Cloud trend
Cloud technologies will lead the trend over the next half-decade, according to a new report from Research and Markets. Cloud investments will pass on-premises alternatives in 2017 and will continue to grow each year to 2022. As companies adopt technologies such as AI and big data, they’re realising the need to offload computing resources to always-online datacentres.
The banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) industry will be the first to adopt digital technologies. Transformation strategies are already underway at many other industries too, with the healthcare, telecoms, automotive and retail sectors set to rapidly grow into the next decade.
BFSI businesses are more likely to use digital tech because their industries are already a close fit for new technologies. Process-oriented business models are ideal candidates for early automation trials. BFSI companies also have flexibility when selecting new technologies, with several forms of emerging tech suitable for consideration. AI, IoT, big data and blockchain all have direct applications to BFSI whereas other industries need to develop tailored solutions.
Security risks
Although interest and demand is growing, the transition to a digital business won’t go smoothly for all firms. Research and Markets singled out cybersecurity as one of the biggest growth inhibitors for digital transformation. Rolling out new technologies while ensuring they’re responsibly managed will present new challenges to firms using digital tech for the first time. As more complex networks are introduced, the importance of robust protection will rise.
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“Security is a major issue while executing digital enablement technologies, thus endangering the success of digitization,” said Research and Markets in a press release on the report. “As IoT becomes more widespread, organizations will increasingly require more robust security and privacy to prevent breaches. With the growing number of IoT-enabled systems, the number of security and privacy issues will also increase, and every endpoint, gateway, sensor and smartphone will become a potential target for hackers.”
There are other problems to address too, including a lack of skilled digital experts and the risk of consumer rejection. However, the new figures show digital transformation is becoming increasingly important to enterprises across the globe, causing noticeable shifts in investment as companies prioritise disruptive tech.
