Last month, Dell Technologies and AMD hosted the virtual event Data Advantage: How to innovate and create new value, in which top executives and technology experts shared best practices for turning data into a competitive edge for businesses.

As one of those panel speakers, I was pleased to discuss the key innovations businesses should consider to create new value. Joining the discussion was Bernard Marr, international best-selling business author, futurist, keynote speaker and strategic advisor to companies and governments. He gave his view on six key technologies to watch in 2021. Let’s look at what he said:

1. Big Data and the IoT

“Big Data, especially from the Internet of Things (IoT), is being generated in huge volumes from our smart devices, smart products and connected machines. Having access to this data and being able to use it will be key.”

2. Cloud storage and edge computing

“The second trend is having cloud and edge computing in place. We are seeing the emergence of the as-a-service economy – I can simply go to a company for services so I can store and process all of this data [in real time].”

3. Smart robots

“We are now seeing more intelligent robots in the manufacturing process and across the supply chain with self-driving cars, trucks, ships and drones. White-collar robots that use Robotic Process Automation – especially the latest versions that apply machine learning – will also be very important in really monitoring what people are doing and helping them to perform some of those tasks.”

4. AI and ML for data insights

“The fourth and most important technology trend is artificial intelligence and machine learning – the most powerful technology humans have ever had access to. This again enables us to automate more of our business processes, but also to automate some of the insights we’re generating from our data. Instead of having a pull factor where people have to find the data, analyse it themselves, identify patterns and make better decisions, in the future we’ll have more of a push factor – intelligent algorithms actually monitoring your data and saying ‘ok, it looks like this customer segment is less loyal than others, you might want to have a look at this.’”

5. Resilient next-gen connectivity
   

“The fifth trend is having more resilient networks – especially when we look at the rollout of 5G. This will be a massive enabler that gives us all of the connectivity we need in mobile devices, anywhere, so we don’t have to worry about having a Wi-Fi connection for fast internet speeds. I’m talking to companies like Nokia about the sixth generation of mobile networks already, so this this is extremely important.”

6. Extended reality

“This is closely linked to the connectivity trend… using augmented and virtual reality to provide more immersive experiences. With 5G and mobile headsets, you can take customers anywhere – they will be able to sit on a bus somewhere and have amazing VR and AR experiences.”

For more insights from the many other leaders who attended the event Data Advantage: How to innovate and create new value, such as author and management consultant Geoffrey Moore, Mark Kramer from our customer EDAG, as well as Matt Baker and myself from Dell Technologies, please access the session on-demand.