Datacentrix tackled the topic of singularity, the future of technology and the transformation that will result from its integration into every aspect of our lives at its second annual Showcase event.
Showcase 2017 aimed to equip South African businesses to embrace the connected world and bridge the gap between business and technology to thrive in the digital age.
“Technology is becoming increasingly integrated into our everyday lives – and even our bodies – disrupting civilisation and life as we know it,” explained Rudie Raath, chief digital strategist at Datacentrix, arguing that the world is currently in the first phase of singularity.
Dr Michael Jordaan, venture capitalist, former banker and Singularity University alum and contributor, who spoke at the event echoed this.
“The digital disruption has already happened, and we can see this because while Uber is the world’s largest taxi organisation, it owns no cars,” he explained.
Similarly, Airbnb owns no real estate, Skype owns no telco infrastructure, Alibaba has no inventory, Facebook has none of its own content, Netflix has no cinemas and Apple and Google write no apps.
“Change is everywhere, everything is going digital, and by 2020, more than a trillion applications will be exchanging 58 zettabytes of digital data over 100 billion devices,” added David Chalmers, chief technologist for Hewlett Packard Enterprise in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
“Today is the slowest day you will ever experience, tomorrow it will be even faster, and in this digital age, you have to be able to deal with the rate of change as it will affect everyone in every industry.”
Ahmed Mahomed, Datacentrix CEO, believes that the recent technological breakthroughs in 3D printed organs, online connected pacemakers and insulin pumps that feed real-time information back to medical staff prove how rapidly business is evolving.
“In some cases, such as within the financial services and insurance sectors, artificial intelligence has already become a major disruptive force, taking on certain functions, based on parameters and inputs that we provide – think banking chatbots, ‘robo-advisors’, and AI within claims processing for example,” he said.
“The changes to business strategies and organisational roles to accommodate the shift are no longer recommended, they are expected, and business leaders need to keep abreast of digitalisation with reference to their business models, their technology systems and structures as well as their resources to ensure relevance and success into the future.”
For more information, visit the Datacentrix Showcase website.
