Extended Reality (XR)

 XR is an emerging umbrella term for all the immersive technologies. The ones we already have today—augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) plus those that are still to be created. All immersive technologies extend the reality we experience by either blending the virtual and “real” worlds or by creating a fully immersive experience. Recent research revealed that more than 60% of respondents believed XR will be mainstream in the next five years. To get a better picture of XR, let’s review each of the existing technologies that exist today.

Augmented reality (AR)

In augmented reality, virtual information and objects are overlaid on the real world. This experience enhances the real world with digital details such as images, text, and animation. You can access the experience through AR glasses or via screens, tablets, and smartphones. This means users are not isolated from the real world and can still interact and see what’s going on in front of them. The most well-known examples of AR are the Pokémon GO game that overlays digital creatures onto the real world or Snapchat filters that put digital objects such as hats or glasses onto your head.

Virtual reality (VR)

In contrast to augmented reality, in a virtual reality experience, users are fully immersed in a simulated digital environment. Individuals must put on a VR headset or head-mounted display to get a 360 -degree view of an artificial world that fools their brain into believing they are, e.g., walking on the moon, swimming under the ocean or stepped into whatever new world the VR developers created. The gaming and entertainment industry were early adopters of this technology; however, companies in several industries such as healthcare, construction, engineering, the military, and more are finding VR to be very useful.

Mixed reality (MR)

In mixed reality, digital and real-world objects co-exist and can interact with one another in real-time. This is the latest immersive technology and is sometimes referred to as hybrid reality. It requires an MR headset and a lot more processing power than VR or AR. Microsoft's HoloLens is a great example that, e.g., allows you to place digital objects into the room you are standing in and give you the ability to spin it around or interact with the digital object in any way possible. Companies are exploring ways they can put mixed reality to work to solve problems, support initiatives, and make their businesses better.

Extended Reality Applications for Business

• Retail: XR gives customers the ability to try before they buy. Watch manufacturer Rolex has an AR app that allows you to try on watches on your actual wrist, and furniture company IKEA gives customers the ability to place furniture items into their home via their smartphone.

• Training: Especially in life-and-death circumstances, XR can provide training tools that are hyper-realistic that will help soldiers, healthcare professionals, pilots/astronauts, chemists, and more figure out solutions to problems or learn how to respond to dangerous circumstances without putting their lives or anyone else's at risk.

• Remote work: Workers can connect to the home office or with professionals located around the world in a way that makes both sides feel like they are in the same room.

• Marketing: The possibilities to engage with prospective customers and consumers through XR will have marketing professionals pondering all the potential of using XR to their company’s advantage.

• Real estate: Finding buyers or tenants might be easier if individuals can “walk through” spaces to decide if they want it even when they are in some other location.

• Entertainment: As an early adopter, the entertainment industry will continue to find new ways of utilizing immersive technologies.

Major Challenges Faced by Companies Developing Extended Reality (XR)

1. Cost: Cost is the most prominent challenge, that is faced by companies developing XR. The XR devices are very costly. Since many technologies are working together & a lot of hardware goes into the making of these devices, the cost is very high. If the cost is higher, common masses may not be able to use this product and companies developing would not able to increase their sales, this would not motivate the investors to invest their money into XR.

2. Hardware: Developing the hardware of XR devices is also a challenge for companies in this field. Since a lot of technologies, software & components are being used, making hardware is a difficult task. The hardware should just not be robust but also be compact and able to process a lot of information very quickly and swiftly, and on top of that, the hardware should be cheaper.

3. Privacy: Privacy is a challenge will be faced both by the users as well as the companies. Since XR devices are required to create an environment based on the user requirement, a lot of private details might be needed to create a user-rich environment. Storage of such data can be costly on the company’s side, & privacy of the information can be a worry on the user’s side.

Datafication

In business, datafication can be defined as a process that “aims to transform most aspects of a business into quantifiable data that can be tracked, monitored, and analyzed. It refers to the use of tools and processes to turn an organization into a data-driven enterprise.” 

There are three areas of business where datafication can really make an impact: 

• Analytics In today’s data-driven world, analytics is king. By collecting and analyzing data, businesses can gain valuable insights into consumer behavior, trends, and preferences, allowing them to make informed decisions that drive growth and success.
• Marketing Campaigns Marketing campaigns can be supercharged with datafication, allowing companies to personalize ads and offers for specific customers based on their interests and behaviors. 
• Forecasting Predictive analytics can help businesses forecast future trends and stay ahead of the competition by anticipating changes in consumer demand.

Importance of datafication in a business organisation

Datafication helps businesses improve their products and services by using real-time data. Plus, it is an important component in collecting customer feedback about the quality of the products and services offered by any company.

Take data-driven marketing strategies for instance. As one of the most important aspects of digital marketing, this process involves collecting customer insight through various channels such as social media, email and other digital platforms. The information can be used to create personalised campaigns for each client and targeting the right audience persona

The future of business is data fluency

Data-driven decision-making and the ability to make sense of data being presented at our fingertips are becoming more important than ever. The rise of artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics, and other technologies have made this a reality.

Blockchain

Blockchain technology has been around for more than 10 years now. It’s time to take advantage of its potential to transform how businesses interact with their customers.

The blockchain is a distributed ledger that records transactions between two parties without needing a third party. This means that no one needs to rely on anyone else. The system is secure because all participants have access to the same information at the same

AIOps

AI-as-a-service (AIOps) is a term used to describe the use of AI tools within organisations. AIOps are often cloud-based, meaning they are accessible through a web browser or mobile app. They also provide real-time insights into processes and operations. As a result, AIOps can be used for predictive maintenance, process optimisation, and other operational improvements.)

The most common form of AI is machine learning. Machine learning involves training an algorithm on data that has been labeled by humans as either positive or negative. The algorithm then uses this information to make predictions about new data.

For example, if you have a dataset of people who have purchased a product and those who haven’t, you could train an algorithm to predict whether someone will purchase something in the future. This type of AI is called supervised learning because it requires human input during the training phase.

Unsupervised learning doesn’t require any human intervention. It works best when there is no clear distinction between positive and negative examples.

FinOps

Financial Operations Management (FinOps) is the practice of managing financial activities across an organisation. FinOps includes everything from budgeting to forecasting to risk management.

It is not just about financial reporting anymore. Financial reporting is only part of what FinOps encompasses. And here, datafication plays a huge role, as it allows for the integration and analysis of data that was previously siloed in different systems.

The term fintech has been used to describe this new wave of technology. It's a combination of finance and technology. In fact, there are many examples of companies that have successfully implemented FinOps such as Google Finance and Intuit QuickBooks Online.

Cognitive Computing

The term cognitive computing is a catch-all phrase for the study of artificial intelligence, machine learning and human–computer interaction. Here data mining is used to extract knowledge from large amounts of information. The goal is to make computers think like humans in order to solve problems that we cannot do ourselves.

One good example is the rise of solutions like natural language processing (NLP) or pattern recognition techniques used now to analyse text, images and even speech.

Edge Computing

Edge computing refers to the use of cloud-based services and technologies at the edge of a network, such as on mobile devices or in wireless sensors. Edge computing is an emerging technology that has been gaining attention for its potential to improve data processing speed and reduce energy consumption.

The main advantage of edge computing is that it can be used to process data locally without having to send all the information back to the cloud. This reduces latency and improves user experience by reducing bandwidth usage.

Microweather

The term microclimate (or microclimate) is used in meteorology to describe the local weather conditions at a small scale, such as within an individual building or on a street. Microclimates are often characterised by differences in temperature and humidity from those of the surrounding area.

The predictions obtained from the data collection can help consumers, companies and, especially, farmers. In addition to providing detailed climate forecasts, the system uses sensors to measure air quality, wind speed and direction, rainfall intensity and duration, soil moisture content, and other factors.

Warehouse Management Tech

Autonomous robots and analysis prediction are some of the buzzwords surrounding this emergent niche that aids warehouse management more efficiently.

The idea is to use a robot to perform tasks in an automated fashion, which can be done by using sensors to detect objects or other entities within its environment. The robot then uses these inputs to decide what it should do next. This process is repeated until the task has been completed.

A common example would be a picker robot picking items from shelves and placing them into boxes for shipping. Datafying the robot’s movements allow us to predict where it will go next based on previous actions. This data can then be used to plan routes through the warehouse so as not to waste time moving around empty space.

Online Reputation Management

Online reputation management (ORM) has become an integral part of HR professionals' toolkit. ORM is not just about monitoring online reviews; it is more than that. It is about managing the online presence of your organisation.

The goal of ORM is to ensure that your brand or company name does not get tarnished by negative comments posted on review sites such as Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Facebook and others.

We have entered a new era for the human resources industry, and it is a digital one. Many of the strategies around HR are also being datafied, and hiring is no different.

Smart(er) Devices

Smart devices are electronic devices that can perform autonomous computing, connect to other devices or networks, and adapt to their environments. They are part of the Internet of Things (IoT), a network of physical objects that can communicate and exchange data. Smart devices can range from smartphones, tablets, smartwatches and smart glasses to smart cars, smart thermostats, smart doorbells, smart locks and smart refrigerators. They may also include sensors, actuators, cameras, microphones, and other components that enable them to interact with their surroundings.

Benefits and Challenges of smart devices

• Convenience: Smart devices can make life easier and more comfortable for users by automating tasks, providing information or providing entertainment. For example, a smart speaker can play music, set an alarm, or order pizza with a simple voice command. A smart car can park itself, navigate traffic, or avoid collisions with minimal human intervention.

• Efficiency: Smart devices can improve the performance and productivity of users and businesses by optimizing resources, reducing waste or saving time. For example, a smart thermostat can reduce energy consumption and utility bills by adjusting the temperature according to the user’s schedule and preferences. A smart factory can increase the production and quality of products by monitoring and controlling machines, processes, and inventory.

• Innovation: Smart devices can enable new possibilities and opportunities for users and businesses by creating new products, services or markets. For example, a smart watch can monitor a user’s health and fitness and provide personalized feedback or recommendations. A smart city can enhance the live ability and sustainability of the urban environment by managing traffic, pollution, security and services.

Essentials Smart Home Devices to Include in your home 

1. Keyless Door Locks

In contrast to conventional locks, the hardware of keypad locks is unique. They are much more difficult to pick or bump because they lack the cylinder mechanisms of standard locks. As a result, the structure is less hazardous than losing your keys and having to rekey or replace your lock.

It is simple to modify the keypad system’s secret code whenever necessary. In the majority of cases, saving time is the primary benefit. No keys are required for this method to function.

When a key is lost or stolen, replacing locks, making extra copies, or carrying them around is unnecessary. Instead of providing children, visitors, or service providers with a key, a code could be issued.

2. Voice Control / Virtual Assistants 

The primary benefit of utilizing a virtual assistant is the convenience it offers. Access is available to all users without touching the screen, making it an ideal tool for those who frequently switch between tasks. It is most noticeable in situations such as driving and cooking.

Voice-controlled virtual assistants or artificial intelligence also make it simpler for those who are blind or suffer from other disabilities to navigate and use the Internet.

The same holds for younger or older individuals unfamiliar with using a touchscreen keyboard. In the business world, virtual voice assistants have increasingly been used in top hosting services and sales interactions due to their capacity to automate repetitive tasks and improve efficiency.

3. USB Wall Outlets /Chargers 

USB-C will soon be the standard for charging and syncing electronic devices. Currently, it can be found in devices such as the newest laptops, smartphones, and tablets, and, given time; it will expand to nearly everything that uses the older USB connection. USB-C employs a new, more compact, reversible connection design to facilitate plugging and unplugging.

USB-C cables can transmit significantly more power, allowing them to charge larger devices such as laptops.

They also provide a 10 Gbps data transfer rate, twice as fast as USB 3. Even though older devices cannot utilize modern connections, they can utilize adapters because the standards are backward-compatible.

4. Smart Thermostats

The primary benefit of a smart thermostat is its ability to determine when people are likely to return home and adjust the temperature accordingly. The heating and cooling systems will consume less energy when people are present for extended periods.

This smart thermostat can learn a user’s schedule and adjust the home’s temperature accordingly. A smartphone app allows users to change the temperature from anywhere in the world.

Installing a smart thermostat can save you money, but only if you’re not one of the few who care about monitoring and using their thermostats.

Smart thermostats, have features like remote access and energy reports that may persuade you to switch.

5. Vacuum

The requirement to clean the floor regularly is not only irritating but also a tedious task to perform. In this fast-paced modern world, the amount of time required is excessive.

Therefore, investing in a robotic is an excellent method for many people to free themselves from such tasks and maintain a clean house without exerting as much effort as they normally would.

It will save you a significant amount of time if you work alongside a robot. After the initial setup, the robotic hoover can handle most of the cleaning, freeing up more of your time to devote to other, more enjoyable activities.

6. Smart Lights

The vast majority of us, at various times, prefer lighter and more stimulating light, while at other times, we prefer softer and warmer light. However, the benefits are only sometimes worth the trouble of manually adjusting every light in your house to suit every possible activity or mood.

This is true in a few specific circumstances.

Smart lighting systems solve this issue, allowing you to view your preferred option included at home.

As a result, you can adjust the lighting in your home according to your whims. Smart lighting makes once-futuristic ideas like scheduling smart room robotics to coincide with your daily routine and providing control over your entire smart home from a single device a reality.

7. Video Doorbells

Even though everyone values their safety, only some take the necessary precautions. Installing smart video doorbells has made it easier than ever to protect our homes. The intelligent doorbell will record the events in case of a break-in or other home invasion.

The police or other authorities may request security camera footage.

This is an effective deterrent and makes it possible to track down and bring the person or people responsible for any crime to justice. 

8. Home Security Systems

People continue to prioritize issues such as improved access to technology and enhanced productivity in the home, even though their primary concern is the security of their homes and families.

Use modern technology whether you’re installing a home security system for the first time or updating an existing one.

Real-time alerts, motion detection, security camera monitoring and analytics, and even fire and other hazard protection are among the advantages of a smart home system compared to conventional ones.

These apps are available on any mobile device and can manage utilities, energy, health, and more. 

Computing Power

Computing power technology refers to the capacity of a computer or computer system to execute complex computations and data processing tasks. The number of calculations or operations a computer or system can perform per second is one common way to express processing speed.

Several components comprise a computer or system responsible for its computing power. These components include the central processing unit (CPU), storage devices, Random-access memory (RAM), and graphics processing unit (GPU) Dedicated Servers USA.

Other factors influencing computing power include the software applications used, the operating system on which the computer or system runs, and the network’s infrastructure that connects multiple computers or systems.

The growth of computing power technology has been a crucial factor in the evolution of contemporary computing. As computing power has risen, computers can now perform more complex tasks and manage larger quantities of data.

This has led to significant progress in numerous fields, including scientific research, data analysis, and artificial intelligence.

Today, computing power technology advances at an unprecedented rate, with new hardware and software development breakthroughs driving further improvements in processing speed, efficiency, and precision. Consequently, computing power will likely play a vital part in shaping the coming years of technology and innovation.

Importance of Computing Power

There are many factors that affect computing power:

• One of the most crucial components is the number of processors a computer has. A computer's processing power increases with the number of its processors. Another crucial factor is the processor's speed. The computer has more processing power the faster the processors are.
• Another crucial element is the computer's memory capacity. A computer's processing capability increases with the amount of memory it possesses. Another crucial factor is the sort of RAM a computer has. Memory comes in a variety of speeds. They can now store and retrieve data more quickly as a result.
• The computing power of a computer can also be impacted by the operating system it runs. Different operating systems have different computing power requirements. They are therefore compatible with machines that have less processing capability.

Type of computing power

There are multiple types of computing power technologies, such as:

Central Processing Unit

CPUs are designed to perform various tasks, including arithmetic, logic, and input/output (I/O) control. In addition, they are responsible for retrieving program instructions from memory and decoding them into a format that the computer’s other components can understand.

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is commonly referred to as the computer’s brain.

It is one of many processing units, but arguably the most important. The central processing unit performs calculations and actions and runs programs.

These functions were distributed across multiple processors in older computers. However, manufacturing and design advancements have allowed the CPU to fit onto a single chip. Therefore, you may also hear CPUs referred to as microprocessors.

This has allowed for the development of thinner, lighter laptops and the creation of all-in-one computing devices. These robust processors are also crucial to the functionality of your smartphone.

Graphics Processing Unit

A specialized processor designed to perform complex graphics and visual computing operations. GPUs are frequently employed in gaming, scientific research, and machine-learning applications.

GPUs are processors which efficiently render photos and videos.

While CPUs and GPUs are significant for various reasons, the latter’s power has dramatically increased in recent years.

This is largely a result of games and other graphically demanding applications becoming increasingly popular.

As a result, GPUs have become more potent, with some models now exceeding the performance of high-end CPUs.

Despite their distinct functions, CPUs and GPUs are necessary for contemporary computing. With a powerful processor, electronic devices could perform the tasks on which we rely daily.

Field Programmable Gate Arrays

Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are programmable logic devices that can be reprogrammed to carry out various computing tasks, making them useful in fields like digital signal processing and cryptography.

Moreover, an FPGA is an integrated circuit (IC) that facilitates custom logic creation for rapid prototyping and final system design.

FPGAs are distinct from other custom or semi-custom ICs due to their inherent flexibility, which enables them to be programmed and reprogrammed via a software download to adapt to the changing requirements of the larger system for which they are designed.

FPGAs are ideal for edge computing, AI, system security, 5G, factory automation, and robotics, which are growing rapidly.

Quantum Computing

New computing technology known as quantum computing runs calculations in accordance with the laws of quantum mechanics. When applied to specific problems, quantum computers may be able to find answers much more quickly than classical ones.

Each computing power technology has pros and cons and is best for distinct types of computing tasks. The application’s specific requirements and available resources determine the technology utilized.

In addition, Google will spend billions of dollars by 2029 building its quantum computer. Google AI’s California campus helps the company achieve this goal.

Once developed, Google could launch a cloud-based quantum computing service.

Generative AI

Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence technology that can produce various types of content, including text, imagery, audio and synthetic data. The recent buzz around generative AI has been driven by the simplicity of new user interfaces for creating high-quality text, graphics and videos in a matter of seconds.

The technology, it should be noted, is not brand-new. Generative AI was introduced in the 1960s in chatbots. But it was not until 2014, with the introduction of generative adversarial networks, or GANs - a type of machine learning algorithm that generative AI could create convincingly authentic images, videos and audio of real people.

On the one hand, this newfound capability has opened up opportunities that include better movie dubbing and rich educational content. It also unlocked concerns about digitally forged images or videos and harmful cybersecurity attacks on businesses, including nefarious requests that realistically mimic an employee's boss.

Gartner has tracked generative AI on its Hype Cycle™ for Artificial Intelligence since 2020 (also, generative AI was among our Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2022), and the technology has moved from the Innovation Trigger phase to the Peak of Inflated Expectations. But generative AI only hit mainstream headlines in late 2022 with the launch of ChatGPT, a chatbot capable of very human-seeming interactions.

ChatGPT, launched by OpenAI, became wildly popular overnight and galvanized public attention. (OpenAI’s DALL·E 2 tool similarly generates images from text in a related generative AI innovation.)

Gartner sees generative AI becoming a general-purpose technology with an impact similar to that of the steam engine, electricity and the internet. The hype will subside as the reality of implementation sets in, but the impact of generative AI will grow as people and enterprises discover more innovative applications for the technology in daily work and life

Benefits and Applications

Foundation models, including generative pretrained transformers (which drives ChatGPT), are among the AI architecture innovations that can be used to automate, augment humans or machines, and autonomously execute business and IT processes. 

The benefits of generative AI include faster product development, enhanced customer experience and improved employee productivity, but the specifics depend on the use case. End users should be realistic about the value they are looking to achieve, especially when using a service as is, which has major limitations. Generative AI creates artifacts that can be inaccurate or biased, making human validation essential and potentially limiting the time it saves workers. Gartner recommends connecting use cases to KPIs to ensure that any project either improves operational efficiency or creates net new revenue or better experiences.

In a recent Gartner webinar poll of more than 2,500 executives, 38% indicated that customer experience and retention is the primary purpose of their generative AI investments. This was followed by revenue growth (26%), cost optimization (17%) and business continuity (7%).

Risks of generative AI

The risks associated with generative AI are significant and rapidly evolving. A wide array of threat actors have already used the technology to create “deep fakes” or copies of products, and generate artifacts to support increasingly complex scams.

ChatGPT and other tools like it are trained on large amounts of publicly available data. They are not designed to be compliant with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other copyright laws, so it’s imperative to pay close attention to your enterprises’ uses of the platforms. 

Oversight risks to monitor include:

• Lack of transparency. Generative AI and ChatGPT models are unpredictable, and not even the companies behind them always understand everything about how they work.
• Accuracy. Generative AI systems sometimes produce inaccurate and fabricated answers. Assess all outputs for accuracy, appropriateness and actual usefulness before relying on or publicly distributing information. 
• Bias. You need policies or controls in place to detect biased outputs and deal with them in a manner consistent with company policy and any relevant legal requirements.
• Intellectual property (IP) and copyright. There are currently no verifiable data governance and protection assurances regarding confidential enterprise information. Users should assume that any data or queries they enter into the ChatGPT and its competitors will become public information, and we advise enterprises to put in place controls to avoid inadvertently exposing IP. 
• Cybersecurity and fraud. Enterprises must prepare for malicious actors’ use of generative AI systems for cyber and fraud attacks, such as those that use deep fakes for social engineering of personnel, and ensure mitigating controls are put in place. Confer with your cyber-insurance provider to verify the degree to which your existing policy covers AI-related breaches.
• Sustainability. Generative AI uses significant amounts of electricity. Choose vendors that reduce power consumption and leverage high-quality renewable energy to mitigate the impact on your sustainability goals.

Practical uses of generative AI

In-use, high-level practical applications today include the following.

• Written content augmentation and creation: Producing a “draft” output of text in a desired style and length

• Question answering and discovery: Enabling users to locate answers to input, based on data and prompt information

• Tone: Text manipulation, to soften language or professionalize text

• Summarization: Offering shortened versions of conversations, articles, emails and webpages

• Simplification: Breaking down titles, creating outlines and extracting key content

• Classification of content for specific use cases: Sorting by sentiment, topic, etc.

• Chatbot performance improvement: Bettering “sentity” extraction, whole-conversation sentiment classification and generation of journey flows from general descriptions

• Software coding: Code generation, translation, explanation and verification