Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 37 | Page 68

t cht lk become even more vital in 2020. As data points increase, so too must the company’s ability to capture and analyse that data to deliver meaningful insights. This is where automation will play a significant role in taking care of much of the menial administrative-intensive work, leaving employees available to deliver higher cognitive value. Application development will act as the glue tying all these components together. It is a case of ensuring code is not only optimised but can also leverage automation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning 68 INTELLIGENTCIO “ USING MOBILE DEVICES TO ACCESS BACK- END DATA WILL BECOME EVEN MORE VITAL IN 2020. to provide applications that can harness data insights faster than before, resulting in more customised products and services for customers. Development must also be cognisant of how other technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Edge Computing, Blockchain and the hybrid cloud will impact on operations. The Internet of Things and Edge Computing It is anticipated that there will be around 29 billion connected devices by 2022, 18 billion of which will be directly related to IoT. www.intelligentcio.com