CES 2020: Key Takeaways For the Enterprise
Like every year, CES 2020 continued its tradition of being the most exciting consumer electronics destination, with the display of cool and crazy gadgets and devices. But for the enterprise, the global stage for innovation is often an eye-opener for broader IT trends that can impact the way they do business, especially with the technologies like AI, data analytics, and 5G underpin the latest IoT gadgets, smart devices, and autonomous vehicles and many more.
Here are some of the key takeaways for today’s digitally savvy and connected enterprise.
Dial ‘P’ for Privacy
In this year’s CES the big ‘P’ was more about ‘privacy’ than ‘products’. There were ample discourses on privacy at the event, with a Chief Privacy Officer Roundtable that the saw participation of Apple’s Senior Director of Global Privacy Jane Horvath, along with Facebook’s VP of Public Policy and Chief Privacy Officer for Policy Erin Egan, Federal Trade Commission’s Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, and Procter and Gamble’s Global Privacy Officer Susan Shook. The roundtable focused on how consumer companies can build and ensure privacy at scale, regulation to ensure privacy, and what consumers want when it comes to privacy.
Read more: Apple Returns to CES 2020 With a Boring Privacy Pitch
Tech companies also showcased some solutions that would allow users to guard their privacy better. Google, for instance, unveiled a few voice commands – “Hey, Google, that wasn’t for you” and Hey, Google, delete everything you heard this week — that promised to give users more control. Facebook too said it was updating its privacy settings to help users control who could see their shares.
Digital health and wellness grow big
This year, much of the health tech featured at CES 2020 is emerging from the blurring of the boundaries of consumer health and wellness and based on rapid evolution of AI, robotics, sensors and IOT. It is interesting to see a flurry of novel technology-based solutions for health, are pointing to some of the biggest and current health challenges. So, apart from a host of continuous glucose monitoring solutions, there were technological answers to issues such as loneliness, asthma management and sleep deprivation. From air quality trackers providing real time data to asthma patients, to wearables that promised to help you fall asleep faster, to carebots — robots that work as nursing companions — wellbeing technologies tread new paths. The CES Digital Health Summit, now in its tenth year, has a program focused on how trying to make sense of the massive waves of disruption that the convergence of healthcare and technology are causing across the healthcare system, and how healthcare providers can coexist in this competitive landscape.
More human-robot partnership
AI is now everywhere. The technology is immensely improving how our services operate on our phones, TVs, laptops, and much more. The displays at CES points to the fact that one can expect many more human-machine partnerships — in manufacturing, healthcare, retail, smart homes and in every sphere in the coming years. The event showcased task-based robots, like an autonomous vacuum or automatic bread maker, to social robots, like the cute little Lovot devices. Notable is Samsung’s Ballie – the small, round, rolling robot that uses sensors and data within the home to create immersive experiences and controlling smart devices in one’s home to help improve daily life. On the other hand, there was also Agility Robotics’ Digit robot that’s ideal for factory and industrial uses. Ford Motor has already purchased two of the robots for factories, where Digit will help make warehousing and delivery more efficient for the car manufacturer.
Read more: CES 2020: Opens with Innovation That Will Change the World
5G experience everywhere
For some years now, 5G hype has all been about the phone and speed. But this year, 5G at CES went far beyond, touching PCs, useful IoT devices, more gamified experiences, and the next gen of immersive reality. A senior official from Qualcomm argued at CES that in 2020 the enterprise will lead the 5G charge. In short, 5G has headed everywhere, from facilitate network TV broadcasts to smart buildings and automobile and into virtually everything in 2020, creating a smarter and more connected enterprise. Building 5G into IoT has long been an aim of 5G proponents, and while 5G networks are in their infancy, the displays at CES give us huge faith that 5G is already becoming an enterprise reality.
Era of inclusivity
Even though Ivanka Trump’s invitation to be a keynote speaker at CES 2020 frustrated a number of women in the sector for she comes with no relevant industry credentials, the conference overall showed some signs of improvement and inclusivity. Until now technological innovations have been designed with the male consumer in mind by and large. the CES 2020 chose to be different. It chose the Female Quotient as its diversity partner and set up the Equality Lounge where there were meaningful conversations on gender and diversity. For the first time, the conference sessions saw panel discussions featuring Chief Diversity Officers of top companies, and panels focused on creating inclusive products and pitches to advance gender equality.
Read more: Gender Diversity: How C-Suite Can Lead the Change
