Edge computing will be rationalized, while 5G will become an enterprise-dominant mainstay in the region, according to one US tech bigwig.

In a recent online media briefing by Dell Technologies (APJ) to explore what technologies hold in 2021 and beyond, two areas came to the fore.

The firm’s Global Chief Technology Officer, John Roese, pointed to the quantum computing arena as “a disruption, but it will not disrupt the conventional computing market.” He further elaborated that quantum technology is “an accelerator, an augment to conventional computing.”

This year, he said, we have enough quantum systems which are present in public clouds, industrial companies and government labs. “This will be the year that will enable broader software development ecosystems to experiment with quantum computing. This is the first year that a computer scientist with no prior access to quantum computing can go into a simulator and start to learn the language of quantum, several years before turning that into value.”

Roese also mentioned semiconductors as a top technology trend to note. “We are moving from the era of homogeneous compute to an era of heterogeneous compute. This means that homogenous compute like x86 will be highly-augmented with Domain Specific Architectures (Accelerators), and semiconductor ecosystems are reorganizing for this domain.”

Three other areas to watch

On the software front, there would be an equal amount of change happening with modernization and integration platforms. These changes will not only happen technically but at an industry level this year.

On the communications protocol side, the idea of 5G will cease to be a consumer product and dominated by enterprises. “In 2021, we will have true standalone 5G materialize and it will include advance features. Enterprise use cases will dominate the technical landscape of 5G, for both public and private deployment models. The fundamental architecture of 5G will move away from the telco and shift to a cloud and IT architecture, which will be open and software-defined for the first time,” he continued.

On edge computing, Roese said its proliferation will emerge as a major issue of multi-cloud edges with too many independent edge systems. Edge architecture will evolve to discriminate between edge platforms (pools of shared capacity) and edge workloads (extensions of processing and data tasks). “In 2021 and 2022, we will see the shift to building edge platforms that can run multiple edge experiences and software-defined services on them to solve the edge proliferation problem. Edge platforms will become major new areas of on-premise IT capacity delivered as both product and as-a-service,” he elaborated.

Head towards a future

Dell’s President, APJ and Global Digital Cities, Amit Midha, said that these trends are applicable to the Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) region and reiterated that the company will make its positive social impact real and measurable, by cultivating inclusion, advancing sustainability, transforming lives, and upholding privacy and ethics.

“Ultimately, we believe that what we do is not only essential, but if done right, will make the world a better place. I strongly believe that technology and data combined with human spirit are, and will always be, positive forces in the world. We are headed towards a future that is bright and extraordinary.”