As 2013 begins, I’ve taken to my crystal ball (and a little look at history) to predict what will be some technology trends likely to impact or continue to impact businesses here in the Caribbean.
I’ve come up with eight technologies that we should continue to monitor and consider how you can use them in your business.
1. Cloud Services (SAAS and PAAS)
What is it?
Cloud computing is a model whereby you may make on-demand access to computer resources and services. There are three models of cloud computing, Software-as-a-Service (SAAS), Platform-As-A-Service (PAAS) and Infrastructure-As-A-Service (IAAS). I will go into more detail about cloud computing in a later article.
Why is it important?
Cloud Services has the potential to save businesses on infrastructure costs and simplify administration.
By cloud services I am referring specifically to SAAS and PAAS. I know that cloud services is not new, but it continues to have a serious impact on how businesses are run, and the direction that software vendors are now going. Almost all vendors are now offering some type of SAAS package – even Microsoft has embraced SAAS with their new Office 15. I see some impact of IAAS on voice and video services.
What should your business do?
Take some time to evaluate your current infrastructure and determine whether there are gains to be made by moving to cloud services. All costs should be considered as businesses often do not consider the price of changing providers.
Understand privacy and security issues as many of the cloud services are hosted in the United States and falls under their jurisdiction. One of the major concerns with Caribbean businesses on cloud services has been on how secure is their data.
2. Big Data and Data Analytics
What is it?
Big Data is the term given to vast amounts of data that companies may have amassed through the years. This data may be based on sales, marketing, production or customer behaviour. Data analytics is the process of going through that data to gain valuable insights for future decisions.
Why is it important?
Coming on the tails of Cloud Computing, Big Data and Data Analytics have become buzz words with many large enterprises, mainly because cloud computing allowed the analysis of these large amounts of data. Analysing data is not something new, as companies large and small have used historical data to determine trends. Big Data is used to find insights that never existed before. For example, historical analysis might show that sales are seasonal and when is the best time to bring out a new product. Big data may show who the most likely people to buy a product are, when the most likely time they will buy the product is, and how you can encourage them to buy your product.
What should your business do?
Start pulling your data sources together. In the Caribbean, we don’t have as much data as other parts of the world, as we do not have as large a market and we haven’t been collecting data as much or as long as we should. If you aren’t collecting data, then you should start. Just be wary of collecting customer’s data without their consent, especially if you plan to give that data to another party.
Understand the options for analysing data and have an idea of what kind of insight you are looking for. It’s no use crunching a whole bunch of data hoping to find something; there is a scientific method of analysing data by coming up with a hypothesis then testing it.
If you plan to analyse data then get a statistician or data analyst on board who understands how to do the type of analytics required. Do not think that the IT department has those set of skills, as they generally do not.
3. Truly “Personal” Computing
What is it?
The personal computer is meant for use by individuals. By “personal” computing I mean that computers become more customised to the individual user offering services and information suitable to that person.
Why is it important?
People want information quickly, but not just any information, the right information. But each person is unique and this involves an individual allowing a huge amount of personal information to be gathered so that trends can be analysed for better guesses later on. Google Now is one service that is making some serious headway with this.
What should your business do?
As people become more expectant of real-time, accurate information, your business will also need to be able to meet such needs. Consider portals that users can connect to that provide information on orders, queries and billing so that there is less hassle. Ensure that this system is secure to limit the risk of malicious attacks.
Collect data on customers for analysis so that you can be better equipped with information more suited to the individual rather than your entire market, even if you have them categorised by groups.
4. Smartphones
What is it?
Smartphones are feature-rich mobile phones, typically running a mobile operating system that allows the installation and running of third-party applications, so that they may be used, almost, as a personal computer.
Why is it important?
The numbers of smartphone purchases are steadily increasing as the number of non-smartphone (called feature phones) are steadily decreasing. As smartphones become cheaper, almost everyone will have one, and, coupled with higher and cheaper data rates by service providers, will allow users to have on-the-go access to information, both work and personal. The number of applications available for smartphones now range from games, to social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc), to cloud-based services.
Customers and consumers can use smartphones to research products in the store and get feedback and reviews from friends or strangers. More users are using their smartphones for general purpose web-browsing and e-mail access rather than desktops.
Employees can now use smartphones to connect to company applications to perform business tasks, such as sales order generation or invoicing, in real-time. As more employees are coming in with their own smartphone into the workplace, the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) movement will become more important. I’ll speak more on BYOD in a later article.
What should your business do?
Start by developing a mobile strategy from both the corporate side and the consumer side. By mobile strategy, I mean how your business is going to position itself to take advantage of the advances in mobile.
Understand the risks of mobile, particularly with company data on mobile devices; mobile devices are lost regularly and the data on the devices are usually more valuable than the device itself.
5. Augmented Reality and Location-Based Services
What is it?
AR is the enhancement of the visualisation of the physical environment with computer generated information. An example of this is the Google Project Glass concept.
LBS is specific services that is offered based on your location. An example of this is performing a search on Google for restaurants – a search while you are in Trinidad will bring up Trinidadian restaurants, while a search if you are in Barbados will bring up Bajan restaurants.
Augmented Reality (AR) and Location-Based Services (LBS) are two different applications, but the business potential are similar. LBS is available now, while AR is still under development, but I believe that AR will make some rapid leaps this year.
Why is it important?
AR and LBS will allow businesses to offer more relevant information to consumers, and combined with data analytics, can offer valuable insight into your customers’ behaviours.
What should your business do?
How you use AR and LBS will depend on your mobile and marketing strategy. Using LBS, you can develop a mobile application that notifies a user of a sale on a particular item when they are close to a store, for example, and then use AR to help that user navigate your store. Remember that AR is a developing technology, while LBS is currently in use.
6. The Internet of Things and Pervasive Computing
What is it?
The Internet of Things (IOT) and Pervasive Computing envisions a world where everything is connected in some way to an “Internet”; Internet is in quotes, because that Internet may not be the Internet we now know. This technology will allow us to communicate with everyday devices such as clothing and refrigerators, to the machinery in the manufacturing plants.
Why is it important?
Pervasive computing can open the market to new products using old products. For example, Nike created it’s Nike+ series of products that allows consumers to gather biometric information while at play to help them measure and improve their performance.
Businesses can use the IOT to gather information from the plant to make more timely business decisions such as supply chain management and enterprise resource planning.
What should your business do?
Start thinking inside the box, where you look at your current products and determine if there are advantages to the consumer of connecting your product to the internet.
Review your current plant infrastructure and determine if you can benefit from more real-time information of how they are being used.
Also be cognisant of data security when connecting devices to networks, so ensure that access to these devices are protected.
7. 3D Printing
What is it?
3D printing is a process for making 3-dimensional objects from computer generated designs. The process is currently performed by using a layering or additive method by laying material upon each other until the object is completed. The majority of 3D printers create plastic objects, but there are some that create metal ones.
Why is it important?
3D printers have been around for some time, but now have become much more affordable; even domestic printers are available for hobbyists.
These printers allow manufacturers to create rapid prototypes, allowing them to test designs before moving them to more permanent lines. Because the cost of prototyping is less, designers can be more open to trying new and creative designs that may have been previously cost prohibitive.
The printers also allow for rapid manufacturing where small quantities of parts might be required for a small order. Manufacturers will not need to adjust a line just to create those parts.
What should your business do?
If you are a manufacturer, explore your design process and determine if there are opportunities for rapid prototyping and whether 3D printing can help improve your time-to-market of new products.
8. New and Improved Human-Machine Interfaces
What is it?
A human-machine interface is the process by which humans interact with a machine or a computer (sometimes called a human-computer interface). This interface is mostly known as the keyboard and monitor, but can also be the control screens of process plants, or the touch screens of phones.
Why is it important?
After many years of interacting with computers by keyboard and mouse, technology has improved where voice commands are more reliable, and gesture controls are more capable. Not only do these new interfaces allow you to improve the speed of computerised processes, but it’s also very cool.
Apple’s Siri generated a lot of interest when Apple introduced it back in 2010; although it has not quite lived up to the hype, it opened ourselves to a new way of interacting with our mobile devices.
Microsoft’s Kinect system, while originally developed for it’s Xbox gaming system immediately found favour with hacking enthusiasts who used it to create gesture controls for computer applications including educational and medical uses.
What should your business do?
As always, peruse the technology landscape and see what improvements are available to allow you to improve your business processes.
Don’t be afraid of being innovative and try to develop new ways of using these technologies in your current processes to improve usability.
Conclusion
So there they are, my predictions of the eight technology trends that will likely have a great impact on Caribbean businesses, and well, all businesses in general.
What do you think? Is there any technology that you think that I should have mentioned? Or do you think that I am wrong with my current predictions? Chime in below.
