A keen observer of the technological firmament will observe a lot of celestial events and shooting stars. Some trends will vanish without a trace while others will blaze a trail and will become trend setters. The factors that make certain technologies endure while others disappear are many ranging from the need addressed, the unique and enjoyable user experience, the innovativeness and usefulness. This article looks at some of the technologies that are certain to be trail blazers in the years to come.
Software Defined Networks (SDNs): Software Defined Networks (SDNs) are based on the path breaking paradigm of separating the control of a network flow from the actual flow of data. SDN is the result of pioneering effort by Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley and is based on the Open Flow Protocol and represents a paradigm shift to the way networking elements operate. Software Defined Networks (SDN) decouples the routing and switching of the data flows and moves the control of the flow to a separate network element namely, the Flow controller. The motivation for this is that the flow of data packets through the network can be controlled in a programmatic manner. The OpenFlow Protocol has 3 components to it. The Flow Controller that controls the flows, the OpenFlow switch and the Flow Table and a secure connection between the Flow Controller and the OpenFlow switch. Software Define Networks (SDNs) also include the ability to virtualize the network resources. Virtualized network resources are known as a “network slice”. A slice can span several network elements including the network backbone, routers and hosts. The ability to control multiple traffic flows programmatically provides enormous flexibility and power in the hands of users. SDNs are bound to be the networks elements of the future.
Smart Grids: The energy industry is delicately poised for a complete transformation with the evolution of the smart grid concept. There is now an imminent need for an increased efficiency in power generation, transmission and distribution coupled with a reduction of energy losses. In this context many leading players in the energy industry are coming up with a connected end-to-end digital grid to smartly manage energy transmission and distribution. The digital grid will have smart meters, sensors and other devices distributed throughout the grid capable of sensing, collecting, analyzing and distributing the data to devices that can take action on them. The huge volume of collected data will be sent to intelligent device which will use the wireless 3G networks to transmit the data. Appropriate action like alternate routing and optimal energy distribution would then happen. Smart Grids are a certainty given that this technology addresses the dire need of efficient energy management. Smart Grids besides managing energy efficiently also save costs by preventing inefficiency and energy losses.
NoSQL: In large web applications where performance and scalability are key concerns a non -relational database like NoSQL is a better choice to the more traditional relational databases. There are several examples of such databases – the more reputed are Google’s BigTable, HBase, Amazon’s Dynamo, CouchDB & MongoDB. These databases partition the data horizontally and distribute it among many regular commodity servers. Accesses to the data are based on get(key) or set(key, value) type of APIs. Accesses to the data are based on a consistent hashing scheme for example the Distributed Hash Table (DHT) method. The ability to distribute data and the queries to one of several servers provides the key benefit of scalability. Clearly having a single database handling an enormous amount of transactions will result in performance degradation as the number of transaction increases. Applications that have to frequently access and manage petabytes of data will clearly have to move to the NoSQL paradigm of databases.
Near Field Communications (NFC): Near Field Communications (NFC) is a technology whose time has come. Mobile phones enabled with NFC technology can be used for a variety of purposes. One such purpose is integrating credit card functionality into mobile phones using NFC. Already the major players in mobile are integrating NFC into their newer versions of mobile phones including Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android, and Nokia. We will never again have to carry in our wallets with a stack of credit cards. Our mobile phone will double up as a Visa, MasterCard, etc. NFC also allows retail stores to send promotional coupons to subscribers who are in the vicinity of the shopping mall. Posters or trailers of movies running in a theatre can be sent as multi-media clips when travelling near a movie hall. NFC also allows retail stores to send promotional coupons to subscribers who are in the vicinity of the shopping mall besides allowing exchanging contact lists with friends when they are close proximity.
The Other Suspects: Besides the above we have other usual suspects
Long Term Evolution (LTE): LTE enables is latest wireless technology that enables wireless access speeds of up to 56 Mbps. With the burgeoning interest in tablets, smartphones with the countless apps LTE will be used heavily as we move along
Cloud Computing: Cloud Computing is the other technology that is bound to gain momentum in the years ahead. Besides obviating the need for upfront capital expenditure the cloud enables quick and easy deployment of applications. Moreover the elasticity of the cloud will make it irresistible to large enterprises and corporations.
The above is a list of technologies to watch as create new paths and blaze new trails. All these technologies are bound to transform the world as we know it and make our lives easier, better and more comfortable. These are the technologies that we need to focus on as we move bravely into our future.