Top Technology Trends to Watch

According to a recent IoT Analytics report, there were some interesting trends on display at Hannover Messe, the world's largest technology event.? Here are ten to watch:?

• ?Sustainability is center stage. The media covered it extensively before, during, and after the event, and solutions related to it were omnipresent on the showroom floor. Microsoft debuted our Sustainability cloud, showcasing how industrial manufacturers can track emissions, set reduction targets, and create actions to achieve them.? Our August 2022 IoT Signals Report also noted sustainability as one of the key trends impacting manufacturing operations.?
• Almost everyone – including companies whose core business has been hardware, now offer software solutions. The process for software development, deployment, and management is evolving towards cloud native architectures - such as containers - enabling organizations to scale their applications from edge to cloud with increased agility. ?
• Ease of use, for developers and end users, is increasing. Software solutions include low code/no code options with drag-and-drop software builders and simplified programming interfaces. For users, cloud-native apps provide simplified, browser-based UI’s with better visuals and dashboards.?
• Generative software is poised to take off. Generative design leverages machine learning to create new product options based on designer parameters and constraints. The process is fast and efficient- resulting in ingenious new product designs that meet designer requirements with fewer moving parts, less weight, and less cost.?This redesigned seat bracket for seat belts for General Motors by Autodesk says it all. Just imagine how transformative this will be for industries going forward.?

• The software market has moved to end-to-end solutions, not just building blocks, driven by strategic partnerships between companies with complementary technologies and like-minded goals. Microsoft, a partner-first company, is strongly invested in our ecosystem of industrial ISV partners to bring comprehensive solutions to life for our customers.?
• The industrial revolution is moving forward with four key use cases driving the majority of software solutions:?(1) Predictive maintenance and conditioning monitoring, (2)?Remote access (of equipment), (3)?Digital Twins (for product engineering and simulations), (4)?Automated quality control solutions using machine vision.?
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used to contextualize multiple data sources and data points (i.e., automatically mapping specific data points to relevant machines, equipment, and processes that can make use of the data points). This enhances data quality in the model development processes, driving better use-case-specific solutions that quickly provide business value. ?
• The use of synthetic data in AI solutions is increasing. Synthetic data (artificially manufactured data rather than data generated by real-world events) can enrich data analyses and AI models (e.g., to predict future events or evaluate possible disaster scenarios).?
• Visual AI is increasingly prevalent – showing up in control systems. e.g., to inspect a machine process and ensure that the production outcome matches the design and quality specifications.?
• Finally, a more practical approach to marketing digital transformation. This year, vendors and providers were marketing use case solutions rather than products. This is a more compelling approach because use-case scenarios recognize real-life customer pain points and more clearly illustrate how solutions can address them. ?