变革性的 技术：今天

TransformationalTechnologies:Today

HowIoT,AI,andblockchainwillrevolutionizebusiness.

TheInternetofThings(IoT),artificialintelligence(AI),andblockchainrepresentanunprecedentedopportunityfortheenterpriseandthepublicsector.

Everyinstitutioncapableofexploitingthesetechnologieswillhaveachancetoradicallystreamlineandenhanceexistingprocesses,createentirelynewbusinessmodels,anddevelopinnovativeproductsandservices

foranewgenerationofconsumers.

Butthisisn’tavisionofautopian,tech-enabledfuture—thetechnologycapabilitiesareavailabletodaytohelpyoubuildthebusinessoftomorrow.

2 TransformationalTechnologies:Today

TransformationalTechnologies:Today 3

Thepersonalcomputingrevolution.Theinternet.Mobiledevicesthatputasupercomputerinthepalmofyourhand.We’vebeenexposedtotransformationaltechnologiesbefore,andunderstandthattheyhavethepowertochangetheworldasweknowit.

Buteachofthesepastexamplesemergedgradually—andcrucially—inisolation.

Wehadtimetogrowusedtopersonalcomputingbeforetheinternetarrivedandchangedthegameoncemore.Wewereinternet-savvylongbeforesmartphonesputthewebinourpockets.Now,multiplenewtechnologiesareemergingatonce:3Dprinting,5Gwireless,virtualandaugmentedreality,andothers.

Whileeachofthesetechnologiespresentexcitingopportunitiesandsignificantchallengesfortheenterprise,weconsiderthreetobetrulytransformational:IoT,AI,andblockchain.Alone,anyoneofthesethreewouldhavethepowertoalterbusiness,leisure,andsocietyasawhole.Buttogether,theirtransformativeimpactwillbeunprecedented.

Thisisthefirsttimeinmodernhistorythatthreetransformationaltechnologieshaveemergedinthesamegeneration,andyetit’satasteofthingstocome.Thedigitalrevolutionmeanstechnologicaldisruptionhaschangedfromaonce-in-a-lifetimeeventtoaconstantprocess.Now,anybusinessesthatfallbehindwillquicklyfindthemselveswith

aninsurmountablegaptoclose.

Inthispaper,we’llexplorehowyoucannotonlyprepareyourbusinessforIoT,AI,

andblockchain,butalsoempoweryourorganizationtoexploitthemnowandinthefuture.We’lldiscusshowcloudactsasbothanenablerandanaccelerant—pavingthewayforimplementationofanynewtechnology.Andwe’llexploreOracle’scapabilitiesinIoT,

AI,andblockchain—powerfulontheirown,buttransformationalwhencombined.

IOT:SENSINGTHEWORLD.

TounderstandIoT,AI,andblockchain,ithelpstothinkofthemasinterconnectedorganicprocesses.IoTislikethehumannervoussystem.Itsenses,withbillionsofconnecteddevicesaroundtheworldnowrecordingauniverseofnewdata.

AIislikethereasoningpartofyourbrain.Itthinksbyanalyzingdataandmakingdecisionspreviouslyreservedforhumans.Andblockchainislikeyourmemory—creatingasecure,indeliblerecordoftransactionsanddataexchanges.

IoTistransformingaworldofthingsintoaworldofdata.Practicallyanythingcanbeequippedwithasensorandmadesmart—fromasmartwatchthatmonitorsyourbloodpressure,heartrate,andbloodsugarlevelstoaconnectedfactorythatoverseeseverystageoftheproductionprocess.

“Smarthomesandconnectedproductswon’tjustbeaimedathomelife.They’llalsohaveamajorimpactonbusiness.Andjustlikeanycompanythatblissfullyignoredtheinternetattheturnofthecentury,

theonesthatdismisstheInternetofThingsriskgettingleftbehind.”

JaredNewman,FastCompany

1GartnerNewsroom

2Forbes

IoTinaction.

IoTwillimpactsomeindustriesmorethanothers.Thepublicsector,manufacturing,transportation,automotive,consumergoods,andevenhealthcarewillneverbethesameonceIoTtakeshold.Itprovidesanopportunitytoextractnewdataandimproveexistingbusinessprocesses,bringinnovativeproductsandservicestomarketfast,andgathernewinformationonconsumertrendsandpreferences.

It’seasytopictureIoTinuseforconsumerapplications,andaroundthehome.Ahostofsmarthouseholdappliancesandpersonalelectronicdeviceswillhelptotransformtheconsumergoodsindustry—revolutionizingtheuserexperience,andproviding

retailerswithafloodofusefuldata.ButtheimpactofIoTwillbefeltfarbeyondthehome.

Intheautomotiveindustry,IoTishelpingmanufacturersmakeconnected,autonomous,shared,andelectric(CASE)vehiclesasafe,workablereality.Insurerscanusethedataproducedbytheseconnectedvehicles(amongcountlessotherthings)tomonitordrivinghabits,developpersonalizedcoveroptions,andaccuratelyprocessclaims.

Andmanufacturerscancreateconnectedsmartfactoriescapableofmonitoring

equipmenthealth,minimizingproductioncostsanddowntime,andmaximizingproductivity.

Gettingthere.

There’sclearlygreatpotentialinIoT.It’sestimatedthattherewillbe20.4billionIoTdevicesincirculationby2020,1generatinginexcessof14zettabytesofdataeveryyear.2Butuptonow,IoTprojectshavebeenbothdifficulttoimplement,andoftenunderutilized—withonlyafractionofthatdatadelugecurrentlyanalyzedandputtopracticaluse.

TorealizethebusinessbenefitsofIoT,theenterprisemust:

BuildandadoptanecosystemofIoT-enableddevices

Source,store,andmanageenormousamountsofdata

Adoptsophisticatedanalyticsandmachinelearningcapabilities

CreatenewIoTapplicationsthatexploitdatainsights

IntegrateIoTintoexistingapplicationsandworkflows

Deployend-to-endsecurity

Monitorandmanagetheentirevaluechain

4 TransformationalTechnologies:Today

TransformationalTechnologies:Today 5

There’senormousopportunityinIoT.Butthechallengefortheenterpriseistobuildonexistingtechnology,infrastructure,andcapabilitiestoacceleratetimetovalue,andminimizethecostandcomplexityofIoTimplementation.Thebenefitsforthosethatsucceedwillbesignificantindeed.

HowOraclecanhelp.

Oracle’sgoalistomakeIoTimplementationeasy—cost-effective,user-friendly,andcapableofdrivingbusinessoutcomes.

Tothatend,weofferfivepowerful,ready-to-useIoTapplications:

OracleProductionMonitoringClouddeliversacommandingviewoffactories,machines,andproducts.

OracleAssetMonitoringCloudprovidesreal-timeinsightsfromconnectedassets.

OracleFleetMonitoringCloudtracksandmanagesconnectedvehicles.

OracleServiceMonitoringforConnectedAssetsCloudenablessuperiorcustomerservice.

OracleConnectedWorkerCloudprovidesreal-timevisibilityofworkerhealth,location,andworkenvironments.

TheseapplicationsareconnectedtoworkwithourSaaSapplications,too:enterpriseresourceplanning(ERP),supplychainmanagement(SCM),humancapitalmanagement(HCM),andothers.Andifyouwanttocreateyourowncustomappsorservices,youcanbuildthemusingourpowerful,integratedcloudplatform.There’salsoachoiceofdeploymentmodels:inthepubliccloud,orOracleCloudatCustomer—thepowerofthepublicclouddeliveredsecurelyinyourdatacenter.

AI:THINKINGABOUTDATA.

IfIoTisthesensingpartoftransformationaltechnology,thenAIisthethinkingpart.Withinthebroadfield

ofartificialintelligence,it’smachinelearningthat’spoisedtomakethegreatestimpact.Ithasthepotentialtoenablefast,intelligentdecision-making—either

insupportofhumanintelligence,orinplaceofit.Businessescandelegatemundaneorcomplicatedtaskstoachievealevelofaccuracyandefficiencybeyond

thecapabilitiesofhumanworkers.

Butputtingdecisionsinthehandsofintelligentmachineshasprofoundmoral,ethical,andeventheologicalimplications.

WhileAIandmachinelearningarealreadymakingintelligentinterventionsonbehalfofhumans—inourvoice-activatedpersonalassistants,forexample—there’sworktobedonebeforemachinesaregivenfullagency.Andbeforewegetthere,somefar-reachingquestionswillneedtobeasked—andanswered.

Machinelearninginaction.

Theinsightsgeneratedbymachinelearningwillhelp

theenterprisebetterunderstandcustomerexpectationsandmarkettrends,enablingautomated,personalizedengagements.Itwillhelpinthecreationofnewgoodsandservices,designedtoquicklyandaccuratelymeetthedemandsofmodernconsumersorfillgapsinthemarket.

Anditwillempowerbusinessoperationsthroughinsightfulrecommendationsandstrategicinput.

Machinelearninghasthepowertotransformhumanresourcesbyenhancingrecruitment,staffretention,andmaximizingproductivity.Intheautomotiveindustry,it’sthedrivingforcebehindautonomousvehicles.

Itcanhelpthetelecommunicationsindustryidentifyandaddressnetworkfaults,andallowfinancialservicesinstitutionstomoreaccuratelyprofileconsumers.

Machinelearningpowerscustomerservicechatbots,providesmarketinginsights,identifiescybersecurityvulnerabilities,enablespersonalizedproducts

andservices,andmuchmore.

It’shardtothinkofatechnologywithmoresignificantpotentialfortransformation—now,orthroughouthistory.

Gettingthere.

There’slittledoubtthattheimpactofmachinelearning

ontheenterprisewillbeprofound.Sowhyaren’tweseeingmoregroundbreakingmachinelearning–poweredproducts,services,andbusinessmodelshitthemarkettoday?

Theanswer,aswithIoT,isthatmaximizingthebusiness

benefitsofmachinelearningcanbemorechallengingthanitseems.Implementationwon’tbeacaseofthrowingaswitchandwatchingitcometolife.It’sanincrementalprocess.

Toexploitthetruevalueofmachinelearningintherealworld,theenterprisemust:

Recognizeopportunitiesforenhancedintelligencewithinthebusinessorsupplychain

Accumulateandstoreenormousamountsofdata—bothinternalandexternal,structuredandunstructured

Attractandretaintherighttalentwiththerightskillstoputmachinelearningtowork

Deeplyintegratemachinelearningintoapplicationsbotholdandnew

Deployitacrossmultiplefunctions,ratherthannarrowusecases

Applyittoexistinginfrastructureandcapabilities,insteadofstartingfromscratch

ConsidertheethicalandmoralquestionsregardingthescopeofAIimplementation

Initially,implementingandexploitingmachinelearningintheenterprisehasprovenchallenging.Butthebenefitsofdoingsosuccessfullyareclear.Businesseshavelittlechoicebuttofindawaytoinfusetheirbusinessmodelsandprocesseswithmachinelearning,orriskfallingbehindmore-agilecompetitors.

HowOraclecanhelp.

Machinelearningbelongsinthepresent—notthefuture.That’swhywe’reconnectingourcoreapplications—ERP,SCM,andHCM—withready-to-usemachinelearningcapabilities.Wecallthemadaptiveintelligentapplications,andtogether,theyhelptocreateaconnectedenterprise.We’rebuildingautomationintoourcloudplatformservices,too—creatingself-driving,self-securingdatabases,analytics,security,management,andmore.Andalloftheseapplicationscanbeeasilyaccessedandusedthrough

theOracleDigitalAssistant.

ButwhatreallysetsOracleapartisdata.Largevolumes

ofhigh-qualitydataenrichmachinelearning,andempowerittodeliverstrongerbusinessoutcomes.AndthankstoOracleDataCloud,wehavemorethananyoneelse—it’stheworld’ssinglelargestmarketplaceofthird-partydata.

6 TransformationalTechnologies:Today

TransformationalTechnologies:Today 7

“Anythingthatcouldgiverisetosmarter-than-humanintelligence…winshandsdownbeyondcontestasdoingthemosttochangetheworld.Nothingelseiseveninthesameleague.”

EliezerYudkowsky,Cofounder,MachineIntelligenceResearchInstitute

“Blockchainisavast,globaldistributedledgerordatabaserunningonmillionsofdevicesandopentoanyone,wherenotjustinformationbutanythingofvalue—money,butalsotitles,deeds,identities,evenvotes—canbemoved,stored,andmanagedsecurelyandprivately.”

DonTapscott,CEO,TheTapscottGroup

BLOCKCHAIN:COMMITTINGTRANSACTIONSTOMEMORY.

SoIoTfeels.AndAIandmachinelearningthink.Blockchain,meanwhile,canbesaidtoremember.

BlockchainisknownasthetechnologythatunderpinsBitcoinandothercryptocurrencies,

butinreality,it’smuch,muchmorethanthat.Thinkofblockchainasthefoundationofhigh-trustcomputing.Itbringsreliability,transparency,andsecuritytoallmannerofdataexchanges—whetherfinancialtransactions,contractualandlegalagreements,orchangesofownership.

Ablockchainusesadistributedpeer-to-peernetworktokeepanunalterablerecordofeveryexchange—removingtheneedfortrusted,third-partyintermediariesindigitaltransactions.Theupshot?Fasterprocesses,real-timetransactionvisibility,andreducedcostsacrosseveryindustry.

Therearefewareaswhereblockchain’stransformativeinfluencewillnotbefelt.GartnerestimatesthatblockchaincouldcreateUS$176billionofvalue-addedrevenueby2025—revolutionizingthesupplychain,enablingnewbusinessmodels,anddisruptingexistingones.

Blockchaininaction.

Blockchainwillprovetobeagame-changerinnumerousindustriesandsectors—financialservicesandinsurance,ecommerce,healthcare,humanresources,andmore.Essentially,anywheredigitalinformationisexchanged.Intheconsumergoodssector,blockchain

willprovidetransparencyacrossthesupplychainthroughassettracking—enhancing

8 TransformationalTechnologies:Today

TransformationalTechnologies:Today 9

accountability,streamliningproductrecalls,andimprovingconsumertrust.Ineducationandresearch,itwillhelptoensurethatintellectualpropertyrightsareupheld.And,ofcourse,infinance,blockchainistherocketfuelpoweringthefintechrevolution.

Gettingthere.

AswithIoTandAI,you’dexpectblockchaintohavebeenadoptedandimplementedmorewidelybynow—particularlyconsideringtherecentmediahyperegardingblockchain

andcryptocurrencies.Butbeyondthoseagilefintechstartups,it’sstillacomparativerarity.Theproblemisfamiliar—perceivedriskandcomplexitystandinthewayofwidespreadadoption.

Barrierstoblockchainadoptioninclude:

Costandavailabilityofcomputeresources.

Lackofregulationofblockchainminers.

Everyonewhojoinsablockchainnetworkmustagreetobeboundbyitsrules.

Blockchaincontractsarecurrentlyuntestedincourt.

Blockchainmustbeintegratedwithexistingsystemsofrecord.

Fewcurrentusecasesoffercompellingorimmediatereturnoninvestment.

Traditionalstakeholdersremainrisk-averse.

Blockchainisundoubtedlytransformative.Infact,muchofitsimpacthasyettobeexplored—evenonatheoreticallevel.Butbeforetheenterprisecandiscovertheouterreachesofblockchain’spotential,thesestumblingblocksmustbeovercome.

HowOraclecanhelp.

Ouraimistomakealltransformativetechnologiespowerfullysimpletoputtowork.TheOracleBlockchainCloudServiceiseasytoimplement,cost-effective,andcapableofacceleratingtimetovaluewhilemaintainingsecurityandresilience.

OracleBlockchainCloudService:

Isanindustrialblockchainplatform,designedfortheenterprise

Isproduction-readyandpreassembled—simpletodeployandintegrate

Isdeliveredwithawiderangeofsoftwaredevelopmentkitsandapplicationprogramminginterfaces(APIs)foreaseofintegration

Makesitsimpletoaddsmartcontractstointeractionswiththirdparties

Iseasytosecure,thankstoOracle’spowerfulidentitymanagementservice

Issimpletomonitorandmanage—eitherthroughOracle’sadministrativeconsole,orexistingoperationaltools

Makesiteasytoconnecttoexistingapplications,orcreateentirelynewones

Soloorsymphony?

Feeling.Thinking.Remembering.Ineachofus,thesethreeabilitiescombinetoenableallofthewonderfulpossibilitiesofhumanendeavor.Likewise,IoT,machinelearning,andblockchainarepotentiallytransformativeontheirown—butexponentiallymorepowerfulwhencombined.Together,

thesethreetransformationaltechnologieswillchangetheworld.

10 TransformationalTechnologies:Today

TransformationalTechnologies:Today 11

MAKINGTRANSFORMATIONREAL.

Inthehome.

Today,eventhemostadvancedtechnologiesareusuallyreactiveratherthanproactive.ThinkofavirtualassistantsuchasSiri,Alexa,orCortana.Givethemacommandandthey’llrespondtoit—orderingaproductyou’verequested,say,orplacingacallonyourbehalf.Butwhenpowered

bytransformationaltechnology,thesevirtualassistantswillbecomemuchmoreproactive.Inthenearfuture,yourvirtualassistantmightobservethatyou’rerunninglowonaparticularproduct,andsuggestthatitplaceanorderfor

you—ortellyouhowyoucanfindthebestvaluebyadjustingyourpurchasehabits.

IoTdatafromyourrefrigeratorwilldeterminethatyourmilkisrunninglow.Machinelearningwillworkoutwhichretailerssellyourpreferredbrand,andwhereyoucangetitcheapest.Andblockchainwillensurethatthetransactionisprocessedsecurely,andyougetexactlywhatyoupaidfor.

Healthcare.

ConsiderUShealthcareinitscurrentform.Today,muchdependsonthepatient.Theydecidewhentheyneedtoseetheirdoctor—generallyonlyoncevisiblesymptomshaveappeared,oranaccidenthasoccurred.Theyhavetoscheduleanappointment.Andoften,theymustrememberthepertinentdetailsoftheirmedicalhistory.Andhumanbeings,ofcourse,arefallible—andforgetful.

Instead,imagineanationofsensor-equippedpatients.MachinelearningmonitorsIoTsensordata,andcandetermine—atanearlystage—whensomethinghasgonewrong.Thepatient’svirtualassistantcancross-referencetheircalendarwiththeirdoctor’s,andscheduleanappointmentautomatically.Andwhenthepatientarrives,blockchainwillensurethattheyhaveasecure,accurate,digitalmedicalhistoryforthedoctor’sreference.

Cybersecurity.

New,more-stringentregulationsliketheGeneralDataProtectionRegulation(GDPR)inEurope,themutatingthreatofcybercrime,andtheincreasingvalueandproliferation

ofconsumerdatahasmadecybersecurityauniversallypressingconcern.Butevenhere,IoT,AI,andblockchaincanhaveatransformationaleffect.

Thesetechnologieslargelyremovethehumanelementfromprocesseslikecybersecurity—andwithit,theriskofhumanerror.Whenpracticallyeverythingissensor-equipped,logandauditdatacanbecollectedinacentralizedrepository.

Machinelearningcananalyzethisdatafarmorequicklyand

accuratelythananyhumancould,makelogicaldecisions,andtakeautonomousaction.Andanyandallcriticalevidenceissecurelyrecordedviablockchain.It’sasystemthateffectivelybypassesthemostcommoncausesofdatabreaches—carelessness,humanerror,andmaliciousintervention.

Inmanufacturing.

Finally,let’sconsiderhowthesetransformationaltechnologiesmightreinventthemanufacturingindustry.

Byusingaproductionmonitoringcloudsolution,productionmanagersgainaremote,digitalviewofeverymachine

ineveryfactory.Theycanseeperformancedataforeachpieceofequipment,andusingmachinelearning–poweredproactivemaintenance,anticipatewhenafaultmayoccurinadvance.Therighttechniciancanbeassignedtotherightjobattherighttime,aworkordercanberaised,andreplacementpartspurchasedsecurelythroughblockchain.

“We’reinfusingthenewtechnologiesofautonomouscomputing,AI,IoT,blockchain,andnewformsofhumaninterfaceintoourcloudoffering.”

ThomasKurian,PresidentofProductDevelopment,Oracle

REALIZINGTOMORROW,TODAY.

Thesetransformationaltechnologieswillbringchange—inourprofessionallives,ourpersonallives,thecompaniesweworkfor,andsocietyasawhole.

Buttheirimpactisn’tsomethingthatbelongstoavagueanddistantfuture.Infact,mostofthesecapabilitiesareavailabletoday.So,howdoyoubringthefutureforwardandempoweryourbusinesstotakeadvantageofthetransformativeimpactofIoT,AI,andblockchain?

You’llfindtheanswerinthecloud.Thefactisthatwithoutcloud,implementinganynewtechnologywillproveextremelydifficult.Iteffectivelylevelstheplayingfield.Withcloud,evensmallcompaniescanaccessthesamecomputepowerandresourcesaslargeorganizations,whiletraditionalbusinessescanadoptthesameflexibilityasagiletechstartups.Cloudenablesinnovation,helpsminimizeITspend,andacceleratesadoption

ofnewtechnologieslikethesethreegame-changers.

Gettingthere.

Thingstobearinmindwhenpreparingyourbusinessfortransformationaltechnologies:

Focusonthebigthree:IoT,AI,andblockchain.

Rememberthatcloudlevelstheplayingfield.Youcan’tgettherewithoutit.

Understandthatthesetechnologiesareunderpinnedbyvastamountsofdata.TheAI-enabledOracleAutonomousDatabasemakesdatamanagementfarsimplerandmorecost-effective.

Appreciatethatembracingtransformationaltechnologies—andrealizingtheirfullpoten