Cisco has revealed its top trends and predictions for technology in 2020 and beyond. "The last decade has seen huge change in the way consumers, business, industry and governments use technology. The mass adoption of smartphones has seen Cloud-based computing, apps and social media develop at a rapid pace. As 2019 draws to a close Cisco is predicting even more dramatic changes for the decade ahead", said Osama Al-Zoubi, Cisco CTO for Middle East and Africa. • Internet of the future Rapid digital transformation is pushing existing internet infrastructure close to its breaking point. As such it is important that an internet of the future is developed. By 2023, there will be an estimated 49 billion devices connected to the internet and the next decade will see greater use of technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, 16K streaming and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The infrastructure of the Internet needs to be made faster, more scalable, and simpler to manage and secure for it enable these new technologies. Cisco has announced its ‘Internet for the Future' technology strategy which is based on investments in silicon, optics, and software. • Application loyalty is the new brand loyalty Brands and app developers will have to work harder to retain users. According to the latest findings of the AppDynamics App Attention Index, the use of digital services has evolved to become an unconscious human behavior. The research shows that consumers have zero tolerance towards apps that do not offer a premium experience with 49 percent switching to the competition if they experience performance issues. While 63 percent will actively discourage others from using the service or brand without giving the business a chance to improve. In 2020, businesses must analyze data and application performance in real-time to ensure the user experience is fast and exceptional. • Threat hunting and zero trust. Organizations need to get ahead of cyber security threats and the Zero Trust model will play a greater role. Under Zero Trust, access to the network is only given to authorized devices, users and workloads once trust is established and threats are prevented. Threat Hunting will also be more important as part of an organizations' holistic security approach. Threat Hunting discovers new, unknown malware and vulnerabilities. Even if no malware is detected, Threat Hunting will often identify vulnerabilities that require attention. •Networking trends: The journey towards intent-based networks Cisco believes the future of networks is Intent-Based Networking (IBN), which uses AI and Machine Learning to predict actions, detect and resolve anomalies automatically, stop security threats, while continuing to evolve and learn. According to the Cisco Global Network Trends survey of 2,000 IT experts, 78 percent believe IBN will play a bigger role in their networks within two years. A further 35 percent said their networks will be fully intent-based over the same period. • Skills / IT talent shortage The IT industry is facing a talent gap and according to a Cisco survey of the 600 IT and business decision makers, 93 percent believe it is so serious that it is slowing their business' transformation. Most in demand are data science and AI roles, but to meet their needs IT must shift from ‘orders takers' to strategic business partners. The day-to-day roles of IT workers will move towards solving business problems with technology and away from configuring devices. The biggest hiring priority for IT and business executives in the coming years will be for employees with technical and business skills. — SG
