Research and Markets has published a new report titled: “Digital Transformation Asia Pacific: 5G, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, and Smart Cities in APAC 2019 – 2024.” This report identifies market opportunities for deployment and operations of key technologies within the Asia-Pacific region.
The report cites examples such as H3C Technologies plans to offer a comprehensive digital transformation platform within Thailand. The platform includes core cloud and edge computing, big data, interconnectivity, information security, IoT, AI, and 5G solutions.
Fragmented AI
The report predicts what will happen with 5G technology, to identifying how 5G will digitally transform business in Asia Pacific. It represents the most comprehensive research available focused on the impact of 5G, AI, and IoT in Asia Pac. It also provides analysis about how these technologies will have a positive feedback loop effect with smart cities.
AI adoption is currently very fragmented, characterised by most companies focusing on silo approaches to solutions. Longer-term, researchers see many solutions involving multiple AI types. In addition, there are integrations across other key areas such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and data analytics. AI is expected to have a big impact on data management although the impact goes well beyond this. Research and Markets anticipate that these technologies will increasingly become part of every network, device, application, and service.
Edge computing
Data analytics at the edge of networks is very different than centralised cloud computing as the data is contextual. It may be processed in real-time (e.g. streaming data) via big data analytics technologies. Edge Computing represents an important ICT trend. Computational infrastructure is moving increasingly closer to the source of data processing needs. This move to the edge does not diminish the importance of centralised computing as is found with many cloud-based services. Instead, computing at the edge offers many complementary advantages. This includes reduced latency for time sensitive data, lower capital costs and operational expenditures due to efficiency improvements.
For both core cloud infrastructure and edge computing equipment, AI for decision making in IoT and data analytics will be crucial. It will be needed for efficient and effective decision making, especially in the area of streaming data and real-time analytics. Real-time data will be a key value proposition for all use cases, segments, and solutions. The ability to capture streaming data, determine valuable attributes and make decisions in real-time will add an entirely new dimension to service logic. In many cases, the data itself, and actionable information will be the service.
Impacting across all sectors
Many industry verticals will be transformed through AI integration with enterprise, industrial, consumer product and service ecosystems. It is destined to become an integral component of business operations. This includes supply chains, sales, and marketing processes, product, and service delivery and support models. The term for AI support of IoT (or AIoT) is just beginning to become part of the ICT lexicon. Particularly since the possibilities for the former adding value to the latter are only limited by the imagination.
AI, IoT, and 5G will provide the intelligence, communications, connectivity, and bandwidth necessary for functional and sustainable smart cities solutions. The combination of these technologies are poised to produce solutions that will dramatically transform all aspects of ICT. It will also impact virtually all sectors transformed through AI integration with enterprise, industrial, and consumer product and service ecosystems.
Smart cities – a potential huge market
In addition, these technologies are destined to become an integral component of business operations. The report suggests a positive feedback loop created and sustained by leveraging the interdependent capabilities of AI, IoT, and 5G. For example, AI will work in conjunction with IoT to substantially improve smart city supply chains. Metropolitan area supply chains represent complex systems of organisations, people, activities, information and resources. All the activities involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer.
Smart cities in particular represent a huge market for Asia-Pac digital transformation. This comes through a combination of solutions deployed in cities that transform the administration and support of living and working environments. Sustainable smart city technology deployments depend upon careful planning and execution as well as monitoring and adjustments as necessary. This will stimulate the need for both cross-industry coordination and orchestration of many different capabilities across several important technologies.
Enterprise Times: What this means for business
Some of the most innovative smart city digital transformation developments are taking place across the Asia Pacific region. That includes Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai. The biggest markets China, Korea, and Japan often get the most attention. However, it is important to consider fast-growing ASEAN region such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia or the Philippines.
Many of the lessons learned in leading Asia Pac countries will be applied to the ASEAN region. There are also benefits here that will have impacts on those economies. The convergence of these technologies will attract further innovation. This will create further advancements in various industry verticals and other technologies such as robotics and virtual reality.