“As Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “the only one constant in life is change.” There is perhaps no better example of this than the technology industry, where innovation is so rapid that even the most fantastic of imagined futures seem like they could become a reality in the not too distant future. As we enter 2018, Axis has put together five top technology trends that it feels will have a great impact on the security and surveillance industry now and in years to come, helping to facilitate a smarter, and of course, safer world.”
- A move towards the Edge – Two of the greatest trends that have propelled our industry forward in recent years are cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT), both delivering undeniable benefits to businesses and consumers alike. That said, they also come with implications, namely the rise in the amount of data being transferred, processed and stored. Going forward, we anticipate that Edge computing will become ever popular, alleviating this issue by performing data processing at the ‘edge’ of the network, closer to the source of the data. Doing so significantly reduces the bandwidth needed between sensors, devices and the data center.
- Cloud-to-cloud – Despite the move towards edge computing, the cloud will continue to play a significant role in IT infrastructures. As an increasing number of companies offer cloud-based services, the cloud eco system is increasingly becoming the preferred point of integration, rather than the traditional on-premise system. One benefit of integration between clouds is a significant potential reduction of in-house IT services required, creating great cost benefits.
- Deep and machine learning – We have now reached a stage where the full benefits of deep learning architectures and machine learning can start to be realised. The explosion of data available to analyse is helping businesses become increasingly intelligent. As applications develop, there are significant opportunities for predictive analytics which could facilitate incident prevention: from terrorist incidents to slip and fall accidents; from traffic issues to shoplifting; and even the tragedy of rail suicides.
- Cybersecurity – Once again, cybersecurity must appear on the list of trends for the next 12 months and beyond. The constant enhancement of cybersecurity will be a never-ending task, because well-resourced cybercriminals will never stop looking to exploit vulnerabilities in any new technology. And as the number of connected devices grows, so too do the potential flaws that, if left unaddressed, could provide the opportunity for networks to be breached.
Legislation is being created to address these concerns. In the European Union, the forthcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – the deadline for compliance being May – will unify the protection of data for individuals within the EU, wherever that data is held or used.
- Platforms to realise the full benefits of IoT – The IoT has reached a point where it is crucial to use scalable architecture to successfully collect and analyse data, and manage the network of connected devices. Such an IoT platform allows equipment from different node vendors to coexist and easily exchange information to form smart systems using existing network infrastructure. There are numerous companies, both well-established providers of technology and new market entrants, enabling platforms to support IoT devices, and the next year will see further maturation.
