
Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2018. Read them in this 10th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed by Brad Surak, Chief Product and Strategy Officer, Hitachi Vantara
2018 Predictions for Big Data and IoT Systems
With
the start of a new year comes new uncertainties, and as the world progresses we
find ourselves looking to technology more and more for answers about the
future. In a time when the "new normal" is
anything but, technology
can be a helpful partner to guide our decision-making when it comes to
everything from driving economic growth to overcoming societal challenges such
as security threats and breaches to changes in governments and global agreements.
It's more important than ever that
businesses are vigilant and embrace new technological innovations and ‘what-if'
scenario planning in order to protect themselves and customers. As new enterprise
challenges continue to arise in 2018, IT and operational systems will need to
be prepared.
As
we steam ahead into the new year, here are a four predictions how technology
and innovation will influence big data and IoT systems in 2018:
The rise of automated machine learning
In
2018, we'll see more Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques pushing the
boundaries between reinforcement learning, unsupervised learning and
autogenerated training-especially in IoT environments where algorithms and bots
will enable edge devices to learn on their own. With a shortage of talented
data scientists with the advanced skillsets to label training datasets from
sensors and other systems for AI, machine learning (ML) or deep learning (a
messy, expensive and time-consuming process in itself), a supervised learning
model is impractical. The bandwidth required to submit data from the edge,
while enabling programmed, unsupervised learning on real-world data, is still
expensive, but automated machine learning can reduce costs. While automated ML
is more efficient, this concept raises other, more ethical questions around how
algorithms make decisions and who is responsible for those decisions and their
consequences.
Algorithmic
transparency will start to become a competitive differentiator
Visibility
into how algorithms make decisions will become increasingly important with the
acceleration into automated data science. Algorithms will start playing a
larger role in areas affecting people's lives and livelihood in 2018. This
means more people will demand transparency on how the algorithms are created.
Companies marketing their algorithmic transparency in 2018 as a key,
competitive differentiator will stand out.
Beware of fake data scientists
The big data skills shortage is creating a talent pool
of "fake" data scientists-better known as opportunists taking advantage of the
poorly defined data scientist role, knowing only that the job comes with a big paycheck.
Companies lacking the necessary hiring resources should interview candidates carefully
to spot those with real potential. The "holy trinity" of data science
fundamental skills to look for include: strong problem-solving skills, an
advanced degree in applied mathematics or statistics, familiarity with
statistical analysis technologies like Python or R along and knowledge of big
data technologies like Hadoop and Spark.
Edge devices, open data and
security will bring IoT and OT closer together
As the IoT ecosystem continues to advance in 2018-with
things like edge devices getting smarter-IT and operational technology (OT)
systems will move closer together. We can also expect to see more hardware
manufacturers implementing open data policies. This shift is driven by the
manufacturers' need to move to new service models and optimize hardware
devices, resulting in them opening up their systems. This means an increased
impact on security. As such, we'll see priorities move from data protection and
access denial to securing system operations. Organizations embracing these
developments will become more IoT-enabled.
Despite uncertain times ahead, we can take comfort in
knowing innovations in big data and IoT will continue to advance. Businesses
embracing these technologies will be better situated to adapt-and even
thrive-in this ever-changing global climate.
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About the Author
Brad Surak, Chief Product and Strategy Officer
Brad Surak joins Hitachi Vantara with over 25
years of success in digital transformation, general management, product and
solution development, software engineering and operations across multiple
industries and geographies. He has demonstrated success in driving global
digital transformations that deliver top-line growth and productivity. Prior to
joining Hitachi, Surak led the formation of GE Digital, a General Electric
business, and served as chief operating officer. An "intra-preneur," Surak
comes with a proven history in building successful businesses within large
multinational companies such as SAP and Business Objects. He has also held
executive positions with DayNine, Cambridge Technology Partners, and Ernst
& Young's technology practice. Surak holds a Bachelor of Science
degree in Computer Science from Purdue University and was awarded the title of
Distinguished Science Alumni in 2017.