Business Info - issue 134

Continued... Simon Dudley 01732 759725 magazine 21 PREDICTIONS 2018 We predict that we’ll see customer service and support incorporate video into their calls and that the technology will become a core feature of sales calls, with many adopting virtual face-to-face sales strategies. In business communications, Augmented Reality (AR) will become a ‘next-level’ technology for a handful of applications. For example, we predict that facial recognition in video conferencing will be applied to user identification, room management, call initiation and more. Let’s say there’s an active video conference but a participant is struggling to recognise someone on the other line; they could hover their cursor over the other caller and the facial recognition software would provide full identification details and credentials. Morten Illum, VP of EMEAI at HPE Aruba Artificial Intelligence and machine learning will make further inroads into the workplace.We are seeing this already with the massive amount of resources invested into natural language processing initiatives. It will be interesting to see how AI, and more specifically machine learning, shapes the network security landscape. Security is a key concern for chief security officers (CSO) as their enterprises become increasingly mobile. By deploying a machine-learning framework on enterprise networks, suspect behaviour can be spotted, analysed and responded to automatically, which means CSOs can rest assured. This lessens the need to monitor networks manually and leaves IT staff to take care of the day-to-day. One technology that isn’t new, but which has taken major steps to becoming common practice for enterprises, is Edge Computing.With the explosion of connected devices (IoT), cloud and the global transfer of data, a lot of strain is being put on the bandwidth and network capabilities Some might find the idea of AI becoming a mainstream feature in businesses far-fetched. They will need to redefine what they think of as Artificial Intelligence. of enterprise infrastructure. Latency requirements and the fact that data processing is becoming key for all organisations mean that processing will need to move away from central processing nodes and out towards the edge of the network. This will help improve network capabilities for data gathering and processing. Reduced latency issues will enable connected devices to function optimally. Phil Jones MBE, managing director at Brother UK With the shape of post-Brexit Britain still unclear, businesses remain vigilant, cautious and careful with their decisions. This behaviour, on top of a drive by firms to maximise efficiency, will influence technology trends in the workplace in 2018. The economic climate has resulted in more sophisticated buying from decision-makers, as they look to reduce costs and maximise value. As this behaviour rolls over into 2018, it may spark the return of ‘cold tech’. This trend first started in the early 2000s, when there was demand for technology that provided a quick return on investment (ROI) within the same financial year, delivering immediate savings to the bottom line. Some might find the idea of AI becoming a mainstream feature in businesses far-fetched. They will need to redefine what they think of as Artificial Intelligence. AI is already being utilised by businesses in the form of automated software that machines learn.We’ve seen a proliferation of this in customer support and audit environments. As the technology continues to mature and become more sophisticated, more processes will become automated. Smart investments in this type of AI can deliver real results for businesses in 2018. As an industry, we’ll move away from thinking of AI as a sci-fi concept and instead view it as a tool to help our businesses operate more efficiently and productively. ThomasWalter, section manager strategic product marketing, Public Display Solutions at NEC Display Solutions Europe GmbH There is an increased demand for flexibility in the workplace, linked to employee morale and productivity. Interactivity is on the rise and organisations are seeking to provide breakout spaces and huddle rooms that offer flexible collaboration choices with video conferencing capabilities. Technology that supports this need for flexibility and collaboration and is reliable and easy to use will be in demand. The new NEC InfinityBoard is the only product on the market that offers flexibility, choice and reliability, making lives as easy as possible in terms of design and integration by not restricting the software available to end users and by giving our customers the NEC quality experience. Unified communication displays will increase in volume by 400% (from 2017 to 2021) according to FutureSource. The NEC InfinityBoard, being open and modular, is a perfect fit for all enterprises that need collaborative work tools and need to work together from more than one location. In addition, UHD resolution in meeting rooms will become mainstream. The majority of display screen sizes over 60” will feature UHD resolution and projection will also soon support UHD for meeting and conferencing rooms. Morten Illum Phil Jones MBE Thomas Walter