Taking advantage of future tech: The channel has work to do

The channel has some work to do if it wants to take advantage of emerging technologies entering today's digital organisations.

That's according CompTIA, following the release of its recent Internet of Things Insights and Opportunities study, who says end user awareness of emerging tech is generally healthy, and channel firms have some work to do to build up their expertise in these fields as customer interest increases.

CompTIA's study looked at the emerging potential of the Internet of Things, a topic that has gained strong momentum over the past year. The study found that both channel firms and end users are well aware of the IoT and are beginning to pursue real business applications, pushing the trend past hype into real utility.

"Generally end users have a more bullish outlook when it comes to the potential business impact of future technology," explains Moheb Moses, director, Channel Dynamics, and ANZ community director, CompTIA.

"Channel firms are likely more cautious based on experience integrating technology and making it enterprise grade," he says.

"However, they will have to find the middle ground between previous practices and experimentation, including the exploration of new vendors."

But what about other emerging technologies such as biometrics, augmented reality, and chat bots?

Seth Robinson, senior director, technology analysis, CompTIA, says determining the business potential of these technologies starts with understanding the basics.

"Simply knowing where pieces fit in the grand IT ecosystem allows visualisation of new business systems and deeper knowledge lets these systems be built and integrated," Robinson says.

"There is no doubt that making technology enterprise-grade is a legitimate hurdle. The ability to produce high tech at low cost opens the door to the consumer market, but the demands of that market are much different," he explains.

"Security, integration, and reliability are lower concerns. In mature economies, there is also a substantial amount of legacy architecture and equipment to deal with," he adds.

"However, new technology can lead to massive improvements in efficiency and innovation. This can be applicable inside businesses, where new products and offerings can redefine a company," explains Robinson.

"It can also be applicable in the job market. Many jobs were threatened by the technical advances of the Industrial Revolution, and those specific job categories saw reductions.

"However, entirely new categories were created, leading to a net gain in jobs and overall growth," he says.

"The same will likely be true of the Digital Revolution, and those individuals and companies that experience the greatest success will be the ones that prove the most adaptable."