News & Views

AI to thrive in 2021

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CIOs and CTOs across the US, UK, China, India and Brazil are predicting that AI, Machine Learning, 5G and IoT will be the most important technologies in 2021.

According to a new IEEE study (www.ieee.org), the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the speed technology adoption will continue in 2021 with nearly one-third (32%) of survey respondents saying that they expect AI and machine learning, followed by 5G (20%) and IoT (14%) to be the biggest growth areas.

Industry sectors expected to be the most affected include manufacturing (19%), healthcare (18%), financial services (15%) and education (13%).  At the same time, more than half (52%) of CIOs and CTOs see their biggest challenge in 2021 as dealing with aspects of COVID-19 recovery in relation to business operations. These challenges include a permanent hybrid remote and office work structure (22%), office and facilities re-openings and return (17%), and managing permanent remote working (13%).  However, 11% said the agility to stop and start IT initiatives as this unpredictable environment continues will be their biggest challenge.  Another 11% cited online security threats, including those related to remote workers, as the biggest challenge they see in 2021.

The adoption of IoT (42%), augmented and virtual reality (35%) and video conferencing (35%) technologies have also been accelerated due to the global pandemic.

Compared to a year ago, CIOs and CTOs overwhelmingly (92%) believe their company is better prepared to respond to a potentially catastrophic interruption such as a data breach or natural disaster.  What’s more, of those who say they are better prepared, 58% strongly agree that COVID-19 accelerated their preparedness.