By Dave Sasson
As 2023 draws closer, the team at Hanu are looking at all the ways in which technology will be used over the coming year.
While some of the latest trends involve brand-new tech, many are the result of more recent innovations breaking into the wider market of cloud-enabled enterprises.
Without further ado, here are 4 new cloud technologies and innovations you need to be aware of in 2023.
Quantum computing gains mainstream viability via the Azure cloud
For those new to the concept, quantum computing is the use of quantum mechanics and physics concepts like entanglement, quantum interference, and superposition in computing. If this sounds strange and complicated, that’s because it is. However, you don’t have to understand all the ins and outs of quantum physics to leverage it for innovation and growth.
Here are a few ways in which quantum computing will be used in 2023 to drive innovation:.
- Quantum machine learning is adding fuel to the fire of traditional ML strategies by exponentially increasing the speed at which algorithms can learn, thereby reducing costs and driving innovation.
- Optimization and decision-making will be transformed using quantum mechanics. Massive data sets from things like supply chain and package deliveries, energy storage, and road traffic flows can be analyzed through quantum computing, with new solutions and automations emerging.
- Quantum simulation enables the modeling of complex, large scale systems that would otherwise go unexplored by classical computing. These include superconductivity, molecular and genetic structures, and plant photosynthesis.
Digital Twins and simulated worlds gain widespread adoption
While not new, digital twins and simulations will finally begin to have an impact on our daily lives. As they become more accessible through the cloud – and therefore unrestricted by on-premises challenges – new use cases will emerge.
Simulations can be used from everything from forecasting the weather to modeling financial markets and building better race cars. Until recently, the need for a specialized skillset and lack of access to expensive hardware made the use of simulations prohibitive for most companies. For context, a fluid dynamics simulation for a jet wing might take as much as 150 terabytes of data – and that’s for just one second.
This is quickly changing with the advent of technology such as Azure Digital Twins
Azure allows organizations to simulate nearly any process, project, or event before beginning any new undertaking in the real world. From supply chain management to city planning and power grid management, simulations will let us look into the future and run “what-if” scenarios to answer questions, before making any significant financial or time investment.
Artificial Intelligence becomes a core component of every company’s digital transformation
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is certainly not a brand-new development heading into 2023 – we’re already seeing it transform how we navigate smart devices via personal assistants, as well as how images and speech are recognized. However, it’s use cases and transformative power will increase exponentially.
Before widespread availability via the public Cloud, AI solutions were limited to a handful of SaaS offerings. This is due to the prohibitively high cost of building on-premises computing infrastructures capable of running modern AI systems.
Expect to see AI used to aggregate previously disparate sources of data and use them to analyze interactions and provide insight into business connections. Examples include allowing healthcare organizations to predict demand, and plan accordingly; and to analyze data in real-time to detect changing patterns in customer spending, enabling retailers to enhance personalization.
As AI evolves – particularly, AI in the Cloud – businesses will be able to delegate more and more menial tasks to machine learning algorithms. These include repetitive tasks like data analysis and the monitoring of critical-but-tedious workflows.
With time-consuming and repetitive tasks out of the way, IT teams can concentrate on innovation and strategy – tasks that drive real business value.
Custom computer chips rise to the clouds
As we move into 2023, custom, purpose-built computer chip production will increase. The result will be lower energy consumption, cost reduction, and an acceleration of innovation as these custom hardware optimizations drive new performance highs.
One area to look out for is machine learning. Traditionally, developers and engineers have relied on resource-intensive GPUs to do everything from inference to model building. However, most GPUs aren’t optimized for these tasks.
The metaverse emerges as a serious driver of revenue growth.
Brands will begin to take the metaverse seriously as a long-term revenue growth driver.
Not familiar with the concept? According to Gartner, “Technically, a metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality. For simplicity’s sake, think of a metaverse as the next iteration of the internet, which started as individual bulletin boards and independent online destinations. Eventually these destinations became sites on a virtual shared space — similar to how a metaverse will develop.”
As the concept grows in popularity, organizations will look to explore brand placement, product development, customer engagement opportunities, and new Digital Business Assets (DBAs) for the metaverse.
For enterprises new to the space, experimentation is in order. Experiment with how to engage and connect with customers to create new markets and value exchanges. While the concept of the metaverse currently consists of several disparate platforms across different devices, they all have human interaction, debate, play, and virtual economy in common – so remember to capitalize on these trends when engaging in the virtual world.
According to Gartner, business leaders should focus on understanding the following:
- Markets are created in these programmable economies.
- Business and financial models are executed.
- DBAs fit into customer engagement.
Want to leverage the Azure Cloud for rapid innovation and technology adoption? Contact the experts at Hanu today for a free consultation.
