In the 21st century, are we in the ultimate industrial revolution, that of the robotics revolution? A new era, that of robots, the startups that manufacture and market them, the startups of artificial intelligence. We have adopted new technologies in our daily lives and they have changed everything (more than two billion people are now connected to the Internet).. What will tomorrow's world be like where work will no longer exist because it will be done by machines as efficient as humans, or even more so? How can we prepare and adapt to it?
At the beginning of the year, Henn-na Hotel in Japan has announced that it will open a 72-room, two-storey, robot-staffed facility in the summer of 2015. The tasks taken over by the androids will include reception, room cleaning and luggage service.
Every day, we see more and more examples of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine-to-machine (M2M) concepts that come close to scenarios worthy of Hollywood's vision of the future, such as those in the films Terminator, A.I. or I, Robot. Each of his films presents a world in which machines eventually surpass their human creators - and become self-aware, learn to survive and in some cases destroy the world around them.
Science fiction meets reality
Hollywood always ends up depicting a melodramatic version of the future. However, what we are seeing in Japan raises an interesting question: is this the beginning of the transition from a human to a digital workforce?
To make a long story short, the answer is yes.
A study byAccenture found that 57% organizations are now using technology that helps professionals perform tasks that in the past required the intervention of a computer specialist. For more than 75% of these organizations, companies will need to focus as much on training their employees as they do on training their machines over the next three years.
Businesses are increasingly focusing on digital transformation, in particular, because technological advances bring a considerable gain in terms of return on investment, both in terms of time and efficiency. Gartner predicts that by 2018, the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) for business activities will be 30% lower than today thanks to a more widespread use of intelligent machines and industrialized services. The foundation supporting this network of connected devices, machines and robots must be robust and reliable enough for organizations to reap the benefits of their technology investment.
Prepare for the advent of machines
If you see machines as simple connected devices, then you can begin to understand the prerequisites for making this transition. Remember when devices without a wired network connection began to connect to the network, the advent of BYOD, and the explosion of "Shadow IT" applications - those applications that employees choose to use and that IT managers have no visibility into - on all of these mobile devices. Each step marks a profound change in networking. The advent of machines will be no different.
It is impossible to anticipate the number of devices, machines or even robots that will be needed for companies to grow. But preparing for this future starts with the knowledge of the network elements necessary for the prerequisites. This is where intelligent distributed network architectures focusing on security and device connectivity come into play.
What we believe is that a combined workforce is taking shape for the future. Both humans and machines will help companies move forward. Making the necessary changes to get your network infrastructure ready for that future will be the first step in embracing the digital transformation. And wireless networks will be at the forefront.
Benoît Mangin, Sales Director Southern Europe, Aerohive
