AWS re-Invent 2020 - Eight technology trends
On December 16, Dr. Werner Vogels, vice president and CTO of Amazon.com, delivered a keynote speech on cloud construction. He pointed out the core challenges faced by cloud builders sharply. While releasing new services and new features that builders care about, he reconstructed everyone’s understanding of how to “build”. At the same time, he also shared his prediction of the technology trend in 2021.
Werner said that 2020 is so different, whether companies or government agencies, work and operation methods have completely changed. It is technology that helps us cope with the tremendous changes.
Online classrooms help children continue to receive education. Online meetings replace business meeting rooms, bar and cafe meetings. Technology helps people support their families, educate children, and work collaboratively. They can also entertain themselves in isolation at home. Thanks to this accelerated change, 2021 will become the launch pad for various changes.
cloud will be everywhere
In 2021, the advancement of the cloud to the edge will further accelerate .From the perspective of AWS, AWS has deployed a large number of cloud data center regions and access points to keep cloud technology closer to customers around the world. For example, AWS Snowball is deployed to research centers on the volcano side of Hawaii and Antarctica to collect petabytes of data. In the kitchen, on the bicycle in the gym, edge devices can be connected to each other through AWS IoT Greengrass. With the expansion of 5G networks, operators have begun to deploy AWS Wavelength regions so that applications on 5G terminals can give full play to the advantages of 5G networks with low latency and high bandwidth.
The concept of cloud extends from a central point and enters people’s daily life and work environment. There will be more and more software running in the cloud around them, improving people’s lives, from healthcare to transportation, entertainment, Manufacturing and so on. In 2021, the advancement of the cloud to the edge will further accelerate.
Machine learning extends from the cloud to the edge
Machine learning has always been a computationally intensive workload that can only run on the most powerful hardware. But with the advancement of software and chip technology, the situation is changing. By combining various AWS technologies, software and hardware are adapted at the edge, which can play a greater role than ever.
Machine learning continues to expand, and machine-to-machine connections will explode. According to Cisco’s annual Internet report, in 2018, only 33% of Internet connections were machine-to-machine connections. If you have an Echo smart home product, or are paying attention to the rapid development of the automotive industry, then you should have seen what is about to happen, and cloud-connected sensors and devices are proliferating. Werner predicts that by 2021, this proportion will exceed 50%.
Machine-to-machine connections continue to increase, more data is injected into machine learning models, and more customized chips for machine learning will appear. With AWS Inferentia, you can reduce the cost of machine learning in terms of power and computing. Costs continue to decrease and performance continues to improve. More and more machine learning application scenarios perform operations at the edge and build new models at the edge. For applications that require low latency, this is a disruptive innovation.
There will be more image, video and audio expression
A few years ago, in an article in Wired magazine, Werner talked about the rapid rise of voice-activated computing: emerging user interfaces allow humans to communicate with machines and communicate between people in a more natural way. This trend enters 2021 and beyond, Werner believes that the keyboard will continue to decline and be eliminated in a gradual manner.
Companies must keep in touch with customers, and they must be keenly aware of these changes in habits. Customers will no longer rely on keyboards, mice, or other mechanical means to interact with their products and services. So companies should explore shifting from keyboards to more natural user interfaces. Amazon Alexa allows customers to use voice for Amazon shopping, and its application is exciting.
In 2021 and beyond, in all areas from social platforms to business operations, the use of audio, video, and images will continue to replace text, and cloud technology will play an important role to meet this demand.
Technology will change the real world
In 2020, social isolation breaks into people’s lives. Isolation gives people the opportunity to examine and rethink how our city works, how it breathes, and how it flows. With the help of advanced data analysis, in 2021 people will begin to think about how to better design cities so that they can achieve social isolation without feeling out of reach. This will be a true fusion of the digital and physical worlds.
For example, using advanced data analysis techniques and machine learning, cities can analyze the flow of people, understand how pedestrians move around in different situations, how to enter stadiums, grocery stores, and subway stations. New online payment platforms are on the rise, and their business is built on the cloud. Taking blockchain as an example, the underlying encryption and ledger system (blockchain is a decentralized electronic ledger system) is cloud-based.
Another huge change in the real world will be reflected to a greater extent in finance, where the cash in people’s pockets is rapidly disappearing. One of the biggest changes brought about by the new crown epidemic is the rise of cashless payments. New online payment platforms are on the rise. Their business is built on the cloud. Taking blockchain as an example, the underlying encryption and ledger system (the blockchain is a The decentralized electronic ledger system) is cloud-based. There will be more and more such payment options, and the world will further accelerate the adoption of digital technology to replace outdated payment methods that have lasted for centuries.
Distance learning earns a place in education
The new crown epidemic has caused the education sector to undergo a rapid and irreversible reshaping, the extent of which has surpassed almost any other industry. During the epidemic, technology played a huge role in children’s education. Next year, when people have verified the effectiveness of distance learning, and it may be a better choice for some people, distance learning will play a more active and lasting role in education.
This year’s pandemic and other obvious changes have forced people to adapt. But the significance of online courses is not only reflected in the global health crisis. Being able to choose to receive distance education (and work) at any time means that children can stay at home and attend class when they are sick and will not lag behind their classmates. If there is no school to go to, as long as there is Internet, at least it is possible to receive some form of education.
Small businesses race to the cloud
Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa will be the front runners. In 2021 and beyond, a huge change is that small businesses begin to use advanced cloud technology to serve customers. A large number of excellent technology and service providers will emerge to serve these small businesses. Technology will help small businesses do all kinds of things, from starting a chatbot to answer common questions, to getting an ultra-simple CRM system up and running in minutes. Small businesses can have the benefits of complex architectures and applications without having to invest time and money to build them.
Take Warung Pintar in Indonesia as an example. This company connects small food stores through the cloud, combining technical services with small businesses. They usually operate independently, where they can buy cold drinks, snacks, or recharge their mobile phones, but these small shops and their operations are all connected to the cloud. Small shop operators can realize inventory management and tracking, sales analysis, cashless payment, WIFI connection, etc. through a small bright yellow box. In the past, the business of these small shops only relied on the traffic of people on the roadside. Now the owners of small shops can begin to understand and cultivate their customer base. In the past, their inventory and purchases were mainly purchased by intuition. Now they can analyze and understand what is most profitable to sell, and what is just taking up land.
As these small companies push their unique practices and unique products to the world, they are likely to break many business practices in developed countries. They have neither the burden of traditional technology nor the fetters of inherent ideas, so the development space is vast and unlimited.
In 2021, quantum computing will flourish
At the 2019 re:Invent conference, AWS released a fully managed quantum computing service Amazon Braket to help researchers and developers accelerate research and discover the potential of quantum computing. In 2020, AWS opened up this service to everyone. Before the emergence of Amazon Braket, only the world’s top research institutions or the most economically powerful companies could use quantum computing hardware. Now anyone can use quantum machines for as little as $0.30. It has been proved time and time again that once the most advanced and complex technologies are popularized and made affordable, accessible and understandable to the public, great changes will occur.
The esoteric calculation method is still in the early stages, but this is the point of Amazon Braket. It is particularly important in the exploration period to allow as many people as possible to get involved in the field of quantum computing. As companies and institutions begin to experiment with quantum technology, this kind of expertise begins to go out of the academic world, and prototypes of various business plans, products and services surrounding the quantum future will appear one after another. This is also the way Amazon Braket moves from the laboratory to the application. As we have seen in the development of machine learning, when the software ecosystem can truly serve the hardware, thousands of applications will appear.
In the next ten years or so, quantum computing will change many fields, such as chemical engineering, materials science, drug discovery, portfolio optimization, machine learning, etc., but only when more and more people begin to envision this future. Road, these changes can be realized.
In 2021, cloud technology will make the most progress in space
In 2019, we launched the AWS Ground Station satellite ground station service. With this service, customers can control satellite communications, process data, and expand the scale of operations without having to worry about the construction or management of ground station infrastructure. This service has achieved great results, but we think this is just the beginning. Werner predicts that in 2021 and beyond, space will be the area where we will make the most progress in cloud technology.
At present, satellite data access and processing technologies have been used to help researchers track glaciers receding, maritime agencies protect fragile marine protected areas, and agronomists more accurately predict food supplies. At the same time, some start-up companies are exploring the use of space to develop a new generation of fast and secure networks. By making every developer affordable for access to space, I look forward to seeing these innovations become reality and help everyone grow and succeed.
