Dive Brief:
- Likely candidates for top emerging technologies — AI, VR and 3D printers — have actually experienced a delay in adoption and plans, according to a Spiceworks survey of more than 700 global technology buyers.
- By 2020, 61% of organizations plan to use gigabit Wi-Fi, 57% plan to use automation and 39% plan to use converged or hyperconverged infrastructure. About one-quarter of large enterprises have adopted blockchain technologies, but by 2020 that number will rise to 50%.
- Larger enterprises are pushing emerging technologies faster than smaller businesses, but the financial industry in particular has the highest adoption of AI, serverless computing and blockchain. Government entities have the slowest adoption rates for new tech.
Dive Insight:
The stagnant or stalled growth of hyped technologies like AI comes down to a slew of reasons, and one of them is an unrealistic expectation in the hype.
Experts have long said the winning blockchain platform is not yet on the market, but a lot of companies need little convincing when it comes to adoption. It is actually the public cloud that faces more organizational resistance than AI and ML.
While emerging technologies are important for remaining competitive, refreshing outdated infrastructure stands as the most important task for IT in 2019. IT budgets are expected to increase next year with most of it dedicated to hardware and software.
Without solid modern infrastructure to support new technologies, adopting new tech can be dubious. Companies need to prioritize the longevity of their tech, even if it means slowing down innovation for a time.
Most emerging technologies make the case for themselves and how they are useful. It is evident that some companies are trying to take them in stride as not to frustrate their current systems and infrastructure.
