#BizTrends2023: 4 future technologies that will change how we think about IT infrastructure

Matone Ditlhake, CEO of Corridor Africa Technologies | image supplied

Infrastructure developments will be the platform for future innovations and will set the stage for how the world will evolve. More importantly, it will also provide the opportunity for a more productive, sustainable and equitable future.

Businesses around the world are investing in infrastructure to deal with this new reality and governments are investing in digital transformation at a time when several larger trends are changing the way we think about infrastructure.

Here is a list of future technologies that rely on reliable infrastructure:

1. Extended reality (ER)

These are technologies that simulate reality to some extent from augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality. It makes use of headgear and software to provide real sounds and visual effects to convert a virtual environment into an interactive one.

With all the discussions around the metaverse this is certainly where the world is heading and this has been precipitated by the proliferation of other technologies like Zoom and Microsoft Teams. The world is moving towards creating a reality without tangible presence.

According to Precedence Research, the global extended reality market size was exhibited at $35.14bn in 2022 and is projected to hit around $345.9bn by 2030.

ER blurs the boundaries between the physical and digital world, enabling consumers to have a 360-degree immersive digital experience. With immersive tech becoming more natural, evolving from screens to voice and gestures.

Interactive content now has the ability to transform businesses and deliver new high-end metaverse customer experiences. The combination ER and 5G is creating new business models and opportunities for service providers in various industries including retail, media, sports, automotive and education.

2. Smarter devices

Smarter devices are becoming more popular as more companies transform into digital spaces. We will see smarter devices in home robots, wearables and work devices. We will see more of this post-Covid as the world got introduced to remote work and the fact that we have had these technologies around for some time now, means that there will be significant improvements.

When we refer to smart devices, it’s usually devices that are connected to the internet and those devices that can be controlled remotely. It could be something like a wi-fi enabled home automation system that can be controlled from your phone including your lights and your security system.

Smarter devices can make our lives more convenient and save time and money. For example, a smart security system allows you to check on your smart device whether all the doors and windows are locked before you go to sleep.

When it comes to smart devices, there are endless possibilities and new innovative ideas are being developed all the time. They are constantly making our lives easier and more efficient, so investing in smarter devices is a great place to start.

So, what does the future hold for smarter devices? We expect them to be more powerful and more affordable - with better integration. There is no doubt that smarter devices are here to stay, they will only get better and more convenient.

3. Computing power

We have 5G already and as we are gearing up towards 6G, we will see the ever-increase in computing power in devices that are around us. The latest specifications can handle massive speeds required to connect to the ever-evolving tech platforms.

6G and beyond will fulfil the requirements of a fully connected world and provide ubiquitous wireless connectivity for all. Transformative solutions are expected to drive the surge for accommodating a rapidly growing number of intelligent devices and services.

We envisage that 6G will not only enable a pervasively intelligent, reliable, scalable, and secure terrestrial wireless network, but will also incorporate space communications to form an omnipresent wireless network, in keeping with the need for true wireless ubiquity.

4. Artificial intelligence and machine learning

AI has been around us for a while but the tech continues to influence how the way we live and the trend around how life is managed. There have already been some major progress around speech recognition and facial recognition.

It is shaping the future of humanity across nearly every industry and is already the main driver of emerging technologies like big data, robotics and IoT. AI and machine learning will continue to act as a technological innovator for the foreseeable future.