Verizon has released a series of trends that will drive enterprise IT transformation in 2019. According to the telecoms firm, tech companies must "drive hard to continually exceed their customers' expectations during a time of accelerating change."
The Real-Time Enterprise
The ‘Real-Time' enterprise environment is the next challenge for global brands and government agencies in 2019. Verizon insists that savvy CIOs will focus on reinventing operations to leverage emerging technologies.
As a result, 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), automation, augmented and virtual reality will all become crucial. In addition to these, the next-generation cloud and edge computing will also move from concept to reality in the workplace.
Businesses will invest in performance
CIOs will also begin to recognise that the network they use is important. A strong, secure network enables companies to "deliver innovative platforms and solutions that will move their business forwards."
In 2019, the service model and the tech that makes applications network-reliant will be key. This entails the support from an expert partner, professional services, service level agreements and more.
The importance of the customer
In 2019, Verizon predicts that businesses will begin to truly recognise the importance of customer experience (CX). Although CX has become a "hot topic" in recent years, many of the big brands are failing to deliver.
AI infiltrating CX systems provide an "unprecedented opportunity" to use personalisation. As a result, this would effectively put the customer back at the centre of the business and increase human engagement.
The transaction guarantee
By next year, Verizon expects software-defined networking (SDN) to transform business opportunities. According to the firm, company's will benefit from a configured SDN according to their particular costs and security requirements.
The rate at which CIOs leverage the power of SDN will also drive organisational success. This translates to ensuring that their business is agile, flexible, and has the ability to scale.
Contextual privacy will be front and centre
2018 has been ripe with data misconduct and unethical practices. As a result, there has never been a focus on the importance of data protection and privacy online.
In 2019, however, Verizon predicts that companies will begin to focus on contextual privacy requirements, linked to location-based awareness. As users become more aware of the importance of their personal data, organisations must approach their security in a radically different way.
Automation will transform the workforce
As AI, robotics, and automation becomes more widespread, the general workforce will experience radical changes. Robotic process automation and machine learning will provide the skills a business workforce requires in 2019.
As a consequence, educators and businesses will focus on how to build a quality pool of data scientists. 2019 will therefore see ML specialists working to support future skills rather than yesterday's business requirements.
Security will go back to basics
Next year, companies will "redouble their efforts to strengthen their security posture," Verizon predicts. In order to be protected, companies must also make efforts to understand their risk environment.
Practicing IT hygiene to keep infrastructure current to protect against vulnerabilities will be crucial in 2019. Network-level security is therefore essential as "in a software-defined world," as network segmentation and security is a central part of the design.
