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?
It has been a very happening year on the technological front for enterprises. Some big-ticket economic reforms undertaken by the government over the past year accelerated the market, particularly in the technology space, but threw up some pressing challenges as well. In my view, analytics, IoT, cloud-based services, mobility and data connectivity were the main discussion points in the technology domain.
What is the level of adoption of new technologies such as cloud, big data analytics and IoT among Indian enterprises?
Vishad Rahangdale
Technology adoption at the end-user level has gained substantial momentum during the past year. The pace was much higher than anticipated. However, all business domains cannot be analysed by putting them in the same basket. The adoption of such technologies in the retail sector was much faster than in manufacturing, although the core sectors also saw the value proposition, particularly in analytics and IoT. It will be interesting to see how the coming year pans out in terms of the adoption of newer technologies.
“Analytics, IoT, cloud, data security and data connectivity are likely to dominate the industry.”
Vishad Rahangdale
What are the key challenges faced while adopting and managing new technologies?
The challenges pertaining to the adoption and management of new technologies are manyfold. These include last-mile connectivity, user experience and tangible conversion of the investment into revenue growth. Apart from these difficulties, the need for a reliable technology partner and their own sustenance, proven technology deployment test cases and data security are a few challenges that need to be analysed before the mass adoption of newer technologies.
Which technology trends are likely to dominate the enterprise space in 2018?
Looking at the headwinds, analytics, IoT, cloud, data security and data connectivity are likely to dominate the industry. A lot more churning in the technology adoption space is expected to take place in the coming year. Moreover, enterprises will see a major revolution in digital transformation endeavours.
