We started publishing predictions for 2021 as early as October last year. As we close January, we list below a few more predictions courtesy of the purveyors of technology solutions and services.
Apologies if there is little coherence in the flow of this article but we are simply conveying what technologists are declaring as observations and prognostications for 2021.
Cloud
“Organisations will continue to adopt a holistic, open hybrid multicloud architecture, allowing them to rapidly and continuously build and deploy applications, and make their data ready for their journey to AI across the company.” Chee Kin Ng, vice president, Technology, IBM ASEAN
“2021 Will Be a Foundational Year for the Distributed/Edge Cloud – While distributed/edge cloud architectures are still largely in the planning and testing phase, 2021 will be a foundational year for this emerging and vital cloud model – driven by the rapid expansion in 5G and IoT-connected devices, sharp increases in edge-created data sources and Kubernetes as the standard for microservices application orchestration.” Matthew Oostveen, chief technology officer, Asia Pacific & Japan, Pure Storage
Containers and Kubernetes
We will see a continued shift towards containerization, and specifically Kubernetes. It will become easier for non-developers to use in the future but will still require significant expertise to run efficiently in 2021.” Dr. Jim Webber is Neo4j’s Chief Scientist
“Containers and Kubernetes – the One-Two Punch of Enterprise Efficiency – Are So Mainstream We’ll Stop Talking about Them in 2021 – Containers will be so mainstream that it’ll not be the technology that is interesting anymore – but instead the new applications and digital touchpoints that CIOs will be talking about.” Matthew Oostveen, chief technology officer, Asia Pacific & Japan, Pure Storage
Quantum Computing
“Quantum computing can unlock many benefits for industry and society that are beyond the reach of today's computers with potential applications in medicine, materials science, weather forecasting, financial modelling, and other problems that involve huge amounts of data and chaotic interactions.” Chee Kin Ng, vice president, Technology, IBM ASEAN
New Skills Required
“In mature markets, there will be an increased need to invest in new technology and skills in IT operations as traditional IT infrastructure becomes increasingly automated to support multi-cloud-based services. As a result, monitoring of IT infrastructure for enhanced security as well as to facilitate remote working opportunities in a pandemic-hit world will be a key business priority.” Tee Haw Pang, head of Sales & Business Development APAC, Paessler
IT and OT convergence
We will see the centralised merging of platforms through IT and OT convergence, as businesses seek to coordinate process and machine monitoring, enabling both scalability and cost savings which are crucial, especially in these challenging times.” Tee Haw Pang, head of Sales & Business Development APAC, Paessler
Virtual events
“Virtual events will be the preferred choice for CIO and CMO to drive effective data driven end to end marketing program, hence the of accelerated adoption of spatial computing technology such as AR that will transform user experience.” Lim Yau Boon, president & managing director, APJ, nextech AR Solutions
Connected applications
“The world is becoming more highly connected and the applications of the future will need to participate across one or more digital networks in a secure, streamlined, engaging and often autonomous manner. Apps will become nodes on these networks, and this will change not only the applications themselves, but also the way they need to be built, deployed and managed.” Nelson Petracek, chief technology officer, TIBCO
Analytics
“In 2021 organisations will finally realize what they need to collect, prepare, catalogue, store and access all of the data needed for the AI models to run. In today’s world (even if one sets aside the current global COVID-19 pandemic), the context of data analytics and wider elements of AI is continuously changing and organizations that react faster and with more accuracy to these changes will have a greater chance of success to outrun their competitors in the coming years.” Nelson Petracek, chief technology officer, TIBCO
Graphing platforms
“While the early majority of organizations have already begun adopting graph technology, what was once a niche tool is now attracting the attention of the masses, including mature enterprises. We will begin to see the full potential of graph technology as new techniques and consolidating tools are introduced and connected data is readily available at our fingertips.” Dr. Jim Webber is Neo4j’s Chief Scientist
