Enterprises enhanced their investments in telecom and IT infrastructure in a bid to further their digital transformation journey. The adoption of next-generation technologies including the cloud, internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and big data gained traction with organisations increasingly relying on them to drive cost and operational efficiencies. There was also a growing interest in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), robotics, blockchain and 3D printing. However, as enterprises transition to new technologies, security is emerging as a major concern. The IT heads of leading enterprises discuss the key challenges and their technology roadmap for 2018…
What were the key technology trends witnessed in the enterprise space during 2017?
If we examine trends across industries, 2017 was clearly a year that brought security technology to the fore while IT remained in the core. Organisations started adopting technology as a part of their digital transformation journey. The typical technology trends circled around cloud adoption in all components of the value chain of a business. Cloud technology was adopted in all aspects of the media business – content acquisition, content production and content dissemination – thereby addressing the entire gamut of the value chain of a media organisation. Multiple incidents of cyberattacks impacting businesses shifted the focus considerably to IT security solutions, both from perimeter and end-point security perspectives. User awareness on the risks of data breaches and thefts were emphasised and the advent of cross-function focus on IT was observed. The use of AI and machine learning saw significant activity.
What is the level of adoption of new technologies such as cloud, big data analytics and IoT among Indian enterprises?
With the emergence of SaaS, IaaS, platform-as-a-service (PaaS), the cloud has taken the role of fundamental infrastructure for businesses. So, cloud adoption is no longer a technology trend to be counted as it is now a hygiene factor. Big data analysis is a tech practice that drives an organisation’s behaviour and culture. Globally as well as in India, this is much in the infancy stage and a lot needs to be achieved on this front. Data is the new oil as it is said and hence, the focus on generating data, synthesising data and analysing data would be the driving factors of technology adoption. This practice has given rise to a new breed of professionals who are data dealers and are termed as data engineers, data scientists and data analysts, thereby creating a domain of smart technology core to a business. A lot of activity is expected across industries in this aspect of data management.
What are the key challenges faced while adopting and managing new technologies?
In a fast changing environment with cutthroat competition, technologists remain challenged in being flexible, dynamic and innovative in their approach to solution development. As technology keeps evolving, the solutions need to be designed and architected such that they are not limited to one technology generation. Solution design becomes more arduous if it is to be operated by a large human interface. It is quite relevant for the media industry, typically news broadcast and media houses, wherein content generation is done by using technology platforms and big teams of journalists and creative professionals operate the same. Further, technology is normally cost intensive and technology managers are expected to devise solutions to optimise costs. Data is the new asset of businesses and is designed to be accessed and consumed in digital form. This gives rise to the big challenge of security, not only for the technology function but for the entire organisation. In addition, capable manpower and the regulatory environment add to the list of challenges in the identification and adoption of new technologies.
Which technology trends are likely to dominate the enterprise space in 2018?
Two areas of technology developments would be in focus for businesses in India and globally over the next year. The first and foremost are cyber solutions that would be enhanced to include AI and machine learning, thereby making them strategically more capable to counter cyberattacks. Going by the security incidents in the past, the causes have been more linked to practice breaches than hacks and attacks. The second trend on the technology landscape is data analysis and big data management. Organisations are getting focused on developing a data-driven culture, and managing the data has transformed briskly from being an aspiration to a core objective. Interestingly, the two technology trends mentioned above remain correlated with each other and have the roles of both complementing and supplementing each other.
