Robotic automation and widespread application of AI
The launch of the original version of Chat GPT-3 in 2020 marked an important milestone in the field of artificial intelligence as one of the most remarkable advances of the last century.
This model has four key features: natural language processing capability, chatbot applications, pre-training of the model and its scalability to tackle complex tasks.
According to Gartner forecasts, “by 2026, more than 80% of enterprises will have used GenAI APIs and models and/or deployed GenAI-enabled applications in production environments, up from less than 5% in 2023”.
The opportunities this technology offers:
- Increased public-private collaboration with initiatives such as the AI Governance Alliance (AIGA).
- Growth of specialised jobs.
- Continuous innovation and technological progress: innovations in audio, imaging, image recognition and machine learning.
Cybersecurity challenges in today’s landscape
The prolific use of AI has led to an increase in the number of vulnerabilities demanding innovative responses. Evolving cyber threats demand more sophisticated solutions in advanced detection, cyber threat analysis, process automation with AI, strengthening cloud security, Ransomware resilience, multi-factor and biometric authentication, the need for collaboration to prevent attacks on supply chains, strengthening security for remote working, etc.
INCIBE – Instituto Nacional de Ciberseguridad, points out that almost half of the companies have suffered at least one attack in the last year 2023.
According to a Gartner report, global spending on cybersecurity and risk management is expected to be around $215 billion in 2024, an increase of 14.3 per cent over 2023. A large part of the spending will focus on data privacy and cloud security.
In addition, the global costs of damage caused by cybercrime could rise to $10.5 trillion by 2025. This compares to the $3 trillion it cost businesses in 2015.
The opportunities offered by this technology:
- Cyber resilience: with the development and implementation of innovative solutions, integrated with AI, for the proactive detection of threats and improvement of security tools, the impact of possible attacks or incidents will be minimised.
- Security collaboration between professionals, organisations, public and private sector. Companies should partner with trusted vendors and validate models to ensure their reliability.
- Stricter regulations as a driver of growth, improving security standards in business strategy. Investment in cybersecurity protects assets and fosters innovation as a differentiating value.
- Incorporate new cybersecurity profiles in governance bodies and in strategic decision-making.
- Development of Zero-Trust architectures, adopting the “always verify, never trust” approach.
Taking advantage of these opportunities will require comprehensive and proactive strategies:
- Collaboration with trusted vendors and the implementation of proactive approaches, such as Zero Trust practices, as well as the recruitment of expert cyber security profiles.
- Security awareness and robust anti-malware measures.
- Continuous cybersecurity education and training.
- Investment in innovative AI-integrated solutions, including robust back-up policy and anti-ransomware strategies.
- Regulatory compliance
Quantum computing: A reality check
Ever-evolving quantum technology promises to revolutionise various aspects of computing, communication and science. Advances such as the rise of “qubits,” extended coherence times and the development of efficient algorithms are shaping a promising technology landscape.
The quantum computing market will grow at an annual rate of more than 38% and reach a value of $4.375 billion in 2028, according to one of the latest studies by the consulting firm MarketsandMarkets.
The opportunities offered by this technology:
- Business optimisation to solve complex problems and simulation of new services, products, etc. Healthcare, science, agriculture, environment, logistics, energy, retail, automotive, aerospace, finance and insurance are some of the sectors most benefiting from the applications of quantum computing.
- Advances in processing power, fast and efficient decision-making on complex problems and the use of AI to improve the ability of machines to learn patterns and perform data analysis in the quantum context open up new possibilities.
- New business models: quantum computing services in the cloud, quantum hardware development, cryptographic solutions and quantum security.
Big Data
Continuous innovation in products and services backed by data analytics allows anticipating market needs and offering customised solutions. The importance of data and its automation will require further modernisation of data centres for record power utilisation, edge computing, digital twins, storage, etc. McKinsey & Company projects that data centre demand will reach 35 gigawatts in 2030, up from 17 gigawatts in 2022.
The opportunities offered by this technology:
- Increased access and processing of data in the cloud, in real time, with flexible access that will enable optimisation of internal processes, marketing, supply chain, HR management, etc.
- AI and machine learning used for data automation and development of predictive capabilities: leading to faster and more efficient analysis, creating agile strategies with greater accuracy, less effort and new business models in data monetisation.
- Democratisation of data access benefiting from Big Data analytics.
- Industry 4.0 technology in data analytics: Integration of emerging technologies for greater personalisation and customer experience strengthening loyalty.
- Migration to cloud-based architectures to access scalable and efficient resources optimises costs and unlocks additional levels of agility.
5G, universal connectivity and its implications
Gigabit and 5G connectivity are crucial elements for industrial competitiveness and the digital and green transition. In addition, Telefónica ended 2023 with a remarkable 5G deployment, with 3,951 nodes in the 3.5GHz band, more than doubling, even tripling those of the competition. According to the Broadband Coverage in Spain report, we exceeded the European average, slightly behind Germany and Italy.
It is also estimated that 5G will reduce consumption per gigabyte by 90% in 2025 and by 95% between 2015 and 2021, and could save between 55 and 170 million tonnes of CO₂ per year.
The opportunities offered by this technology:
- Modern, smarter, softwarised networks. 5G connectivity enables improved efficiency and speed in data transfer offering interactive experiences, boosting productivity and user satisfaction.
- The massive connectivity capability of 5G opens the door to the expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) and drives the integration of Edge computing: Smartcities, Connected Vehicles and interconnected devices will create a broader and more efficient digital ecosystem.
- Business innovation: enterprise applications ranging from augmented reality to industrial automation improve productivity and business models.
- The acceleration of private 5G deployments in various business verticals promises a growing market with significant opportunities in the future.
IoT and hyperconnectedness in AI-integrated devices
This year 2024 will see groundbreaking advances in brain-computer interfaces, sustainable IoT, connected vehicles, metaverse, etc. It is expected that by the end of 2024 more than 207 billion devices will be connected to the IoT and the use of data and the world will reach 9.7 million pentabytes in 2027 (Seen in Ituser.es, IT Trends 2024).
The opportunities offered by this technology:
- Business efficiency thanks to the fact that companies and entities can optimise processes, reduce costs and improve customer experience, paving the way for innovative business models and favouring teleworking.
- Artificial intelligence of things (AIoT): convergence with AI in more intelligent and autonomous devices securely integrated to optimise machine-human interactions and enhance data management.
- eHealth and connected health: Enabling remote diagnostics and constant monitoring, contributing to improved quality of life for patients and early detection of diseases. Wearables for medical purposes and robots for surgery, remote monitoring of patients will be two trends in 2024.
- Sustainability and Circular Economy: sustainability is driven by thermal monitoring, inventory optimisation and improved supply chains, contributing to efficient use of resources. IoT applications are printed
Edge computing
Edge computing is a distributed computing framework that brings enterprise applications closer to data sources, such as IoT devices or local edge servers. This proximity to data at its source can bring major business benefits, such as faster insights, better response times and higher bandwidth availability.
The convergence of this technology with 5G, AI, Zero Trust approaches such as end-to-end encryption and multi-factor authentication (MFA), Cloud integration, Edge-as-a-Service models, as well as the incorporation of solar panels, energy storage systems and scalable UPS will enable greater sustainability and functionality.
According to Gartner estimates, global spending on public cloud services is projected to increase by 20.4 % by 2024, indicating that mass migration to the cloud shows no signs of abating.
According to Eurostat, only 41% of EU enterprises used cloud computing in 2021 and by 2030, 75% of European enterprises should be using state-of-the-art cloud technologies for their activities. The deployment of 10,000 climate-neutral and highly secure edge nodes will provide the necessary connectivity and enable fast data transfers.
The opportunities this technology offers:
- Edge computing companies will leverage Edge-as-a-Service (EaaS) to scale their resources without investing in expensive infrastructure, facilitate edge-to-edge Cloud collaborations, provide autonomy and resource elasticity while managing a wide range of resources across nodes for users. There will be new opportunities including asset recovery, predictive analytics, edge device management and monitoring, as well as software and operations automation.
- Growing integration between compute and cloud to facilitate efficiencies in data processing and analytics, to support a wide range of applications including the Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous vehicles and smart cities.
- Increased Focus on Data Security: We will see edge computing focus more on implementing better hardware security features, providing devices with solid foundations, improving boot security to ensure that devices only run trusted firmware, improvements in encryption algorithms, etc.
- Increased Adoption of 5G: High bandwidth speed, low latency and higher data transfer speeds with the emergence of new use cases.
- Decentralisation of computing: Edge containers will help enterprises decentralise services by moving critical components to the edge of a network.
This article invites us to reflect on the kind of future we want to build, which we hope will be marked by inclusion, sustainability and collective well-being.
Let us explore together this fascinating future in a spirit of innovation.
