Top technologies that are transforming the enterprise landscape

To survive a pandemic, which technologies should you explore to equip your business?

As we move forward amid the pandemic, this is one of the biggest questions business leaders have to address. IMPACT: The Philippine Digital Convention 2020 – the country’s biggest and most prestigious digital thought leadership event annually organized by the PLDT Enterprise – aimed to help delegates with this challenge.

“We know that any notion that challenges the norm has the ability to make a huge IMPACT on our lives, transforming not just how we live but affecting how society will develop in the years to come. We are living in one of the most pivotal points of human history and every choice we make will IMPACT the world for generations to come,” said Jovy Hernandez, ePLDT President & CEO and SVP & Head for PLDT and Smart Enterprise Business Groups.

While on the first day of the convention keynote speakers discussed the meaning of impact and how to create impact in their respective industries, the second day of the convention took it a step further. 

Keynote speakers from various sectors emphasized different technologies that have already begun laying the foundation for digital transformation in their respective industries. They also showed how these are set to drive success for businesses.

Here are some of the technologies that were highlighted during the convention:  

IoT technology

One of the most-talked-about topics in the convention was IoT technology. The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a system of interconnected and interrelated devices and machines (“things”) that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies. Through a secured network, these things are able to communicate with each other.

PLDT, in partnership with Nokia, intends to build the Smart IoT platform which will be the first of its kind for enterprises in the Philippines. This enables PLDT to deliver the next generation digital services like Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) enhancing the IoT solutions, at a faster and more cost-effective manner.  The Smart IoT Platform can help transform industries: enabling proactive monitoring, operational efficiency and automation at scale.

5G technology

5G technology can provide enhanced mobile broadband services to better accommodate increased data usage. As we transition to the use of more digital systems, VP and Head of Enterprise Business Consulting for PLDT Enterprise John Gonzales shared that the technology they are offering has the ability to facilitate large-scale machine-to-machine type communications. 

During the convention, 5G technology was usually discussed alongside IoT. This is because these two work as a tandem. What can we do with the combination of IoT and 5G? As mentioned in the breakout sessions, these can be utilized for smart classrooms, e-commerce, and smart cities. 

For example, FiberHome’s Marketing Manager Grant Li showed that with IoT technology, smart classrooms can have a network composed of various equipment such as an interactive screen, sensors, and smart system controller. These create a standard e-classroom where teachers have the option to record classes and place these online or play it in the physical classroom. With 5G technology, students can access their classroom remotely.

Aside from these, what are some of the considerations for businesses looking to adopt these technologies? Sanjay Kaul, Cisco’s President for Service Provider Business in Asia Pacific and Japan noted 3 things: “One is to create a network that is intelligent. Second is about creating hybrid clouds to ensure that workloads are seamlessly working together. The third important point is that security has to be ubiquitous.” 

Industry cloud

Salesforce Industries CEO David Schmaier began with the observation that industries are now online. Due to the differences that can be observed in industries, the company recognizes that their needs also vary.

He presented industry cloud as a solution for this. Industry cloud is a customized system fit for the needs of a specific industry. These include customizations based on the business’ operations, regulations, security, among others.

During his talk, he demonstrated Salesforce’s Industry 360, a system that delivers cloud solutions created based on the different requirements and specifications of various industries.

According to Schmaier, “The cloud changes everything. And, the industry cloud is your fastest path to digital transformation because it comes pre-tailored to the way that you work per industry.” 

Discovery commerce system

Have you ever shopped online and seen a product you didn’t know you wanted? Facebook PH’s Vertical Lead for eCommerce Gino Pineda attributed this to the platform’s discovery commerce system. 

Because most businesses are now online, competitors now have a shared space to advertise and sell their products. Thus, most eCommerce and Retail sites have to consider how to create purchase intent instead of waiting for it to happen. 

In line with this, Facebook anticipates customer needs by utilizing rich data, sophisticated advertising tools, and engaging shopping surfaces. By leveraging on data, the company is able to help their products find customers instead of the other way around. This also solves the problem of customers only finding products they already want because they are already searching for a specific item on a site.

Advanced cryptography

With more of our processes migrating digitally, security and privacy has become a big concern. The plenary session ended with NTT Research President and CEO Kazuhiro Gomi’s illustration of the breakthrough research being done by the company. In a discussion with PLDT FVP and Corporate Communications Head Cathy Yang, he elaborated that advanced cryptography is a next generation technology that can address security concerns. 

“From the connected world, obviously we want to exchange more data among each other, but we have to make sure that security and privacy are maintained.” 

He illustrated Attribute-Based Encryption as one of the possibilities. With this technology, what users are allowed to view within a network varies and is controlled by the network owners. He also informed Yang that this type of technology may be commercialized within the next couple of years. 

To get to know PLDT Enterprise’s offerings or if you want to catch up on the convention, you can visit their website for the event highlights. – Rappler.com