5 Ways That Wireless Technology Will Evolve In 2019
By Zachary Smith, CEO of Packet
2019 will be a transformative year for the wireless world, with landmark developments in 5G, cloud computing, and hardware. From stadiums and retail buildings to airports and even street corners, there’s no place that won’t be affected by the rapid evolution of wireless technology. And if you’re not up on The Edge, you’re sleeping on the biggest story of the year.
As CEO of Packet, the leading bare metal automation platform for developers, I’ve experienced firsthand the latest advances in edge computing, 5G, and hardware, all of which will integrate technology into our lives more than ever before. Below are my five predictions detailing how wireless technology will evolve in 2019—and how these breakthroughs will impact our everyday lives:
1. Software will eat the wireless world.
It’s basically understood that in our Internet-enabled world, technology
equals software, even though the reality is more nuanced. And even the
cloud, the grand enabler of the latest software wave, is itself being eaten
alive by the software movement it has spawned; cloud-native ecosystems such as
Docker and Kubernetes are devouring the value of verticalized cloud providers
and offering a portable software experience across any infrastructure
substrate, spanning architectures, providers, and form factors. This
multi-billion dollar industry hasn’t been disrupted, and it is growing
increasingly important by the day. In short, it’s a good time to be in
software!
2. Hardware isn’t a commodity: it’s super special,
and 2019 will prove it.
The influence of hardware is growing steadily, and it will really hit its
stride in 2019. At Packet, we believe that powerful, customizable hardware in
collaboration with state-of-the-art software is the next big thing in cloud
computing. This trend will help drive investment in everything from
accelerators to offloads to alternative processor architectures, especially as
the worth of custom-built hardware grows.
3. Real estate is becoming digitized and big REITs will start calling themselves tech businesses.
The leading enterprises of the world are looking to deploy their technology opinion quickly and at global scale. From 5G to mobility to mobile gaming, this ambition requires a “go anywhere” model that enables cloud-style infrastructure in hundreds or thousands of locations. In 2019, large real estate owners will move beyond traditional datacenters to “digitize” assets like co-working, stadiums, and retail buildings with cloud and infrastructure.
4. 5G is really all about private networks, not about faster iPhones. Two-thirds of organizations plan to deploy 5G by 2020, according to Gartner. However, as security and control are becoming increasingly important in the wireless world, large industrial companies are being led to explore the implementation of private 5G wireless networks. By deploying private LTE networks using technologies like CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service), enterprises will be able to efficiently deliver connected experiences from the sports stadium and airports to the urban street corner.
5. Edge Computing will be the buzz word of 2019. In case you haven’t heard of the already-buzzy tech phrase, “edge computing” is computing that takes place at or near the source of the data, rather than relying on faraway cloud data centers to do the work. Edge computing is a flexible model that can be dropped in literally anywhere, allowing developers to think – and develop – on a much larger scale than they already are. In 2019, the edge will become the most exciting frontier in the cloud.