Running a data center today, no matter the business, is an exercise in managing and overcoming complexity.  A strong foundation in both the cloud and internal data centers is empowering organizations to not only get the most out of their IT infrastructure today, but is also preparing them to be able to better take advantage of new technologies already on their way.

 Augmented analytics focuses on the use of machine learning to improve how analytics content is developed and used. Gartner said augmented analytics capabilities will quickly go mainstream as part of data preparation, data management, modern analytics, business process management, process mining and data science platforms. 

 Developing applications with AI-powered features will become easier, Gartner said, using predefined AI models delivered as a service. Another shift is that AI will be used in the data science, application development and testing elements of the development process. By 2022, at least 40 percent of new application development projects will have AI co-developers on their team, the analyst firm predicts. 

 A digital twin refers to the digital representation of a real-world entity or system. By 2020, Gartner estimates there will be more than 20 billion connected sensors and endpoints, and digital twins will exist for potentially billions of things, helping companies to better understand their systems and business processes.

This is a growing area of interest, mostly for now driven by the IoT and the need keep the processing close to the edge of the network rather than in a central cloud server. Over the next five years, specialized AI chips, along with greater processing power, storage and other advanced capabilities, will be added to a wider array of edge devices, 

Gartner looks beyond virtual reality and augmented reality to a future model of immersive user experience, where we connect with the digital world across hundreds of surrounding edge devices. These include traditional computing devices, wearables, cars, environmental sensors and consumer appliances.

Current  technologies and concepts are immature, poorly understood and unproven in mission-critical, at-scale business operations, said Gartner. Despite this, the potential for disruption means that CIOs should begin evaluating blockchain, even if they don't aggressively adopt these technologies in the next few years.

 A smart space is a physical or digital environment in which humans and  technology-enabled systems interact, like smart cities, digital work  spaces, smart homes and connected factories. Gartner said this area is  growing fast, with smart spaces becoming an integral part of our daily  lives. 

It's still very early days for quantum computing, which promises to help find answers to problems too complex for a traditional computer to solve. Industries including automotive, financial, insurance, pharmaceuticals and the military have the most to gain from advancements in quantum computing.

  Using techniques such as text analytics, machine learning, Predictive analytics, data mining, statistics, and natural language processing, businesses can analyze data sources independent or Together with their existing enterprise data to gain new insights resulting in better results.

  iPhora® Foundation allows us to quickly address our business needs. It is important to ensure that our mission critical applications are secure from unauthorized access and intrusion.  iPhora is a registered trademark of Phora Group

   The Enhanced Dynamic Geo-Social Environment (EDGE) is a free virtual  training platform that first responders, and now education institutions,  can use to plan for a coordinated response to critical incidents.  EDGE is one tool in a  comprehensive preparedness toolbox.