Transforming lives and businesses galore, Disruptive Technology is now playing an important/crucial role in how the world operates today

At present, we are living in the digital age wherein advanced technology is getting intertwined in our daily lives rapidly. There's no doubt that over the years advancement in technology has created incredible and useful resources that have enabled receiving and disseminating of information at our fingertips. The birth of the information age took place with a growing reliance on digital technologies that provided the much-required driving force behind the innovations that have led to the initiation of the current digital age. Advancement in technology has led to astonishing development that has dramatically changed the way we live with improving services and upstanding offerings. Starting from computers to cell phones, laptops, tablets and TVs, technology has interspersed in varied aspects of our lives.

Technology has altered the way we learn. In the past, we didn’t have the flexibility in the availability of data, information, and knowledge. The widespread availability of mobile, cheap- data, computer and social media content, video conferencing tools, and mobile applications have made it possible to stay connected across the world in real-time. The digital first generation, are the first participants to have been born in an era where everyone has access to everything, everywhere, at every time. This is the generation of mobile technology, wireless communication, and clouds of constant content. Whatever information they need is just a tap away. On one hand while cloud and internet are becoming more and more accessible – the market is turning into a roller coster ride for manufacturers and brands. The hegemony and monopoly of certain powerful countries is now replaced with a fair game of competition. While the US, Germany, China, Japan used to dominate the space of technology and innovation, of late we can see how smaller players like Taiwan, Korea and even India itself – giving a tough competition.

One may regard it as Digital Disruption or a Digital Conversion, however, the fact remains that it has reinvented the way we look at technology today. The reinvention of business models and their growth strategies has led to the adoption of disruptive technologies that have given birth to the internet first generation and has made it impossible to imagine a life without technology.

Hyper-connectivity with Internet of Things

In the most layman term, Internet of Things (IoT) implies where every device that we own – and nearly every object that can be imagined is and will be connected to the Internet. Through smartphones, wearable and everyday household object, IoT connects us in ways and through mediums that were unimaginable until a few years ago. The Internet of Things (IoT) has the potential to change our world. While we have already started to witness its incredible impact, implementation of IoT is still at the beginning of its much-awaited transformational journey. As the cost of instrumenting physical things with sensors and connecting them to devices, systems, and people are continually dropping; the impact on the consumers’ lives and corporate business models is rapidly increasing. For instance, the rampant development of IoT, AI, and UX led assistants in our devices is a brilliant adoption of voice technology that has resulted in a hands-free, frictionless experience of technology.

Blockchain: A trusted network

Although Blockchain is one of the most debatable topics presently, it has gained a strong foothold to become a history-altering technology that holds a chance to lead up to a decentralized future with real-world use cases. It has led to the development of Bitcoin - an electronic cash system that allows direct transfer of online payments without a go-between. India, for example, has already initiated building Blockchain ecosystems that are being adopted by mainstream industries, including retail, banking, healthcare, finance, logistics, and others. It guarantees enhanced security, increased efficiency, reduced costs with greater traceability.

The future looks promising as enterprises have started to work on solutions that are a blend of AI, IoT, and Blockchain. The amalgamation seeks to not only streamline and enhance business process but also explore new business models and create innovative products for the next generation of consumers.

Virtual Reality: Turning ideas into reality

Owing to the revolution Virtual Reality has brought about in the consumer technology industry, it is counted upon as the next big thing in the years to come. As the growth of digitalization and technology increases, every industry is coming up with ways and means to integrate VR technology in their business services and offerings. Taking examples from the entertainment industry - a lot of businesses have started distributing VR headsets to its viewers before watching a movie to make the cinematic viewing experience memorable. Another application of VR has been witnessed in the gaming industry. Making the gaming industry more interesting, engaging and addictive; VR has transcended to become one of the most important aspects of the modern gaming experience. VR application can also come handy in the education sector as well that offers a better and more enhanced learning experience.

The advent of Artificial Intelligence

When we talk about Artificial Intelligence, some might rebuff knowing the concept owing to its complicated and highly technical machinery. Artificial Intelligence based on the foundation of machine learning, IoT and UX machine learning in its nascent stage is a catalyst that enables people to be more efficient and faster. It can be imagined as a human face on technology that is easily adaptable to the already available big-data. It can be understood as a technology that understands our language and responds similarly; that can see and interpret the world based on human understanding. While using a smartphone or a smart gadget, we tend to interact with AI from the very obvious features that we have in our smartphones, the smart assistants (Alexa, Siri) which are built-in for our comfort. Take the example of Social Media, it has become a non-separable part of today’s life. From the feeds that we see in our timeline to the notifications that we receive from these apps, everything is being curated by an aspect of AI. It holds an important and key role in the assistance of the decision making of our everyday lives.

The way ahead into the future

We can begin to foresee the possibilities that are yet to come in our lives. There are multiple accounts and interpretations of how the future of technology will impact our lives. Countries like Taiwan, India and South Korea have introduced us to brands like Plustek, Acer, Asus, Adata, Samsung, Vivo, HCL, Tech Mahindra that have played a huge role in propelling innovation through their products. Focusing on building technology that aids in improving individual lives and efficient living, these countries have continually contributed towards making high-end technology more accessible and affordable. Of one thing that we can be sure of is that it will help us drive into the future, bring in productivity, and increase efficiency. One cannot be sure as to where these technologies might take us but these four disruptive technologies will surely be a boon or bane. It’s up to us to shape our future.

Alex Pen
Director, TAITRA_Taiwan Excellence