Gartner highlights 5 technologies that will transform digital future of firms

The five technologies are: satellite communications, tiny ambient Internet of Things (IoT), secure computation, digital humans, and autonomic robots, Gartner said on Wednesday.

Gartner’s vice president analyst Nick Jones pointed out that all five of these technologies had the potential to be transformative and should be investigated now due to their broad scope and ability to build new products and services.

“Everyone's definition of disruptive is different. So evaluate them from your organisation’s unique perspective and their potential impact. Then consider new business opportunities enabled by individual technologies, as well as combinations of them,” he said

He explained that the growing interest in low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications is being driven by the democratisation and commercialisation of space. Because of its low latency, LEO is an important technology for enterprises looking to revolutionise communications to people and things.

According to Gartner, LEO will provide broadband with global coverage and low enough latency for a wide range of tasks; direct satellite connections for small IoT devices to provide affordable global coverage without involving SIMs, telco providers, or roaming complications; and voice and data services from a satellite to an unmodified 4G smartphone to extend coverage to remote locations.

However, he noted that the industry is still in its infancy, with much more growth to come. Given that LEO is a new technology in a complex market, each company must proceed with caution, he advised.

In terms of Tiny Ambient IoT, he pointed out that this technology allows for the tagging, tracking, and sensing of anything without the complexity or cost of battery-powered devices. Therefore, it would be possible to sense more information, about more things, in more ways, at a lower cost than in the past, he said.

"This would enable new ecosystems; new business models based on knowing the location or behaviour of objects; smarter products with new behaviours; and a much lower cost of tracking and monitoring," he said, adding that Tiny ambient IoT would expand opportunities for a wide range of businesses.

However, it is recommended that potential social and regulatory issues be considered before adoption.

Meanwhile, Gartner explained that secure computation is becoming increasingly important as things become more connected and ecosystems gain access to more personal information. It allows data to be used without jeopardising privacy.

According to the report, while many of the principles of secure computation have already been established, implementation is difficult due to cost, skills, performance, and availability.

It suggests that emerging technologies like optical accelerators will be critical in enabling deployment and alleviating those concerns.

Jones defined digital humans as interactive, AI-driven representations of human characteristics, personality, knowledge, and mindset.

They range from physical, such as humanoid robots, to virtual or human-driven, to AI-driven, where they do not need to be human-like in every way, such as a digital twin or chatbot, he said.

Despite their potential, digital humans present a number of challenges, including unethical applications, inappropriate behaviour, the creation of bias and stereotypes, a lack of regulation, the risk of social backlash, varying cultural attitudes, and more.

Gartner advises evaluating potential social and regulatory issues prior to adoption.

Autonomic robots and systems are self-managing physical or software systems that perform tasks with autonomy, learning, and agency.

Systems that can learn and adapt on their own will be critical if technologies like robots are to reach their full potential, Jones noted.

However, there are numerous challenges because it is not always clear what a robot or AI system has learned or what it can or cannot do.

Jones said he and Gartner recommended testing them in complex and rapidly changing environments where early adoption would provide agility and performance benefits. Manage risk by examining the business, legal, and ethical implications, he said.