Ideas and Technology

2014-2015 Technology Trends for the public and private sector

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ARTICLE | 6 AUGUST, 2014 | BY AHMED SAEED

1. Business Analytics

Technological advances in the fields of sensor technology, display tools and products, analytical capabil ities, and process automation technologies now enable organizations to better monitor people, entities, behaviors, and trends. Organizations are now able to use data from the above mentioned technologies and more to apply new statistical, analytical, and forecast modeling techniques. Visualization and display technologies now allow for organizations to view data how and when they want. Data can be tabulated and displayed at a high level for senior leaders and management, and at a micro, detailed level for business analysts and employees at all levels of the core and non-core business functions. Senior leaders and decision makers can now make more informed decisions based on a vast array of data and business analysis with the aid of new technologies in the business analytics domain. This in turn can free up managers’ time to focus on more strategic issues and decisions. In addition, these tools will reduce the time it takes to collect, analyze, and report data for decision making purposes.

  2. Sensors In 2014, the use of sensor and beacon technology will increase. These devices will collect data and feed it to servers or cloud services, where it will be analyzed and tabulated into information that can be used for action and/or to enhance customer experience. Sensor technology will improve and applicability will be expanding to many public services. Parking management systems which tell drivers how many parking spots are available by detecting the weight of parking spots. Police will use gunfire locators to sense when a gun is fired and deploy police patrols. Environmental agencies will use sensors and beacons to detect and predict natural disasters, pollution levels, and more.

3.  Robotics Robotics technology has seen big improvements and increased application across industries over the years. Robot platforms will soon be built on open source RobotOS and Android platforms, allowing companies to focus on new applications. Today, most robotics technologies are focused on the industrial and manufacturing sector, providing all levels of factory automation.

In 20 14, robotics will expand to other sectors including:

• Logistics as currently seen in full scale at the new Khalifa Port with the latest and best in pick, pack, and ship robotics technology
• Healthcare: Remote medicine and robotics aided surgery and procedures
• Automation of  manufacturing and product processes
• Surveillance using robotics

4.  Mobile Customer Engagement

Today, almost everyone has and uses a smart phone. In order to reach customers easier and offer more convenience and service options to them, most companies have mobile apps that enable customers to perform a huge variety of transactions and access information. In addition to mobile apps, companies have begun investing in sensors, biometrics, analytics, and social media to reach customers and learn more about them. As customers increase the frequency of transactions and use of their mobile phones, so too will companies increase their visibility and interaction with customers via mobile technology. Government entities have already begun to create and improve their mobile apps, offering citizens and residents a mobile platform to check fines, pay bills, receive information, and perform many other transactions. In 2014, the public sector will try to catch up with the private sector and adopt a more customer centric and user friendly mobile customer engagement platform.

  5.  On-Demand IT Services

Core and non-core business divisions want the technologies they want, and they want it ASAP. ICT Directors are under enormous pressure to speed the delivery of technology deployments as the demand for such services increases with the rapidly advancing IT solutions available in the market. Business Units want the latest technology for business analytics, data manipulation, process and performance management, social, and mobile technologies to reach their business objectives and improve their efficiency and performance. ICT Directors will move away from the role of sourcing technology and into the role of strategic advisor. They will need to stay abreast of the latest ICT business solutions from databases, collaboration tools, business and process automation software. Additional, they will need to understand the business needs of their organizations more thoroughly to be able to provide the right solutions for the business needs. Business Users will need to be empowered to make more ICT related decisions with the guidance and supervision of the ICT policies and procedures. The trends described above will also lead the way to a major growth in cloud-based business services that are tailored specifically for each industry or functional area.

6.  3D Printing

3D Printing has already begun revolutionizing the manufacturing sector. Breakthroughs in 3D printing technology have enabled companies to reduce cost and time in the production of many complex physical objects out of a variety of raw materials such as steel, aluminum, titanium, and various types of plastics. Although 3D printing technology is nowhere near perfect, organizations can now take advantage of the power of 3D printing to customize products at rapid rates, produce innovative products in short periods of time, and/or create new business models in no time! Very soon will we see this technology move from concept and market testing stages to complete functionality and application across many industries and functions. Make sure you look into how 3D printing can work for your organization today!

7.  Wearable Computing

We’ve all seen the latest cool wearable technology gadgets in the consumer market in the last couple of years. From Samsung’s S-Series Smart Phone with “Gear” to Google’s “Glass”, technology companies are creating more ways for consumers to “wear their computers”. Functionality and trendiness seem to be the key ingredients to this new phenomenon but the consumer reviews have been mixed, with some claiming that this is the new and improved generation of technology gadgets, and some claiming that there is a lot of work to be done before these wearable gadgets are fit for purpose. In the public sector, medical centers have begun to use wearables to as part of cardiovascular disease prevention programs. They use such devices on patients to monitor their activity and heart rates to predict recovery times and support recovery solutions. In 2014, we will see many more wearable computer devices being applied for different purposes and across multiple industries.

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