Enterprises across sectors made remarkable progress in their digital transformation journey during 2022. Two major driving forces were the commercial roll-out of 5G in India and an astronomical increase in the volume of data generated, providing momentum to the adoption of next-generation technologies and their use cases. Given the volatile geopolitical and economic environment, intense business competition and rising customer expectations, it has become imperative for enterprises to deploy cutting-edge digital solutions to stay ahead of the curve and ensure business growth and productivity.
tele.net takes stock of the key technology trends that dominated the enterprise space across sectors during 2022…
AI/ML
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) continued to be the most transformative technologies during the year. The two technologies are collaboratively enabling intelligent digital processes and driving machines to assist humans. For instance, in the healthcare sector, AI is helping create a personalised environment for both patients and healthcare service providers. It is transforming the approach to diagnosis and paving the way for faster and more precise methods of conducting surgeries.
The technology has made inroads into the logistics sector as well, playing a significant role in streamlining enterprise operations. By using cognitive automation, enterprises can save time, reduce costs and increase productivity. When managing warehousing operations, AI-based solutions can help collect and analyse crucial information regarding the functioning of key devices and machines, and help with inventory processing. Moreover, AI-based self-driving vehicles can reduce the opex involved in transportation, thus bringing down the overall logistics expenses. Companies can also accurately predict demand and accordingly do capacity planning, thus ensuring better operational management.
Further, in the edtech segment, AI tools and devices are enabling global classrooms, which are accessible to all students regardless of their language or disabilities. Meanwhile, ML is facilitating companies to constantly evolve their offerings in response to the new and emerging needs of students. For instance, ML-powered predictive analysis is helping edtech platforms offer more accurate results to their students. Knowing a student’s future results would enable teachers and authorities to frame proactive strategies for the betterment of the student.
In the media and entertainment industry, AI and ML use cases include high dimension animation, out-of-home advertising, radio and VFX. Entertainment platforms utilise AI-driven solutions in intelligent data streaming for rapid delivery of content. These technologies are notably transforming the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) space. AI-powered technology such as optical character recognition enables auto-filling of user details during customer onboarding, while ML algorithms facilitate data processing at a faster rate, thus supporting compliance management, profiling credit risk and detection of fraud. Together, AI and ML save time by crunching enormous volumes of data, personalising client experience and accelerating revenue growth.
As for the manufacturing sector, AI enables process plants to integrate and analyse data and produce insights and predictions that help drive informed decision-making, while ML crunches huge data sets to spot patterns and trends. It then uses the results to build models to forecast future trends in demand and supply, estimate the most optimal intervals for maintenance scheduling, and indicate early signs of anomalies.
IoT
Internet of things (IoT) has emerged as an acclaimed technology in the business world, fuelled by the launch of 5G networks. IoT devices are being deployed in the transportation sector for a variety of applications to provide secure and efficient transport, notably in ticketing, security, surveillance and telematics systems.
In the healthcare space, the internet of medical things (IoMT) is enhancing operational and clinical efficiencies and revolutionising the delivery of healthcare services in India. With the help of IoMT, professionals are able to track the progression and treatment of diseases, monitor patient health and alter their medication accordingly. It also enables professionals to track patients’ medicine usage and ensure adherence to treatment plans. It provides them real-time information on disease symptoms.
Further, enterprises across the logistics sector are increasingly deploying solutions such as radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, GPS and specialised sensors to carry out real-time tracking of shipments and consignments. These solutions are enabling them to detect any potential breach in the service-level agreement or turnaround time early on, and take actions accordingly. It is also enabling logistics players to fast-track their shipments. In the manufacturing sector, the technology is enabling players to connect with and monitor various components of their operations. IoT can be used to create networked devices and machines, which can generate valuable manufacturing data. The data and insights will allow manufacturers to alter, optimise, or improve every facet of the manufacturing process.
With the help of IoT, retailers are able to modernise operations and supply chain management, and improve in-store marketing efforts. IoT devices are facilitating in-store navigation by helping customers find the desired product. These devices are also being used for predictive equipment maintenance and contactless checkout/self-checkout mechanisms. For instance, Zara uses RFID across its stores for item-level tracking and replenishment, which has dramatically reduced the cost of stocktaking and reporting.
The government, too, is increasingly deploying IoT-based applications across smart cities. This involves large-scale deployment of IoT sensors across the city to provide real-time data about city events. In addition, an IoT-based centralised monitoring system helps the authorities analyse the vast amount of data being generated across servers and connected devices. By gathering insights from this data, the government authorities are able to enhance their decision-making process and improve governance.
Cloud
Cloud adoption or migration by enterprises witnessed a substantial uptake during 2022, owing to the significant cost reduction, risk mitigation and scalability it offers. Cloud is the core technology in the digital transformation process of the BFSI sector as it provides an infrastructure fabric for other technologies such as AI, blockchain and automation. Applications such as risk profiling systems, non-performing asset monitoring and early warning systems using predictive analytics can be built on cloud-based infrastructure. It also helps enhance security with frequently updated software.
In the media and entertainment industry, the pay-as-you-go cloud storage model is enabling content producers to scale up their storage and eliminate unnecessary expenses. Cloud provides the flexibility to devise new business and revenue models that can help media players cater to fragmented audiences. It also helps media organisations reduce the number of roll-out cycles, thereby minimising the time-to-market new productions and content catalogues, thus helping them swiftly and efficiently expand their existing content library.
Data silos are a major challenge for both public and private enterprises in the transportation sector. Various departments, including revenue management, customer service, ticketing, and route planning, collect huge volumes of data, which is not always accessible to other departments. Using cloud technology for the storage of this data helps in breaking down silos and facilitates information sharing across departments. This can further enable informed decision-making in organisations. Building digital twins of towns and cities is also made possible at a competitive price by advanced cloud computing.
With regard to the IT/ITeS sector, the cloud call centre provides a system that is network based and requires no on-premises hardware. With the help of the cloud-based system, the outsourced companies are scaling up business operations and expanding their global reach. This is also helping them control the cost, and provide reliable services and improved customer experience.
AR/VR
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are being actively introduced in enterprise operations and customer offerings. Organisations in the travel and hospitality industry are using VR tours to showcase their hotel property, restaurants and other attractions to customers through interactive elements. Some hotels are also using AR in conjunction with wall maps placed in hotel rooms. Users can view additional information about hotel services and local benefits with the help of a smartphone camera.
AR has various use cases within the manufacturing sector. It helps identify unsafe working conditions or envision a finished product. Manufacturers can monitor the activities in the factory, the location of workers, and any breakdowns in machinery. Further, in the retail space, AR/ VR enables customers to browse products and even try them virtually. AR/VR-enabled devices help in creating an immersive interface that provides lifelike experience of products and helps customers make more informed choices. For instance, Ikea created the Ikea Place app, which allows shoppers to access items from Ikea’s inventory via a live view function on their smartphones. Retailers can also use AR/ VR for creating a digitally themed environment inside stores.
In the edtech domain, AR/VR allows students to view enhanced versions of images and objects on their mobile devices. For instance, Thrissur-based Infusory has developed an AR tool, TutAR, which enables teaching through simple AR visualisations. Also, the focus of companies is shifting towards integrating VR, AR and extended reality in daily learning. Apart from ensuring interactive learning, these technologies help build virtual laboratories for science and technology students, allowing edtech companies to offer more practical subjects online.
AR and VR have also made way in the health sector as they can significantly enhance the delivery quality of tele-health.
Big data analytics
The total volume of data generated, captured, processed and consumed globally is rising at an unprecedented pace. Big data analytics helps enterprises harness this data to derive meaningful insights and make data-driven decisions. For example, players in the retail sector are leveraging big data analytics for optimising and personalising marketing and promotional campaigns. It enables them to better understand consumers to improve branding and product management, besides helping in the reduction of supply chain costs by making the whole process more agile. On the business side, the technology is being used to formulate models for determining optimal product prices.
In addition, the technology enables organisations in the BFSI sector to deliver personalised recommendations to users, strengthen security, open up revenue opportunities by analysing spending patterns and social media activities of customers, and boost competitive advantage.
Big data analytics has made inroads into the travel and hospitality sector, which generates enormous amounts of data through cookies and other third-party technologies. This data can be used by hotels, airlines, travel management companies, online travel agents and metasearch engines to reveal patterns and trends. One of the biggest applications of big data analytics is personalisation for users, with enterprises utilising it to make specific adjustments to their offerings based on past customer preferences. The technology also helps them optimise pricing, and target marketing and promotional strategies with greater precision. Meanwhile, in the transportation domain, traffic data is key to solving urban mobility problems by helping identify bottlenecks and congestion hotspots as well as assist urban planners in building sustainable transport systems.
In addition, the technology is enabling BPO players in the IT/ITeS space to make informed decisions and provide strategic insights to their clients. Besides, big data analytics has enabled BPO service providers to design personalised programs by mapping individual preferences and needs, as customer behaviour can be tracked using various software tools.
Big data analytics is also being used by leading power utilities and is aligned with technologies such as AI/ML, cybersecurity, advanced metering infrastructure and advanced distribution management systems. Of late, discoms in India have started gathering huge sets of data and this data can be used for customer segmentation, metering data analytics, hourly energy accounting, better load forecasting, system planning optimal power procurement, predictive maintenance of critical assets (reducing the total cost of ownership of assets), consumer data insights (peer-to-peer comparison, consumption optimisation in the time-of-day billing regime) through better web self-service portals or a mobile app.
Blockchain
Blockchain is already an integral and vital technology among enterprises, on the back of which other new and innovative solutions are being introduced. In the healthcare ecosystem itself, the technology has the potential to drive a massive breakthrough by revamping the healthcare management of patients. All roadblocks that are encountered in multiple-level authentication can be eliminated through blockchain. This would enable smooth sharing of data among providers of healthcare solutions. This, in turn, would improve accuracy in diagnosis, resulting in effective treatment. Further, blockchain is one of the most notable disruptors in the BFSI industry. The technology enables enterprises to streamline operations and infrastructure while cutting fraud, creating transparency, speeding up core processes and enhancing security. A notable application of it is in cross-border settlements as it can create a highly cost efficient and transparent global network. Other use cases include automation of claims, streamlining of know-your-customer procedures, seamless peer-to-peer payments, asset management, tokenisation of securities and easy payments.
Within the media and entertainment sector, blockchain is still at a nascent stage, although it has the potential to disrupt the way content is produced, aggregated, distributed and consumed. Blockchain-powered micropayment systems have enabled pay-per-use consumption, as they can keep a comprehensive record of data. This allows more accurate tracking of consumption of copyrighted content. Blockchain’s decentralised structure enables content creators to directly distribute their work to consumers, helping them bypass traditional distribution channels. The use of blockchain would allow each transaction in the value chain to be recorded and updated instantly, thereby reducing the scope for piracy.
Governments are rapidly deploying this technology in an effort to make their systems more efficient, agile and secure. As per industry experts, the technology has immense use in the power sector. As the sector is shifting to a bidirectional grid, blockchain technology can provide a secure, transparent and robust network with a tamper-proof data register accessible to every player in the network. Blockchain technology can assist multiple applications at the generation, transmission, distribution and consumption stages in the power system to resolve the existing challenges. The renewable energy sector, too, can leverage the technology for various benefits. The wholesale energy market has many incongruities. When transactions occur between two parties in the market, several arbitrators are involved to come to the final settlement. The deal between the parties has to go through a verification process in which the third party has to be involved. Unless and until the final settlement is reached, the process gets entangled in the verification circle. Blockchain helps expedite the transaction between the two parties and reach the final settlement. The imbalance in the settlements is alleviated by blockchain.
Outlook for 2023
New-age technologies are increasingly being embraced by enterprises of all sizes. Going forward, these technologies will play a critical role in enabling and securing revenue streams and unlocking business opportunities. The majority of companies have already embarked on their digital transformation journey, and they will continue to strengthen their position with further advancements and innovative use cases. Investments will also grow in distributed architectures and edge technologies.
The year 2023 will mark the beginning of an era of private 5G networks, which offer complete control over data, security and networks. In addition, cybersecurity defences will become more layered and integrated to protect from a parallel rise in threat complexity and security risk. Other roadblocks that continue to plague the adoption of digital solutions, including the looming IT skill gap, legacy systems and the lack of a firm digital roadmap, will need to be addressed to optimally leverage these solutions. Ultimately, the success or survival of enterprises in the ever-changing environment will be determined by the adoption of these technologies.
