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New Tech to Expect in 2021

JOIN US: This is a chat-based conversation about innovation and what we might expect in terms of new products and services in 2021.

#eweekchat @editingwhiz @mringman @dfoster_jr @journeyapps

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Chris Preimesberger6

Q3: In what other sectors of IT are you seeing promising innovation for new products for 2021?

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@editingwhizQ3: Containers and #Kubernetes to be sure is going to be huge in 2021. Application modernization efforts are occuring everywhere and K8s have become that defacto standard for driving this innovation

Q3: This of course means new standards and best practices will need to be adopted, and with this shift we will probably see a much more #cloudnative world be introduced

Chris Preimesberger

@DFoster_Jr I agree, Don. I don't think we're much past the second inning in cloud services. So much more to come!

A3 we're still seeing promising innovation in cross-platform compute and functional software building blocks. Doing for software what AWS did for hardware. 2021 could be a a big year for graalVM, for example.

The application modernization push will take us to the next level

Chris Preimesberger

@journeyapps What's graalVM?

A3 2021 could also be a big year for wearables, we're seeing a lot of industry adoption of RealWear's headsets, for example.

Michael Ringman

A3: Regardless of industry, the development/adoption of AI applications continue to accelerate and proliferate the market. We do a lot work in the gaming sector and collaborate in real time with gamers around the world to resolve their challenges.

I tried to link to it but couldn't... "GraalVM is a universal virtual machine for running applications written in JavaScript, Python, Ruby, R, JVM-based languages like Java, Scala, Clojure, Kotlin, and LLVM-based languages such as C and C++."

@journeyapps I had a chance to spend some time with some innovators at MIT and the ideas they are coming up with on wearables is totally cool and amazing

Michael Ringman

A3: Using AI to do real-time language translation has been key. For example, French speaking gamers can collaborate with English speaking gamers thanks to this AI. On top of that, you can moderate that content for appropriate language etc. in real-time.

Chris Preimesberger

@DFoster_Jr Can you let us in on one or two of the items you saw?

Chris Preimesberger

@mringman Very cool. Using AI to break down language and culture barriers internationally is a great result of upcoming tech.

wearable sensors and timed release ideas that look like body jewelry etc

A3 There is still a lot of innovation needed when it comes to IT infrastructure. The perimeter is long dead (died with the advent of the smartphone pretty much). Hoping products like Hashicorp Boundary can help companies move beyond the idea of securing the perimeter

Chris Preimesberger

@DFoster_Jr What would these sensors tell you?

Chris Preimesberger

@journeyapps Agree that innovation is always needed in the security realm. Can't have too many good new ideas vs. the bad actors. Do you see any other good security tech coming?

I think the big topic on everyone's minds is post-quantum crypto. But that's probably not a 2021 problem :)

Medical tracking was the initial thoughts but it can go so much further. ;)

Chris Preimesberger4

Q2: How exactly are Commvault, TELUS International and JourneyApps innovating new products and services?

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A2: #Commvault is changing UX, becoming more predictive and prescriptive in nature, and leveraging innovative ML and AI to automate these operations

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Michael Ringman

A2: We recently launched iLabs, our in house innovation lab to redefine the ways in which humans and technology interact to develop solutions that are practical today, but also focused on the future. 1/3

Q2 JourneyApps is pioneering a new paradigm for building software by bringing innovations from no-code and low-code to professional coders without the drawbacks / limitations of no-code.

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Chris Preimesberger

@mringman Very cool. Can you describe what might be considered "new tech" coming from the lab?

A2: for example, you tell us what you want your SLA's to be and our product helps to get you there on it's own. There is still more work to do here, but managing by exception for scale is key for the future

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Michael Ringman

A2: The team leverages leading-edge technologies, including augmented intelligence, RPA, NLP, big data and analytics, cloud computing, software defined network, the internet of things, and blockchain to create disruptive CX solutions 2/3

Chris Preimesberger

@DFoster_Jr Nice. Will this result in new, upgraded tech for existing products/services or will it play a role in creating new ones?

Michael Ringman

A2: Most recently, we announced our intention to acquire Lionbridge AI. Once the acquisition is complete Q1 of next year, we’ll be able to develop smarter products and services, and deliver exceptional customer experiences. 3/3

Chris Preimesberger

@journeyapps No/Low code development is a favorite trending topic at eWEEK, even though the concept has been around for nearly 20 years. Why is this playing such a big role in new tech again?

A2: a bit of both. New services around recovery readiness are important to companies as they move more toward a #hybridcloud world. This new technology helps drives these services while ultimately improving current product experiences by automating the mundane

Chris Preimesberger

@mringman What results for users will the Lionbridge AI add to their UXs?

I think the low-hanging fruits of no-code have been picked. All the simple apps have been built. For more sophisticated use cases, there is a strong "yes-code" movement, and we believe the time is right for a code-first platform complemented by visual tools.

Michael Ringman

We will be equipped to provide our client's customers with increased customized user experiences, including more personalization options driven by ML.

Chris Preimesberger

@journeyapps "Yes-code" is an interesting concept. Would you mind defining that one, please, for our readers?

at the heart of it, "yes-code" refers to the fact that the real world is complex, and when we build software against the real world, that complexity needs to go somewhere, and that code is the best tool for capturing and codifying that complexity in robust systems

Chris Preimesberger4

Q1: Apple keeps the same products and improves their innards. But it hasn't had a standalone new product since the Watch in 2011. Today it introduced the new M1 SOC for the Mac. It's an impressive chip combining CPU, GPU and DRAM. But this isn't a new product. What's your take?

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I think the innovations here from Apple, while they may not be new products, have been very focused on enhancing the user experience

A1: TLDR I hope Apple Glass delights. I think Apple are to a certain degree losing their innovative edge. They used to create really incredible new products that delight customers (like the watch) but it seems like the pace at which they do this has slowed down.

While the hardware changes are interesting to us, I would argue that the best impact here is how that technology continues to evolve the user experience innovations

Chris Preimesberger

Welcome to Kobie Botha of JourneyApps. Thanks for joining us!

Great to be here :)

Michael Ringman

A1 To a large extent, it isn’t a new product for the consumer. M1/Intel/AMD chips have been around for a long time. What Apple plans on leveraging their chip design for though could pave the way for more future products.

Chris Preimesberger

Good insight. Maybe they are merely stepping stones to some Big New Thing in the Future. That's promising!

Michael Ringman

@mringman A1 part 2: Smaller, more powerful chips, embedded in glasses (see Google Glass) could be made possible. Longer battery life, due to less power consumption and maybe the phone is replaced with your watch.

Chris Preimesberger

They touted improved battery life big time today on the Apple event. I heard "18 hours" at one point! Whew

Chris Preimesberger3

Q4: Name one new IT-related product you'd LIKE to see come to the market in 2021? Something on your wish list!

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Michael Ringman

A4: Making AI available to the enterprise to help solve the more immediately challenges is on the wish list! There are so many use cases across a wide range of industry sectors, driven by our desire for convenience and efficiency in our daily lives.

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A4 I'm hoping fully autonomous vehicles finally become a thing commercially available in 2021, e.g. that Tesla's FSD beta sees widespread release to improve road safety.

Personally, I would love to see VR gaming really move to the next level. Being a techie I am also an avid gamer and the immersion VR provides really helps you get away from the day to day grind.

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Chris Preimesberger

@DFoster_Jr Indeed. We're still in the early stages of immersive gaming, and we expect lots of new ideas coming from that sector.

Michael Ringman

@DFoster_Jr I love my Oculus Quest! I can go to Disney World without leaving my basement.

Professionally I would love to see blockchain start to be implemented in more main stream ideas. There is so much possibility here for secure transactions. It is time to make this more mainstream.

Chris Preimesberger3

Sidebar: It is definitely ALL ABOUT "UX" here in 2020 and looking forward. But don't we need new products to advance that user experience, rather than merely upgrade older tech?

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Yes, we need entirely new categories of products that improve our lives. I don't think incremental improvements will result in step changes in society.

I think it is more than just "upgrading" older tech. It is rethinking how that tech impacts it's users. Whether it be business user or consumer end user. That "re-think" can product what looks like new products. @Commvault has realized with our innovations

oops... above should have said ...That rethink can change what looks like new products

@DFoster_Jr That's correct, moving to Apple Silicon is more of a "replatforming" than an upgrade.

Michael Ringman

Video conferencing has been around for a long time, however, Google continues to amaze me on how they are maturing and transforming their collaboration product set. For example, Meets and Chat are continuously adding new features for their collaboration suite.

Chris Preimesberger

@mringman Absolutely. Videoconferencing has grown up big time this year, for obvious reasons--everybody is using it! What else can be added to make a videoconference UX even better?

If I can jump in here, there have been great innovations in personal video presence apps. "neuralcam" and "mmhmm" come to mind, and I'm hoping these innovations are adopted by the big players like Zoom

Michael Ringman

I think they are all simple things - like the blurring of the backgrounds and the muting of background noises (great for heavy typing!)

For example, real-time multiplexing of presentation content such as slides and webcam video with realtime processing of the webcam feed.

@mringman gesture blocking is another neat feature

Chris Preimesberger

@journeyapps how does gesture blocking work, and for what purpose?

Michael Ringman

@journeyapps yes - that is a very helpful feature as well!