With 2016 well and truly under-way – I’m afraid there is no denying it now – with ‘summer’ around the corner, Gartner has delivered their top 10 strategic technology trends expected to land this year, impacting on decisions in organisations until 2020, with the ‘Device Mesh’ is one of the trends that will shape digital business opportunities through 2020.
What is the Device Mesh?
The device mesh refers to an expanding set of endpoints people use to access applications and information or interact with people, social communities, governments and businesses. The device mesh includes mobile devices, wearables, and consumer and home electronic devices. Or put more simply, the mix of devices you are using on your network.
So what’s driving the mesh?
The Internet of Things (IoT) was a huge tipping point in the connectivity provided and expected by the ‘postmobile’ world, where David Creeley describes users as being “surrounded by a mesh of devices extending well beyond traditional mobile devices”. But this isn’t something that is purely beneficial to the end-users; organisations from education to healthcare and enterprise are bolstering their digital services and systems.
And, what comprises this mesh?
The seamless user experience is fundamental to this concept – even while going from device to device, or place to place at anytime, anywhere, people expect instantaneous connection and response. Devices are connected to back-end networks, yet some operate separate interactions between one another – blending the lines between reality and technology. This could involve items we may deem as technology (and some we maybe wouldn’t) such as cars, factories or even light bulbs, connecting to and syncing with, mobile apps for example.
It is the platforms which accommodate the IoT that bring the mesh to the fore. From a user point of view it is about an, “expanding set of endpoints” allowing broader connectivity in services and the digital mesh. Gartner discusses the ability for organizations to adopt this architecture benefiting their strategies in the next ten years.
Can you see the benefits of device mesh for your organisation? Or, have you already utilised the expanding mobility potential?
Does the dynamically changing device mesh at your school or organisation pose problems for your IT storage, charging and syncing?
We’d love to hear your thoughts, let us know @LapCabby.
Keep up with the growth of the device mesh and effectively manage mobile devices in the classroom by utilising our free 7 step guide.
