The top 10 tech to disrupt the IT landscape

"Post-digitisation intelligence" is paving the way in IT evolution, according to Frost & Sullivan, resulting in new disruptive tech that is set to hit the IT landscape.

According to the independent research firm, these disruptive technologies are already beginning to creep into various applications and markets around the world.

Within this group of emerging disruptive technologies, there are 10 that stand out, which are expected to disrupt existing markets as well as unearth new opportunities for the channel.

In its Top Information and Communication Technologies 2017 analysis, Frost & Sullivan said the following are technologies to look out for:

1.     Artificial intelligence (AI)
2.     Blockchain
3.     5G
4.     Cybersecurity
5.     Mixed reality
6.     Natural language interaction
7.     Small data
8.     Hyperconverged systems
9.     Everything-as-a-Service
10.  Robotics process automation

Of the 10 technologies, Frost & Sullivan highlighted AI and blockchain as the top ones to watch out for.

Frost & Sullivan TechVision senior industry analyst, Swapnadeep Nayak, said that as a result of the prominence of the Internet of Things (IoT), it has become a new paradigm for data collection, as IoT endpoints generate huge amounts of data that enterprises need to analyse in real time to glean actionable insights.

“Organisations are increasingly relying on technologies such as Advanced Analytics and AI to interpret interesting patterns in the data collected and deliver meaningful insights,” Nayak said.

Frost & Sullivan senior industry analyst, Debarun Guha, added that AI has been one of the most funded technologies, attracting large investments from independent and corporate venture capital companies. 

“Already, more than 21,000 patents have been published in this space over the last three years,” Guha mentioned.

ManageEngine vice-president, Sridhar Iyengar, also reaffirmed this finding recently, saying that AI will increasingly be integrated into existing architectures and applications as a way to drive innovation throughout the year.

Companies such as Xero, Microsoft and Google have all talked up AI plays, saying that it is where the competition is in IT.

Another technology that has huge potential to disrupt the ICT industry is Blockchain, according to Frost & Sullivan TechVision program manager, Kiran Kumar. 

“Blockchain… is expanding its application scope beyond banking and financial institutions into a wide range of use cases across industries; the global funding to Blockchain start-ups since 2014 is noted to be in excess of $1 billion,” Kumar added. 

Sage backed up this claim, with its chief technology officer, Klaus-Michael Vogelberg, recently picking it out as one of the big technology trends that will change the way entrepreneurs run their businesses in 2017.

In the recent ARN report, Vogelberg mentioned that business builders should also carefully analyse if, and how, the new Blockchain technology could impact their current business models as Blockchain has the potential to eliminate a significant part of the workload – such as checking and booking transactions, transferring money or paying invoices.

In Australia, the University of Melbourne is involved in the pilot Blockchain technology to record student credentials, through a micro-credentialing system designed to enable employers to verify qualifications at speed.

In addition, companies such as Accenture have jumped on board the Blockchain bandwagon, developing software to make it easier to lock away Blockchain credentials in a hardware security module.

Frost & Sullivan added that the convergence of Blockchain and IoT, together with big data analytics, will be a trifactor for channel success.   

“[It] is proving to be a viable solution to many challenges such as the authentication and authorisation of IoT edge devices. As a result, this will help secure mesh networks and eliminate the need for central brokers,” it said.