This audio was created using Microsoft Azure Speech Services<\/p>\n
People ask me to make predictions on a pretty regular basis \u2013 and I hate doing so. All predictions come with risk and I would much rather leave them to the experts, like Nostradamus.<\/p>\n
After all, I\u2019m still waiting for my favorite predictions<\/a> to come true. Back in 1951, the folks at Popular Mechanics<\/em> believed every family would have at least one helicopter in their garage in the 21st century. Where do I sign up and how can I get a bigger garage overnight? And the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey<\/em>, Arthur C. Clarke, said in 1966 that houses would be able to fly by 2020! As someone who works for an international company with colleagues fanned out across the globe, I find the ability to relocate my house anywhere very attractive. I hold out hope that someday, a team of dedicated engineers, billionaires, and magicians makes it happen.<\/p>\n So, given that 2020 has been anything but regular, I\u2019ve decided to dip my toe into the predictions business. With an eye toward better things in 2021, here are some insights \u2013 if not full-fledged predictions \u2013 for the data center industry.<\/p>\n The hype swirling around 5G<\/a> will continue in 2021, as the reality of where the deployment is, and the actual observed performance, will remain a mystery. If you\u2019re curious about the complexities, check out this article for some background.<\/p>\n Over time, I believe 5G will unlock new use cases given the increased bandwidth and lower latency the technology promises. It will undoubtedly continue to enable our reliance on IT and accelerate digital transformation. 5G is a wild card as to its impact on edge computing<\/a> and all the complexities that brings, as well as sustainability challenges. All this I believe to be true\u2026 but there remains the dilemma of the missing \u2018killer app\u2019 while an enormous investment is still needed. If only the \u2018killer app\u2019 use case was known! 5G will hopefully become less murky in 2021, but the mystery and the dilemma will remain.<\/p>\n At Schneider Electric, we\u2019ve been working very hard to develop the software analytics, software management tools, and service capabilities we believe will be necessary in the future to enable a resilient and sustainable edge.<\/p>\n This transformation started a few years ago and we are advancing the maturity of the offers rapidly. We must overcome barriers to market adoption: customers need to become comfortable with sharing data via the cloud and understand the different business models<\/a>. Our new videocast series Executive Insights has featured the ways companies have had to rethink and accelerate their digital strategies<\/a> because of the pandemic. I believe this experience in 2020 will drive faster adoption of these new approaches to manage and service the hybrid IT environment.<\/p>\n Like many of us, I think work-from-home in some form is here to stay along with increased internet use in our homes, especially if you have children who are learning, gaming, socializing, or working online. If there is one thing that can bring your household\u2019s productivity to a halt as fast as a power outage, it\u2019s inadequate bandwidth.<\/p>\n![\"Data](\"https:\/\/blog.se.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/GettyImages_800305718_jpg_kl8Twl5j.jpg\")
#1: 5G will remain a dilemma and mystery<\/strong><\/h2>\n#2: Increased maturity of service offerings and software predictive capabilities will drive market adoption of new business models and software architectures<\/strong><\/h2>\n
#3: More emphasis will be placed on the last mile of connection and its resiliency now that work includes your home<\/strong><\/h2>\n