Reshaping the professional landscape with digital transformation 2.0

In recent years, the arrival and implementation of technologies such as cloud computing, 4G, and ever more portable but powerful laptops, has enabled many organisations to achieve a certain level of digital transformation – namely realising unprecedented levels of workplace mobility, efficiency and security. But given the consistent pace of digital innovation, there is an emerging wave of technologies set to drive a new era of change. While solutions such as cloud remain integral to the workplace, the arrival of virtual and assisted reality, mobile edge computing, and AI – to give just a few examples – will shift the IT landscape and drive the second wave of digital transformation. The emergence of 5G will be a major catalyst in driving enterprise adoption of these new technologies, many of which will benefit significantly from the enhanced capacity and speed of the next generation cellular network. While mobile and flexible working have been on the radar of companies for some time, 5G opens up new pathways in the areas of IoT and edge computing – areas which boast tremendous potential in terms of boosting operational efficiency and productivity, but to date have seen slow adoption. Juniper Research, for example, predicts that the number of connected IoT sensors and devices is set to exceed 50 billion by 2022 – up from an estimated 21 billion in 2018.