I. Technology
10. What
are the most promising technologies for software development?
Software is the
driving force of the world today. With an estimated 9 trillion devices in use,
software is the glue that connects people from all around the globe. The
software developers that build and develop these software products are shaping
and building the modern technological world. The developer population had been
estimated to hit approximately 26.4 million by this year. Yet, even after the
increasing number of developers, there seems to be a talent shortage.
Change is the only
constant on this planet. The software industry is one of those sectors in
contemporary times that witnesses a constant change in practices due to the
ever-growing technological landscape. Software developers and professionals
need to keep themselves updated with the latest technologies and innovations in
order to compete and get the best possible position and pay.
In recent years, the
IT industry has seen tremendous growth. In a report by Gartner in 2018, it is
predicted that the industry will witness a growth of 8.3% in 2019 in its
spending.
Some of the
technologies that seem to have the most promising future are:
Mixed
Reality
Mixed reality is a
combination of the twin technologies of virtual reality (VR) and augmented
reality (AR). Experts predict that by 2025 the market size of mixed reality
will reach US $3.7 billion.
AR has seen a
tremendous amount of growth recently and the credit for this goes solely to its
applications on smartphones. The popularity of smartphones is one of the major
reasons why companies are hiring AR developers in large numbers and investing
in their own AR applications.
Many people assume
that the applications and the scope of VR are limited to gaming and
entertainment. But effective applications by companies and armies around the
world have proved this notion wrong. The US Army has used Microsoft’s HoloLens
mixed reality technology for military training purposes. Similarly, Walmart is
also planning to utilise VR technology to train employees in customer service
and compliance.
Progressive
web applications
Progressive web
applications (PWAs) are a hybrid of mobile and web applications. They differ a
lot from the regular mobile application. The service worker script is an
integral part of PWAs on which they majorly work. PWAs have a number of
features such as responsiveness, connectivity independence, safety,
linkability, etc. The main feature of PWAs includes its offline support, where
the application is supposed to be able to work without a connection. These
applications can be loaded very fast even with low internet speed. For example,
Uber’s PWA was designed to run even on 2G speeds. The core app is a mere 50KB
and takes just three seconds to load on 2G speeds. PWAs are also very good for
customer engagement. Trivago saw an increase of 150% for the people who add its
PWA on their home screen. Trivago also observed a 97% increase in hotel offer
clickouts owing to the increased customer engagement.
Additionally, they
are very easy to develop and maintain. This, in particular, has attracted many
mobile developer companies in the past few years.
Machine
Learning and Artificial Intelligence
A total of 91 machine
learning deals were carried out last year with a business value of US $16.9
billion. According to Deloitte, approximately 100,000 legal jobs will be automated
by 2036. Automation and machine learning are here to stay and are going to make
a huge difference and change the way organisations operate.
Machine learning
allows organisations to customise the customer experience and helps target the
company’s efforts. For example, Facebook implements statistical analysis and
predictive analytics together to find patterns based on data. It helps Facebook
to personalise the newsfeed for each individual, suggest interesting content,
posts and to improve user engagement. In addition, Facebook uses neural
networks on images to suggest members to tag in the picture.
Artificial
intelligence aims to be able to improvise business tasks and make them simple.
The advent and popularity of artificial intelligence has provided the web app
developers brilliant support to experiment. This has broadened the reach of AI
to sectors like healthcare, banking, education, mathematics, etc.
IoT
Internet of Things
(IoT) covers various categories of devices that are connected to the internet
and communicate with each other. The applications of IoT are present in both
the consumer and the industrial domains. In areas such as security and customer
experience, IoT is experiencing exponential growth and demands.
According to David
Evan, a former researcher at Cisco, each second about 127 devices are being
connected to the internet. This clearly signifies the constantly increasing
reach of IoT.
Over 90% of
automobiles are expected to be IoT-enabled by 2020. In the coming years, IoT
will continue to grow in prevalence and get more sophisticated. From smart cars
to in-store smart assistants for customer personalisation, the future holds a
lot of value for IoT. Enterprises will come closer to an intelligently
connected future by embracing real-time visibility.
CONCLUSION
The evolution of
software technologies provides a clear insight into the type of developments
ongoing in the information technology industry. Developers all around the world
are working to improve the convenience and comfort level of humans. With
traditional developments like Java application development, .NET development,
etc., developers need to keep themselves updated with the emerging technologies
and trends.
Similarly, it is
vital for organisations to adopt these new technologies in order to expand and
compete with their competitors. Consultancy companies can provide greater
insights into these new technologies and help businesses become software
leaders.
(Source:
International Business Times – By IBTimes Staff Reporter, 18th December,
2019)
11. New
mobile number portability rules kick in: All you need to know
The revised mobile
number portability or MNP rules issued by the telecom regulator TRAI came into
effect from December 16. The new rules are slated to make the porting process
fast and simple.
The revised process
comes with conditions for generation of Unique Porting Code (UPC). It entails
three working days’ timeline for port out requests within a service area, and
five working days for requests for port out from one circle to another.
Here are the other
details:
*For corporate mobile
connections, there is no change in the porting timelines, TRAI stated;
* Mobile users can
generate the UPC and avail the mobile number porting process;
* In the new process,
the UPC can be generated only when the subscriber is eligible to port out his /
her mobile number;
* Laying down the
rules for the new process, the Regulator said a positive validation of various
conditions will determine the generation of the UPC;
* For instance, in
case of post-paid mobile connection, the subscriber has to ensure clearance of
outstanding dues towards the existing telecom service provider for the issued
bills as per normal billing cycle;
* Some other
conditions include activation in the present operator’s network of not less
than 90 days; and no pending contractual obligations to be fulfilled by the
subscriber as per the exit clause provided in the subscriber agreement;
* Once UPC is
generated, it will be valid for four days for all ‘Licensed Service Areas
(LSAs)’ except the circles of Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and North-East, where
it will remain valid for 30 days.
* Users will need to
submit address and identity proof to the changing operator to begin the MNP
request.
(Source:
Times of India.com – 16th December, 2019)
II. Economy
12. Government
imposes restrictions on import of gold, silver
According to a
notification issued by the Directorate-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), import
of gold in any form has been placed in ‘restricted’ category from ‘free’
category.
Amid
rising inward shipments of gold, the Government imposed restrictions on the
import of precious metals. According to a notification issued by the
Directorate-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), import of gold in any form has
been placed in ‘restricted’ category.
‘Import
policy of gold in any form, other than monetary gold and silver in any form, is
amended from “Free” to “Restricted”; import is allowed only through nominated
agencies as notified by RBI (in case of banks) and DGFT (for other agencies),’
the Directorate said. However, import under advance authorisation and supply of
gold directly by foreign buyers to exporters against orders have been exempted.
The restrictions come in the backdrop of rising imports of gold, which rose by
6.59% to USD 2.94 billion in November from USD 2.76 billion a year-ago.
(Source: Financial
Express – By PTI, 18th December, 20
