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'Robot invasion' imminent

Admire Moyo
By Admire Moyo, ITWeb's news editor.
Johannesburg, 25 Mar 2015
Robots are applications that have the intelligence to make decisions and drive business forward, says VCE.
Robots are applications that have the intelligence to make decisions and drive business forward, says VCE.

As technology continues to evolve, robots will soon take over personal lives and business operations.

So said Tom O'Reilly, MEA CTO at converged infrastructure provider VCE, speaking during the IDC South Africa CIO Summit in Johannesburg yesterday.

O'Reilly defines robots as applications that have the intelligence to make decisions and drive business forward.

He noted these robots make use of cognitive computing, neural networks, smart machines, predictive analytics and decision management platforms.

Because of the 'robot invasion', O'Reilly noted by 2018, there will be 50% fewer workers, 500% more digital business jobs, and 30% lower operational total cost of ownership.

In this environment - where mobile, cloud computing, big data and social are redefining the IT agenda - organisations will need to be agile, he pointed out.

"Today's reality is that the majority of organisations spend about 70% of their IT budgets on maintenance, 20% on new software innovations, and 10% on new hardware innovations.

"However, to move forward, businesses need to invest more in innovations."

He believes hybrid cloud is the first step to deploy a technology platform that is agile enough to compete.

According to O'Reilly, over 40% of cloud users say they have a hybrid cloud strategy, over 70% of cloud users expect to have a hybrid cloud strategy by the end of 2015, and 57.2% of all cloud users have firm plans to run both public and private clouds.

Also speaking at the event, Vernon Turner, senior VP for enterprise infrastructure, network, consumer, telecom and sustainability research at IDC, said with third platform technologies being embraced by organisations, there is a need for transformation.

IDC defines the third platform as IT that is built on mobile devices, cloud services, social networks and big data analytics.

"Those who want to thrive in the digital economy need to develop and execute a vision for digital transformation," Turner said.

"They need to take an ecosystem-first approach to delivering products and services, and must optimise business processes for speed, efficiency, quality and agility."

In return, he concluded, these organisations will gain the greatest shareholder value, increase profitability, and create new revenue streams.

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