TECHNOLOGY

How is Technology Changing The World Today?

Published

11 months ago

October 21, 2023

How is Technology Changing The World Today?

Technology is changing the world by accelerating the pace of innovation and transforming industries.

Modern technology plays an important role in society today. Technology is changing the world by affecting how people learn, study, work, communicate, think and reflect. With the advent of the internet of things and 5G, technology is changing the world by connecting people globally like never before.

Technology has positive and negative effects on the world and it impacts daily lives. We are living in an era where technological advances are common. The internet and smartphones are some notable examples. Humanity can only flourish by innovating. However, there’s a downside to technology if misused, as it has been linked to mental health issues, short attention span and privacy concerns.

While technology has undoubtedly brought about significant advancements and benefits, it has also raised ethical, social, and economic concerns that need careful consideration. The widespread availability of energy, electricity, sanitation, and clean water thanks to technology has brought about life-changing improvements for billions of people. Access to transportation, telecommunication, and the internet has enabled global collaboration in tackling major challenges. It’s important to note that some modern emerging technologies, due to their initial high costs, are often accessible primarily to the wealthiest members of society. Striking a balance between innovation and responsible use of technology remains an ongoing challenge for individuals, governments, and organizations worldwide.

7 Ways Technology is Improving Our Health

Technology affects almost every aspect of 21st century life, from communication, security, transport efficiency and safety, to food access, financial inclusion, healthcare, socialization and productivity. Artificial intelligence and automation are revolutionizing the job market, illustrating how technology is changing the world of work.

Here is how technology is changing the world today.

1. Improved Connectivity With the Internet of Things Devices

We’re spending more of our lives online than ever before. While access to everything online gives us an unparalleled level of convenience, it has also made us vulnerable. The internet of things has improved connectivity with the addition of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and intelligent data. More and more devices are getting connected with the internet pushing the envelope of the internet of things. The Internet of things will continue to evolve with the emergence of new technologies and new objects incorporated with network technologies.

2. Better Information Access

Today, if you want to find something out, it only takes a couple of clicks. simply pull out your phone, computer, or even ask your smart home assistant. Through social media and communication apps, technology is changing the world of interpersonal relationships and how we connect with one another. In education, technology is changing the world of learning by providing online resources and personalized teaching methods. The advent of blockchain exemplifies how technology is changing information access in the world of finance and banking.

3. Advanced Digital Communication With Social Media & Messaging Apps

While video calling has spent the last decade slowly creeping into daily life, it’s the ongoing pandemic that has pushed it over the edge and secured its future as an everyday way to stay in touch. Another seismic change in our lives has been the introduction of social media. Businesses have got in on the act too, and a savvy social media manager is considered essential in most companies, with their ability to make or break a brand’s reputation.

4. Smarter Health Tracking

Another trend in technology has been the rise of fitness devices. While we’ve been using tech to help us stay trim for many years now, we’ve never before been able to do it to such a scientific degree, with instant feedback and recommendations from devices that can monitor our workouts as we complete them.

5. Flexible Workplace

The covid-19 pandemic will be remembered for a lot of negative reasons, but one of its most defining positives has been the widespread acceptance of working from home. With the pandemic in full swing, many had to abandon their offices and log on from their own residences.

6. More Entertainment With Smart Televisions and Streaming Platforms

From video and computer games to smart televisions, a wide range of technological inventions have helped us engage our free time. Even today, movie watching is no longer limited to a theatre space. The way we read on a computer, we watch movies on digital platforms. Online streaming platforms and applications are moving the entertainment world to a complete digitization mode.

7. New Opportunities With Distance Education, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and E-Learning

Technology has shown us how we can overcome the barriers of time and place with computers, augmented reality, virtual reality and e-learning. This has made education more accessible and affordable to people across the world. Today, one person in India can learn from Harvard or MIT, even from their home, because of online educational platforms which enriches learning.

8. Better Agriculture, Urban Planning and Sustainability Initiatives

Agricultural technologies are enhancing crop yields and sustainable farming practices, contributing to food security. Smart cities are emerging as technology changes the world of urban planning. These cities use data and technology to improve infrastructure, transportation, and sustainability.

9. Improved Transportation & Space Exploration

Electric vehicles, autonomous cars, and ride-sharing services are changing the world of transportation, making it more sustainable and efficient. Technology is changing the world of space exploration, with advancements in rocket technology, satellite deployment, and planetary research.

10. Empowering Digital Access in Finance

Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are changing the world of finance and banking by offering new ways to transact, invest, and store value. The latest tech tools can provide beter data & transaction security, automated privacy compliance & maintenance costs, balancing security and user experience.

Conclusion

4 Non AI Technologies Critical

Modern technology has paved the way for multi-functional devices like the smartwatch and the smartphone. Computers are increasingly faster, more portable, and higher-powered than ever before. With all of these revolutions, technology has also made our lives easier, faster, better, and more fun. Technology’s impact on the world is multifaceted, influencing how we live, work, communicate, and address global challenges. It continues to shape our future in ways that were once unimaginable.

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TECHNOLOGY

Next-gen chips, Amazon Q, and speedy S3

Published

9 months ago

December 1, 2023

Max

AWS re:Invent, which has been taking place from November 27 and runs to December 1, has had its usual plethora of announcements: a total of 21 at time of print.

Perhaps not surprisingly, given the huge potential impact of generative AI – ChatGPT officially turns one year old today – a lot of focus has been on the AI side for AWS’ announcements, including a major partnership inked with NVIDIA across infrastructure, software, and services.

Yet there has been plenty more announced at the Las Vegas jamboree besides. Here, CloudTech rounds up the best of the rest:

Next-generation chips

This was the other major AI-focused announcement at re:Invent: the launch of two new chips, AWS Graviton4 and AWS Trainium2, for training and running AI and machine learning (ML) models, among other customer workloads. Graviton4 shapes up against its predecessor with 30% better compute performance, 50% more cores and 75% more memory bandwidth, while Trainium2 delivers up to four times faster training than before and will be able to be deployed in EC2 UltraClusters of up to 100,000 chips.

The EC2 UltraClusters are designed to ‘deliver the highest performance, most energy efficient AI model training infrastructure in the cloud’, as AWS puts it. With it, customers will be able to train large language models in ‘a fraction of the time’, as well as double energy efficiency.

As ever, AWS offers customers who are already utilising these tools. Databricks, Epic and SAP are among the companies cited as using the new AWS-designed chips.

Zero-ETL integrations

AWS announced new Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL, Amazon DynamoDB, and Amazon Relational Database Services (Amazon RDS) for MySQL integrations with Amazon Redshift, AWS’ cloud data warehouse. The zero-ETL integrations – eliminating the need to build ETL (extract, transform, load) data pipelines – make it easier to connect and analyse transactional data across various relational and non-relational databases in Amazon Redshift.

A simple example of how zero-ETL functions can be seen is in a hypothetical company which stores transactional data – time of transaction, items bought, where the transaction occurred – in a relational database, but use another analytics tool to analyse data in a non-relational database. To connect it all up, companies would previously have to construct ETL data pipelines which are a time and money sink.

The latest integrations “build on AWS’s zero-ETL foundation… so customers can quickly and easily connect all of their data, no matter where it lives,” the company said.

Amazon S3 Express One Zone

AWS announced the general availability of Amazon S3 Express One Zone, a new storage class purpose-built for customers’ most frequently-accessed data. Data access speed is up to 10 times faster and request costs up to 50% lower than standard S3. Companies can also opt to collocate their Amazon S3 Express One Zone data in the same availability zone as their compute resources.

Companies and partners who are using Amazon S3 Express One Zone include ChaosSearch, Cloudera, and Pinterest.

Amazon Q

A new product, and an interesting pivot, again with generative AI at its core. Amazon Q was announced as a ‘new type of generative AI-powered assistant’ which can be tailored to a customer’s business. “Customers can get fast, relevant answers to pressing questions, generate content, and take actions – all informed by a customer’s information repositories, code, and enterprise systems,” AWS added. The service also can assist companies building on AWS, as well as companies using AWS applications for business intelligence, contact centres, and supply chain management.

Customers cited as early adopters include Accenture, BMW and Wunderkind.

Want to learn more about cybersecurity and the cloud from industry leaders? Check out Cyber Security & Cloud Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

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TECHNOLOGY

HCLTech and Cisco create collaborative hybrid workplaces

Published

9 months ago

November 29, 2023

Max

Digital comms specialist Cisco and global tech firm HCLTech have teamed up to launch Meeting-Rooms-as-a-Service (MRaaS).

Available on a subscription model, this solution modernises legacy meeting rooms and enables users to join meetings from any meeting solution provider using Webex devices.

The MRaaS solution helps enterprises simplify the design, implementation and maintenance of integrated meeting rooms, enabling seamless collaboration for their globally distributed hybrid workforces.

Rakshit Ghura, senior VP and Global head of digital workplace services, HCLTech, said: “MRaaS combines our consulting and managed services expertise with Cisco’s proficiency in Webex devices to change the way employees conceptualise, organise and interact in a collaborative environment for a modern hybrid work model.

“The common vision of our partnership is to elevate the collaboration experience at work and drive productivity through modern meeting rooms.”

Alexandra Zagury, VP of partner managed and as-a-Service Sales at Cisco, said: “Our partnership with HCLTech helps our clients transform their offices through cost-effective managed services that support the ongoing evolution of workspaces.

“As we reimagine the modern office, we are making it easier to support collaboration and productivity among workers, whether they are in the office or elsewhere.”

Cisco’s Webex collaboration devices harness the power of artificial intelligence to offer intuitive, seamless collaboration experiences, enabling meeting rooms with smart features such as meeting zones, intelligent people framing, optimised attendee audio and background noise removal, among others.

Tags: Cisco, collaboration, HCLTech, Hybrid, meetings

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TECHNOLOGY

Canonical releases low-touch private cloud MicroCloud

Published

9 months ago

November 28, 2023

Max

Canonical has announced the general availability of MicroCloud, a low-touch, open source cloud solution. MicroCloud is part of Canonical’s growing cloud infrastructure portfolio.

It is purpose-built for scalable clusters and edge deployments for all types of enterprises. It is designed with simplicity, security and automation in mind, minimising the time and effort to both deploy and maintain it. Conveniently, enterprise support for MicroCloud is offered as part of Canonical’s Ubuntu Pro subscription, with several support tiers available, and priced per node.

MicroClouds are optimised for repeatable and reliable remote deployments. A single command initiates the orchestration and clustering of various components with minimal involvement by the user, resulting in a fully functional cloud within minutes. This simplified deployment process significantly reduces the barrier to entry, putting a production-grade cloud at everyone’s fingertips.

Juan Manuel Ventura, head of architectures & technologies at Spindox, said: “Cloud computing is not only about technology, it’s the beating heart of any modern industrial transformation, driving agility and innovation. Our mission is to provide our customers with the most effective ways to innovate and bring value; having a complexity-free cloud infrastructure is one important piece of that puzzle. With MicroCloud, the focus shifts away from struggling with cloud operations to solving real business challenges” says

In addition to seamless deployment, MicroCloud prioritises security and ease of maintenance. All MicroCloud components are built with strict confinement for increased security, with over-the-air transactional updates that preserve data and roll back on errors automatically. Upgrades to newer versions are handled automatically and without downtime, with the mechanisms to hold or schedule them as needed.

With this approach, MicroCloud caters to both on-premise clouds but also edge deployments at remote locations, allowing organisations to use the same infrastructure primitives and services wherever they are needed. It is suitable for business-in-branch office locations or industrial use inside a factory, as well as distributed locations where the focus is on replicability and unattended operations.

Cedric Gegout, VP of product at Canonical, said: “As data becomes more distributed, the infrastructure has to follow. Cloud computing is now distributed, spanning across data centres, far and near edge computing appliances. MicroCloud is our answer to that.

“By packaging known infrastructure primitives in a portable and unattended way, we are delivering a simpler, more prescriptive cloud experience that makes zero-ops a reality for many Industries.“

MicroCloud’s lightweight architecture makes it usable on both commodity and high-end hardware, with several ways to further reduce its footprint depending on your workload needs. In addition to the standard Ubuntu Server or Desktop, MicroClouds can be run on Ubuntu Core – a lightweight OS optimised for the edge. With Ubuntu Core, MicroClouds are a perfect solution for far-edge locations with limited computing capabilities. Users can choose to run their workloads using Kubernetes or via system containers. System containers based on LXD behave similarly to traditional VMs but consume fewer resources while providing bare-metal performance.

Coupled with Canonical’s Ubuntu Pro + Support subscription, MicroCloud users can benefit from an enterprise-grade open source cloud solution that is fully supported and with better economics. An Ubuntu Pro subscription offers security maintenance for the broadest collection of open-source software available from a single vendor today. It covers over 30k packages with a consistent security maintenance commitment, and additional features such as kernel livepatch, systems management at scale, certified compliance and hardening profiles enabling easy adoption for enterprises. With per-node pricing and no hidden fees, customers can rest assured that their environment is secure and supported without the expensive price tag typically associated with cloud solutions.

Tags: automation, Canonical, MicroCloud, private cloud

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