Experts predict that the emergence of disruptive technologies will continue in 2021

The year 2020 has been a roller coaster ride for everyone. The outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic has stagnated the workflow in the physical office and made it surface in online disruptive mediums. Undoubtedly, technology has shaped the way we live our lives ushering us into the age of information. New advances in technology are still disrupting in diverse industries. The pace of innovation is incredibly fast with new things discovered daily. The emergence of new technologies is anticipated to continue in 2021. As the best way to begin the year, Analytics Insight has called top experts from diverse industries to share their predictions on disruptive technologies that will shape 2021.

Lt. Gen Dr. SP Kochhar, DG, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI)

5G will open a plethora of possibilities in 2021

"Like any other sector, the telecom industry was also impacted by the pandemic with a sharp fall in the number of subscribers in March and April. However, business and individuals adopted digital ways; the telecom industry emerged as a saviour. Many telecom players have benefitted from a surge in the traffic of data and voice, due to which the telecom sector is performing well compared to other infrastructure sub-sectors. In the first quarter of this fiscal year 2020 through June, customer spending on voice and data services increased 16.6% year-on-year, amounting to Rs. 35,642 crore (US$ 4.80 billion). The growth of data services was primarily triggered by the use of OTT platforms for voice communications, chat, online meetings, webinars, entertainment and more."

"As an outlook for 2021, the 5G launch is expected in the later part of the year. The technology is poised to open up a plethora of possibilities in terms of business models, better education, healthcare, smart cities, smart manufacturing, intelligent logistics, and overall enhanced lifestyles for everyone. With the focus on AtmaNirbhar Bharat, revenue from the telecom equipment sector is expected to grow to US$ 26.38 billion by 2020. The number of internet subscribers in the country is expected to double by 2021 to 829 million and overall IP traffic is expected to grow four-fold at a CAGR of 30% by 2021."

"However, industry continues to be financially stressed and we seek the support of the Indian government in enabling the industry to truly play its role as an enabler of horizontal growth and a boost to the nation's economy. Some of the top challenges faced by our member TSPs today are those related to Liquidity, Rationalization of the regulatory levies, AGR issues, spectrum pricing, Right of Way (RoW) rules, and Cell tower radiation. COAI has been pressing the government and TRAI on these."

Anku Jain, Managing Director, MediaTek India

Remote working capabilities will improve with 5G SoCs

"2020 has set the stage for 5G to go mainstream and in 2021, driving the next level of innovation across sectors, be it remote working, gaming, healthcare, manufacturing, video and data consumption, setting the pace for a smarter and faster-connected devices ecosystem. This will also lead to an increase in demand for next-gen 5G smartphones, newer applications and smart devices like smart TVs, tablets, phones integrated with a voice interface, etc. 2021 will see a bigger trend towards improved remote work capabilities with 5G SoCs taking smartphone and smart device experience to the next level. The pandemic has acted as a great catalyst expediting digitalization and faster adoption of transformative technologies like Artificial Intelligence, AIoT, Robotics and Cloud Computing and many others."

Rajiv Bhalla, Managing Director, Barco India

Organisations will focus on deep tech and reskilling

"2020 has been a transformative year and it has changed the way we work. A growing trend in hybrid working enabled with digital transformation was witnessed through 2020. A key learning has been that every business needs to be a digital business. Resilience, adaptability, and lifelong learning have been key skills that stood out. The leadership structure and work culture underwent a sea of changes as organizations strived to limit the pandemic backlash and drive a digital and hybrid transition. Learn, unlearn and relearn became the new superpowers as leaders tried to accelerate automation and enterprise sustainability. Many organizations worked towards ensuring business continuity, employee wellbeing and pivoted towards adapting themselves to navigate and survive through the storm. As we enter 2021, organizations will focus on talent strategies, leadership, and culture, combined with a focus on deep tech, and reskilling, and will also boost our resilience and stand us in good stead during future upheavals."

Rishi Ahuja, Founder of Klip VR

The fallen start-ups will rebuild itself from the foundational stone laid by particular sectors

"Start-ups suffered massively during the Covid-19 pandemic and sector-specific impact was clear. This fact could be easily examined through survey reports published by FICCI which depicted that 70% of the start-ups were heavily affected due to the pandemic and incurred significant losses. The start-up industry will eventually heal in India with the growth of certain sectors such as the Healthcare & Medical sector, FMCG, Food tech, Workout and EdTech. These particular sectors will lay down the very foundations upon which the start-up industry will rebuild itself. I am not sure who's going to lead the race in 2021, but it's going to be a tough road ahead in 2021 also. At the same time, we hope the year will be about revival and growth as the world seems to be going in the right direction in controlling the pandemic and in vaccination drive."

NeetishSarda, Founder of Smartworks

Flex space providers with storing presence will gain momentum

"Due to the advantages of 'workspace-as-a-service,' the co-working sector will witness a surge in demand from occupiers looking for flexible, upgradable, and adaptable spaces. The pandemic has accelerated the need for flex spaces with hybrid work model taking centre stage. The year 2021 will focus on low touch/contactless technology or smart offices for touchless transactions, ergonomic designs, safety first spaces, and sustainability. With work from anywhere gaining momentum, flex space providers with a strong presence stand to benefit as more corporations gear up for the hub-and-spoke model, taking up satellite offices closer to their employees to avoid long travelling hours. Flex spaces are no longer just an option for corporations but will become a crucial part of their future strategy. The growing interest from enterprises in co-working spaces has caught the investors' eyes, and one can even see the hospitality brands foraying into this space. So overall, the sentiment around the sector's growth remains positive."

Shammi Pant, Co-Founder, myJen.ai

HR will provide the right platform for transitioning into remote or disrupted team

"We think the year 2020 can be called the defining year for implementation of technology in HR. If HR needed an impetus to boost and accelerate the rate of technology adoption, then 2020 gave it many reasons to do so. As we step into 2021, we believe HR must provide the right platform for its organization for transitioning into a remote or a distributed team structure effectively and enable on the job, personalized and just in time learning solutions to help employees' transition into a more agile and flexible work culture. Given the vast amount of data HR including L&D has, it is imperative for HR leaders to start using the data analytics capabilities offered by AI-augmented analytics platforms. If harvested well, this data can answer critical questions like the correlation of performance to a propensity to learn and rate of upskilling."

Prashant Solomon, MD at Chintels India

Real estate industry will remain resilient and pick-up momentum with technology

"2020 taught us many things and prime amongst those is keeping family and close ones safe and healthy. As we navigate through these difficult times, it's essential that we must take all possible measures and return to work in order to support the economy and society at large. As a degree of normalcy returns, the real estate sector will also undergo some elementary changes in terms of planning, adapting to market changes and customer demands in line with changing lifestyles and the future of work. I expect the market to remain resilient and gradually pick up momentum in 2021 with technology and digital transformation seeing greater adoption and integration."

Arun Pandey, Chairman & MD, Rhiti Group

Sports and retail industry will leverage digital tools to drive better revenue streams

"Covid-19 has tormented the entire world, sparing none. Not even the Sports Industry. Even though this year's IPL broke records in terms of viewership, yet, we cannot deny the fact that other factors associated with India's Premier Sports league have suffered vastly due to the strict regulations such as bio bubbles and organizing the event within closed-door stadiums to stop the spread of the virus, resulted in unprecedented losses. However, looking at the brighter side, the pandemic has helped in exposing people to a digital India which was probably one of the best things to have happened in terms of the retail industry. This played a significant role in sustaining the industry and will, for sure, play a significant role in the overall revival of both, the Sports as well as the retail industry in the near future"

"As we welcome 2021, we need to understand that the spectre of Covid-19 will continue to haunt the Sports Industry. To survive the effects and aftermath of the ruthlessness of pandemic, we must leverage digital tools to drive new and better revenue streams. Secondly, we should be active in addressing social issues such as race, gender, and LGBT+ inequality and injustice. Finally, we must endeavour to explore new ways to fuel fan engagement. After all, fans are the essence of the entire sports industry."

Jahnabi Phookan, National President, FICCI FLO

The digital revolution in India will act as a profitable domain for women entrepreneurs

"The fact that Covid-19 has been equally brutal to everyone is a hoax. When it comes to the women workers and entrepreneurs of India, the term 'equality' takes a back seat, even in the case of the brutalities borne due to the outbreak of the virus. The pandemic has had an immensely negative impact on women entrepreneurs as they suffered from factors such as lack of customer orders, supply chain disruptions, limited workforce and financial crunch. Along with all these financial problems, women also had to suffer from personal challenges which they faced at their homes, and exacerbating this situation for them where the social injustices meted out to them on a regular basis."

"2021 should mark the dawn of a brighter future for India's women entrepreneurs because as per a joint report by Bain & Company, Google and AWE Foundation, 80% of women entrepreneurs expect demand to bounce back to pre-lockdown levels by March 2021 while some believe it might happen by this December 2020. But let's admit that estimations can sometimes waver. However, at the same time, the pandemic has boosted the digital revolution in India which could act as a highly profitable domain for women entrepreneurs in the near future as it has already helped them to sustain their businesses in such harsh times."

Ramprakash Ramamoorthy, Product Manager, Zoho & ManageEngine Labs

Algorithmic decision-making will increasingly incorporate counterfactuals

"As it currently stands, many AI models' decisions are solely made based on correlation, much like the decision-making of a three-year-old child. However, these models are progressing to include causal techniques and counterfactuals. As an example, many banks use AI-models to make lending decisions. One bank's AI model may reject a loan application due to a low credit score. However, a better model would account for causal techniques and also enable counterfactual inference over the loan applicant's data points. In essence, the model will show what other variables the applicant can include to receive the loan. Additionally, causation and counterfactuals help prevent preconceived biases arising from the datasets. The incorporation of counterfactuals will become increasingly prevalent in algorithmic decision-making."

Rakesh Jayaprakash, Product Manager, ManageEngine

Increasing utilisation of analytics by non-IT departments

"Now that organizations realize the effectiveness of analytics platforms in measuring productivity, its usage is expected to penetrate to not just IT but other departments that have traditionally not relied on analytics applications. For example, data from HR applications combined with employee performance metrics can be used to measure the influence of employee welfare initiatives on employee productivity. This focus on analytics brings an interesting dynamic to the way organizations work and also introduces a set of challenges in data governance and maintenance. Since this will be a new area of focus for most departments, organizations will take a conservative approach in terms of deciding individual stakeholders from various departments who will have access to the consolidated data. IT will play a pivotal role in facilitating fine-grained access levels before moving to a higher trust model where individual teams have complete access to all relevant data that is necessary for their efficient functioning."

Srinivas Rao, Sr. Director, System Engineering, Dell Technologies 

Cloud computing will take centre stage and provide consistent operations and infrastructure

"The pandemic has put us all into an innovative mode. Businesses which were earlier reluctant to try out new technologies and work arrangements have started to rethink their strategy to innovate. They have realized the importance of investing in cloud services during current times and have expedited their adoption process, which would have otherwise taken many years to accomplish."

"As we transition into a mode of recovery, we can expect a rise in the adoption of on-demand cloud services. Through this, organizations will be able to receive the benefits of cloud computing that will allow them to develop, manage and deliver applications while giving them control over their IT spending. We will also witness hybrid cloud computing taking the centre stage and providing consistent operations and infrastructure across multiple cloud environments. To conclude, we expect businesses to venture out and combine the services of IoT, Big Data and cloud computing to help make their business processes simpler, improve the quality of their outcome and maintain business continuity."

Ripu Bajwa, Director & General Manager, Data Protection Solutions, Dell Technologies

Organisations will ensure the secure and free flow of data

"2020 has been a difficult year for organizations as well as individuals due to the massive disruption across all sectors. These challenging times have made us realize that a digital transformation is no more an option, but a necessity with most of the businesses transforming their operating models and opting for a remote working environment. It is encouraging to witness businesses transforming rapidly and adopting a digital strategy which would have otherwise taken months. However, simultaneously they need to ensure data security amidst the rising cyber threats that are hovering around their data storage 24*7,"

"As we enter 2021, organizations will not only need to manage their extensive workloads but equally ensure that data flow is secured, without any security bug. Similarly, solution providers need to establish a channel to provide enhanced security to regulate the data traffic across multiple endpoints and offer solutions as per customers' consumption needs and IT budget. Besides, due to increased conversations around data privacy, organizations need to be extremely careful while managing the data of their customers and ensure that it's not exposed to any malicious attack or breach."