ecosystem that
meets your business needs.

Source: Gartner (BICSI Presenters Opinion in Italics)

Clear Clouds
 # 10. Adaptive Security Architecture
Security needs to become more adaptive to suit the dynamic
Mesh App and Service Architecture.
Security must designed in from the start to include a layered
defence approach with behavioural and predictive analytics
that can pre-empt security issues.
Actionable Advice
Manage risk by integrating machine learning to multilayer
security so that security breaches are not only contained but
serve to make the system even more secure.
Explore cognitive computing solutions.

Source: Gartner (BICSI Presenters Opinion in Italics)

 Cognitive Computing Security

May 2016: IBM Watson will

learn from security research
findings to discover patterns
and evidence of hidden cyber
attacks and threats that could
otherwise be missed.
Gartner Hype Cycle: Emerging Technologies 2016
 Gartners Top 10 IT Trends for 2016
2015 2016 2017
1. Computing Everywhere 1. The Device Mesh 1. AI & Advanced Machine
2. The Internet of Things 2. Ambient User Experience Learning
3. 3D Printing 3. 3D Printing Materials 2. Intelligent Apps
4. Advanced, Pervasive, 4. Info of Everything 3. Intelligent Things
Invisible Analytics 5. Advanced Machine 4. Virtual &
5. Context-Rich Systems Learning Augmented Reality
6. Smart Machines 6. Autonomous Things 5. Digital Twin
7. Cloud/Client 7. Adaptive Security 6. Blockchain
Computing Architecture 7. Conversational Systems
8. SD Apps and Infra 8. Adv Cust Architecture 8. Mesh App and Service
9. Web-Scale IT (AGF) 9. Mesh Apps, Service Architecture
10. Risk-based Security & Architecture 9. Digital Technology Platforms
Self-protection 10. IoT Architecture + 10. Adaptive Security
Platforms Architecture
Artificial intelligence will be the next big thing. Siri, Google, Alexa, Cortana
are creating intelligent learning, devices, apps, home automation, gamers,
etc. Cloud and IoT are now transparent and integrated.
Thank you

David Chin
BICSI Southeast Asia
dchin@bicsi.org