Citrix looks ahead to pinpoint further megatrends

Part two of a review by Michele Pepe of Citrix' Technology Landscape report

Your first interaction of the day might be with your smartphone, going over the high points of your morning and afternoon. You proceed to the kitchen, where you request a strong cup of java from your coffee-maker.

Your car drives itself with you in it to visit a customer; afterward, you strap on a wearable device a la Google Glass or -- better yet -- activate the microchip implanted behind your ear, analyse some feedback from the customer, and dictate your marketing game plan to your tablet.

Sounds like a sci-fi flick, right? But if Citrix is on target with the predictions made in its latest Technology Landscape report, the above scenario offers a viable snapshot of a day in the life of your future self.

Every year, mobile workspace vendor Citrix unveils a report expounding its five year vision of where technology is headed. This year's, themed joie de vivre, predicts scintillating changes ahead. I have already written about the vendor's recommendations for businesses through 2019 in part one of this review.

Today I summarise four technology megatrends that Citrix says are shaking up our lives at home and at work.

*Age of Surprise
Humanity has lived through quite a few ages thus far: the Stone Age, the Age of Enlightenment, the Information Age, et cetera. These sometimes overlap, of course, and today we're still in the middle of the latter as we simultaneously enter the Age of Surprise.

It's a difficult concept to explain because it's somewhat abstract, but suffice to say: technological innovation is moving lightning fast; it's becoming increasingly difficult to process all the data that bombards us, and to make predictions about the next big thing; the only constant is change; and many of us are taking refuge in the Socratic paradox "I know one thing, that I know nothing".

*Mogility
Mobility plus agility equals "mogility". Is Google's Glass half full, after all? According to the Citrix report, there are currently more than seven billion mobile devices in existence, and more are on the way.

BCC Research anticipates the wearables market will climb to $30.2bn by 2018, a CAGR of 52 per cent. "Open source hardware and software platforms are driving rapid innovation in this space for many form factors, from [jewellery to eyewear]," says the report. "Wearables are becoming the tools of life and work."

*Fusion
Relating to the Internet of Everything (IoE), this is all about the convergence of physical and digital worlds. At some point, virtually (no pun intended) everything we touch will be computerised. The players in this space are legion: Cisco, GE, Google, IBM, and Intel, to name just a handful, but the challenges are formidable as well.

For one, there's a diversity of platforms and lack of standardised interfaces, according to Citrix.

For another, there's the significant workload to be handled by computer networks that comprise myriad devices. Then there's security.

"These devices add a unique in-network attack vector and often have safety and security implications," the report says. "For instance, networked lighting systems, locks, alarms, climate control, and appliance control all have implications if they malfunction."

*Humanisation of computing
The big idea? Making computers act and interact more like people, says the report. Some interesting insights from Citrix: Facebook recently achieved human performance in facial-recognition technology; we continue to see many products based on brain-wave processing, and these are being used for everything from tele-operating robotics to remotely controlling someone's body; and natural interaction is showing up in more products. For example, Samsung's gesture control for smart TVs.

Citrix will continue to watch the technology market and study its potential impact. Meanwhile, the vendor relies on an extensive channel network to customise and deliver its virtualisation, mobility management, networking, and cloud offerings to some 330,000 organisations around the world.

Currently in its 25th year, the vendor earned $2.9bn in revenue in 2013.