Every year-end, it has been customary for Intel Malaysia to host a briefing for journalists, highlighting the technological trends that had been witnessed throughout the year, as well as provide predictions about what the next 12 months will bring. This year, Prakash Mallya, Country Manager, Intel Malaysia and Singapore was on hand to provide an overview of what we can expect next year. Here’s the company’s press release on what it thinks 2014 will bring about, at least from a tech viewpoint.
As we say goodbye to 2013, Intel and its executives highlight key trends and predictions for the year ahead. The following comments may be attributed as indicated.
Key predictions:
- • “Imagine when wearable devices are with us 24/7. With the amount of data, information, and personal content that will be exchanged, security will become even more important.” Brian Krzanich, CEO, Intel
- • “Of course there are also challenges around things like privacy, security, identity and reputation… As a result, there is a lot of governmental and regulatory activity to help clarify this emerging area – it will be fascinating to see what emerges around the globe.” Genevieve Bell, Futurist and Director of User Experience Research, Intel
- • “Technology is a necessity of modern life, especially for Asia’s young and fast-growing middle class.” Gregory Bryant, Vice President and General Manager, Intel Asia-Pacific and Japan
- • “During the next era of personal computing, the biologic problem shifts to a computational problem in the treatment of cancer. Computing doesn’t get any more personal than when it saves your life.” Renee James, President, Intel
Increased connectivity to boost the economy
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecasted that global growth is projected to remain at slightly above 3 percent in 2013, but there are risks of a longer growth slowdown in emerging markets . The IMF also says reforms should be introduced across all major economies to lift global growth and support global rebalancing. Intel’s views:
“People and businesses need a supportive environment to succeed and push for innovation. Governments need to stop protecting big incumbent industries to foster this growth and innovation.”
Richard Hsu, Managing Director, Intel Capital, China
“Asia is the heart of global technology innovation, driving technological change that is helping to improve the lives of people around the world. In 2014, Asian technology companies will continue to set the pace for technological innovation.”
Gregory Bryant, Vice President and General Manager, Intel Asia-Pacific and Japan
Looking to China, and growth may have been revised down slightly by the IMF but the country is still forecasted to have one of the highest growth rates across the globe for at least the next 12 months.
“I think you’ll start seeing more emerging markets using the technology that’s been brought to market in China with a huge focus on mobile internet. The Year of the Horse will see China concentrate on providing innovative local solutions to address local market needs.”
Richard Hsu, Managing Director, Intel Capital, China
“There’s a common myth that emerging markets are behind developed markets. But, people in these countries are just as connected; simply the way they connect and the devices they use are different. Tablets and smartphones will continue to drive connectivity in 2014.”
Uday Marty, Managing Director, Intel South East Asia
Five years ago in many emerging markets, you might find that one person with a mobile phone would be the single point of contact and communication for business for an entire village, all via simple text messages. Next year will see multiple devices reach beyond the Tier One and Two areas as governments and industry push for higher connectivity across emerging countries.
“We still face barriers, the cost of connecting in rural areas can be the same price as the device, usually more.”
Uday Marty, Managing Director, Intel South East Asia
In Indonesia, Intel is working with telecommunications provider Telkom to provide six months free connection for devices that have Intel inside .
“I want to see more of these industry partnerships – especially when governments are failing to do this. We’ve seen amazing results in Indonesia and this program should encourage other countries to launch their own initiatives – ensuring everyone can afford to be connected.”
Uday Marty, Managing Director, Intel South East Asia
The education evolution
Intel predicts that within the next three to five years, the region will see a huge increase in device ownership with one device for every student increasingly being the norm. The key challenge will be providing the adult population, particularly in regional areas with the right education, devices and services to engage them.
“In 2014, we will start to see digital literacy programs extend beyond school education. Governments need to invest to accelerate digital literacy throughout the community; a digitally literate SME sector will boost Asia’s global trade. Intel’s working closely with governments to extend the digital literacy programs to adult communities. Intel Easy Steps is just one such program.”
Philip Cronin, Director, Regional Sales Organization, Intel Asia Pacific
Intel believes that every person should have access to education that matches both their interests and their skill sets. To move forward, we need to provide engaging content, otherwise people who haven’t had access to technology in the past will resist advancements – but one of the biggest barriers will be providing the content in a format that everyone can understand.
“In India, we are working with the government to drive mass scale digital literacy which teaches common men and women how to use technology for their benefit. For example, local farmers are taught to use the internet to access crop prices, find weather reports and provide real examples of how they can increase their own income through technology. Governments that embrace these training methods will see their own economies grow as a result.”
Debjani Ghosh, Managing Director, Sales and Marketing Group, Intel South Asia
“Speech recognition covering multiple languages will be big in the future. Take India for example: many regional languages are spoken by millions of people and their second language is English. We expect to see more entrepreneurs focusing on speech to bridge this gap.”
Sudheer Kuppam, Managing Director, Intel Capital, Asia Pacific Region
“Voice and gesture driven activations may be needed to overcome literacy barriers. If we are going to succeed, from both a government and industry perspective, we must push public and private models.”
Debjani Ghosh, Managing Director, Sales and Marketing Group, Intel South Asia
There’s still work to be done on programs within schools. Simply giving children devices alone doesn’t guarantee that they will acquire the necessary 21st century digital literacy. The focus needs to be on education institutions themselves, the content they are producing – and most critically the teachers.
“Universities are much more evolved when it comes to digital education and we are starting to see a smarter workforce as a result. The real breakthrough for K to 12 will come when teachers around the world integrate technology into classrooms and promote student-centered approaches to engage students in learning. Today, more than 10 million teachers have been trained through the Intel Teach program in 70 countries and are preparing the next generation to learn, lead, and succeed in the global economy.”
Philip Cronin, Director, Regional Sales Organization, Intel Asia Pacific
Consumers demand new levels of interaction
In 2013 research firm Gartner acknowledged that machines are becoming better at understanding humans and the environment – software that can recognize the emotion in someone’s voice is just one example . Intel agrees, and believes that 2014 will bring a rapid increase in emerging technologies such as human augmentation, speech-to-speech translation, augmented reality, gesture control and wearable user interfaces.
“We’ve reinvented ourselves. We’re bringing through ‘horse-power’ at lower power and we’re doing it across a wider choice of platforms. We will continue to be truly agnostic as a company and move full steam ahead into the tablet and 2 in 1 space. Touch it, type on it, or talk to it – these devices are multitasking powerhouses that will offer us new interaction possibilities. ”
David McCloskey, Director of Operations, Intel Asia Pacific
“It’s difficult to predict new business models but, the company that incorporates biometrics, speech recognition, gesture recognition and eye tracking will be the one that produces a truly integrated device.”
Sudheer Kuppam, Managing Director, Intel Capital, Asia Pacific Region
Wearable devices aren’t new but the last 12 months saw a burst of product releases that have captured consumer interest. This trend will surge in the next one to three years with devices merging our love of consumer technology with our everyday needs. Wearable devices can already tell us our heart rate and as medical services move online, our devices will be able to trigger an alert to emergency services. This will be a true tipping point for health systems when we see interaction directly with medical professionals in times of need.
“Imagine when wearable devices are with us 24/7. With the amount of data, information, and personal content that will be exchanged, security will become even more important.”
Brian Krzanich, CEO, Intel Corporation
“Asia’s young and fast-growing middle class led the industry shift to mobility and the region will play a critical role shaping the future of wearable computing. We’re only beginning to explore the different types of devices, applications and services that advances in wearable computing technology make possible.”
Gregory Bryant, Vice President and General Manager, Intel Asia-Pacific and Japan
“We have some incredibly talented and smart people working at Intel who have very interesting points of view for the future. Collectively as we work to define and accelerate the next frontiers of computing, such as wearable devices and the Internet of Things, our goal with Intel technology is to deliver more meaningful experiences that have greater perceived value to people. From new hardware and software architectures to devices themselves, we have a great roadmap of products and technologies on the horizon as well as a few interesting surprises in store.”
Michael Bell, Vice President and General Manager, New Devices Group, Intel
Entertainment devices have made incredible progress and 2014 is set to bring even more. For example, in late 2013 Intel introduced the world to ‘Jimmie’ the robot at the Maker Faire in New York, an open source robot constructed using a 3D printer. As things progress and innovation continue in 2014 we will see new concepts in entertainment emerge.
2014 will see the emergence of a whole new sector for home entertainment. As more and more TV shows, movies and content are created for mobile devices, the media industry is undergoing a massive change across the globe.
“From a hardware perspective it will be very interesting. Soon we will see hardware manufacturers bring true TV capabilities to All-In-One PC’s, industry leaders will embrace the two technologies and we will see a whole category created. The PC will be born into a TV, TV’s will merge into that all-in-one. It will then build into a multiple and personal device – so each member of the family has their own log in screen that brings up their own programs and intuitively predicts what that person might want to watch next based on their viewing history.”
David McCloskey, Director of Operations, Intel Asia Pacific
Big Data paves the way for innovation
Intel believes that having 15 billion connected devices in the next few years is achievable. The biggest question is around where the data will go when these devices connect and the best way to make use of that information. This will prompt a whole industry to grow around predictive analysis and raw data. Big Data will help make companies smarter, more progressive and give them a business advantage. Governments will soon follow.
“Personal data analytics is a really interesting emerging area. Personal data analytics is a broad label; it includes everything from demographic data, to transactional data, behavioral data and even medical data. The opportunity is about making that data really work – to create value for consumers and companies.”
Genevieve Bell, Futurist and Director of User Experience Research, Intel
“During the next era of personal computing, the biologic problem shifts to a computational problem in the treatment of cancer. Computing doesn’t get any more personal than when it saves your life.”
Renee James, President, Intel.
“In the next few years, we will see 15 billion devices or more connected to the Internet of Things. This will present huge growth opportunities in data analytics, mobile devices and machine-to-machine interfaces. This will lead to a huge volume of data, and a corresponding need for smart analytics. Intel is working with key businesses, Telco’s and cloud service providers across APAC to provide leadership.”
Philip Cronin, Director, Regional Sales Organization, Intel Asia Pacific
“There are some services that are already delivering value to consumers through using personal data, from straightforward things like personalization and recommendation engines to things like precision medicine and genomic profiling. The Indian government’s current initiative to create unique, biometric identity-cards for all its citizens, and to start to use those as a way to manage resource allocation, is another way to think about how personal data might work for us .”
Genevieve Bell, Futurist and Director of User Experience Research, Intel
“Of course there are also challenges around things like privacy, security, identity and reputation. There’s a lot of digital footprints we leave behind that we don’t always think about. This used to be a story of privacy but now it’s also about people’s reputations. As a result, there is a lot of governmental and regulatory activity to help clarify this emerging area – it will be fascinating to see what emerges around the globeiv.”
Genevieve Bell, Futurist and Director of User Experience Research, Intel
