The advent of new technologies has accelerated the rate of innovation and disrupted the business landscape as we know it. As the pace of innovation speeds up, tomorrow’s front runners are those who readily embrace disruptive technologies to spearhead new business models and capture new avenues of growth.
The good news is that many organisations are cognisant of the key role that new technologies play. Foundry’s CIO Tech Priorities 2023 found that IT leaders are investing in technologies that provide greater efficiencies, better security, and improved end-user experience, with most actively researching or piloting projects around artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, data analytics, automation, and IT/OT intelligence.
This is the reality futurist Mike Walsh shared during his keynote speech at ST Engineering’s Innotech Conference 2023: that 21st-century companies will be defined by their mastery of technologies such as AI, automation, and algorithms, driven by the rapid pace of change.
Think about how technological advances have influenced consumers to gradually shift their focus from products to platforms, transactions to experiences, and data to decisions. This, in turn, is forcing businesses to rethink the way they operate, engage, and go to market.
At the same time, the influx of new technologies and new business models is introducing myriad vulnerabilities and expanding the threat surface area. Consider how the time to execute ransomware attacks has been reduced by 94 percent. What used to take attackers at least two months to deploy in 2019 is only taking them under four days in 2021.
Spurring digital innovations for real-world challenges
To sharpen their competitive edge and succeed in 2023, companies need to do what felt unthinkable just years ago: to do more, do better, and do so with less. This means adapting to the needs of consumers, businesses, and governments—as well as changing market conditions—by becoming more efficient, agile, and smart.
“Thriving in today’s volatile business climate means having to take a measured and balanced approach to implementing digital strategies. Consider both the upsides and downsides to every disruptive innovation and develop applications that are smart, secure, and sustainable, without losing your focus on solving real-world challenges,” says Low Jin Phang, President, Digital Systems, ST Engineering.
This is an approach ST Engineering adheres to, with its recent showcase on leveraging new technologies at InnoTech Conference 2023. These revolve around accelerating industry transformation, particularly among healthcare, front liners, and defence, to help organisations thrive in an evolving technology landscape.
These use cases by ST Engineering are underpinned by three pillars:
Streamlining complex operations with AI as the next frontier
The rise of video content poses a unique challenge to businesses when it comes to sifting through them to make data-driven decisions, especially given the sheer volume of data that video content generates.
This is a challenge AGIL® Vision seeks to solve. The video analytics platform allows users to perform more intuitive searches within video streams via the use of natural-language prompts to identify specific objects, such as umbrellas, backpacks, vehicles, and firearms, as well as human behaviour such as pickpocketing or climbing over fences.
By leveraging state-of-the-art Generative AI models and advanced language-vision intelligence, image and language encoding and decoding capabilities were integrated to improve the breadth of search with a higher degree of accuracy. These can be applied to security surveillance in instances such as:
- Detecting the illegal crossing of perimeters
- Locating pickpockets and missing children within public areas
- Ensuring security and safety at construction sites
- Managing large-scale deployments such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, or managing riots
The launch of AGIL® Vision, which is an all-in-one, plug-and-play solution, helps users to easily deploy and set up on-premise to enhance security and data privacy significantly, as it eliminates the need to send data externally. At the same time, the model can be fine-tuned to meet the needs of organisations, thus empowering staff to enhance their productivity and efficiency without having to employ additional manpower.
Then there is the Remote Virtual Assistant, a head-mounted device that can be used within
hospitals. This allows nurses to consult doctors through secure voice and video calls during medical emergencies, with doctors able to connect remotely and offer timely interventions. This is bolstered by generative AI to help prepare notes and reports automatically. This significantly reduces administrative tasks for nurses, enabling them to focus more time on life-saving activities.
Improving security and safety via robotics and advanced connectivity
The use of unmanned devices and vehicles is growing increasingly common in various industries, from traffic monitoring to construction, due to its promise of enhanced efficiency and most importantly, its ability to keep employees safe especially in hazardous environments.
ST Engineering has recently completed a proof-of-concept, involving 5G connectivity, at Sentosa island. This is a security operation involving a command centre, multiple unmanned aerial drones, unmanned ground vehicles, and smart video cameras.
With these connected by a private and secure 5G network, this system has leveraged AI-driven video analytics to improve operational efficiency and uncover potential threats. Such network connectivity will also enable ST Engineering to develop high-performance unmanned vehicles that can perform tasks that are too hazardous for humans.
Defending against cyberattacks with quantum security
Against a backdrop of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, organisations should exercise caution even when adopting innovative new technologies, which can greatly expand their attack surface. Staying proactive against threats is crucial to strengthening their security posture while keeping employees educated about the potential cybersecurity pitfalls.
To this end, quantum security, a powerful, developing field in cybersecurity, will become a crucial tool against cybercrime. With threat actors actively stealing confidential data, quantum computers can encrypt and decrypt these data in the future to ensure the privacy and integrity of data.
In particular, ST Engineering’s host of quality security solutions, which leverage Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) techniques, ensure that network architectures are secure against attacks. In particular, QKD is built upon quantum mechanics such that data can be transmitted while staying resistant to attacks that may be effective against traditional encryption methods. This is coupled with Quantum Resistant Encryption (QRE) protocols and safeguards.
Keeping an eye on the right tech for your business
Furthering their digital transformation in the face of rampant digital disruption is no small undertaking for many organisations. But while they are eager to move forward, insufficient budgets, competing priorities, and the lack of right skill sets may hinder them from moving forward. By investing in the right technologies, organisations can capitalise on innovations to drive growth, even with lesser resources.
“In the next two to five years, the business landscape will see more new digital technologies emerging. It’s thus important for organisations to embrace disruptive technologies and translate them into solutions that can deliver real value. These would be applications that have wide-ranging use cases, and can transform how we live, work, and play,” concluded Low.
To find out more about ST Engineering Digital Systems, visit https://www.stengg.com/en/digital-tech/.
