F5 Networks Thursday unveiled a dedicated report on the future of applications, highlighting major trends and projections that will significantly impact Saudi Arabian society.

Produced by the Foresight Factory, the F5-commissioned The Future of Apps highlights the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, as well as the need for new collaborative models to support heightened transparency demands.

The EMEA-wide report, which includes survey data and contributors from the Middle East, charts the rise of new app interfaces (including augmented and virtual reality) and the potential-rich influence of blockchain technologies and edge computing.

The Future of Apps findings chime with a significant focus on IT in Saudi Arabia, with the Kingdom continuing to progress its Vision 2030 and associated National Transformation Program (NTP).

According to IDC, Saudi Arabia will be the biggest IT spender in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa this year, investing an annual budget of $7.5bn in transformative technologies such as cloud, big data, social and mobility.

The IT sector and wider development of cutting-edge technology is also set to be boosted by Saudi Arabia’s recent listing on the MSCI Emerging Market index, which puts it on the path to being classified as an emerging market country.

“The Future of Apps is a unique report, providing a powerful snapshot of an unstoppable transition to a powerfully immersive digital and app-centric society,” said Josh McBain, Director of Consultancy, Foresight Factory.

“Physical and digital worlds are blurring, and Saudi Arabia is well poised to take advantage — particularly with its increasingly connected, young workforce. Receptivity to technological innovation is also soaring across all sectors in the region, and organizations that fail to keep up will soon lose out when it comes to relevance, productivity and innovation.”

The report’s key findings include:

Conscientious Collaboration

One of the report’s key observations is that organizations need to quickly adapt and deliver models for proactive collaboration and transparency.

According to Foresight Factory, organizations need to quickly adapt and deliver models for proactive collaboration and transparency. This is crucial in the context of new data legislation — which will continue to trail digital economy developments — as well as the impact of IoT, AI and machine learning.

The Future of Apps reports that secure and consumer-focused data practices could eventually emerge as a benchmark or standard equivalent to sustainability or environmental impact. There will also be significant changes in the power struggle for personal data.

Foresight Factory reports that, in the longer term, many consumers will move away from corporates to proactively isolate and control data sharing. Globally, Allianz anticipates that the current total written premium for cyber insurance policies, currently estimated at $2.5bn could reach $20bn by 2025. Meanwhile, motivations around security will be matched by a desire to optimise personal return.

The development of high-profile partnerships will be of critical importance, elevated by the looming influence of AI, machine learning and robotics. Late 2016 saw the formation in the US of the Partnership on Artificial Intelligence to Benefit People and Society.

Changes are also afoot in the labor market. Global Foresight Factory figures found that 41% of 16 to surveyed 25-year-olds in EMEA believe their current jobs could be supplanted by AI or robots within the next decade.

Saudi Arabia’s government is already equipping itself for a digital future. The NTP identifies a number of digital transformation areas to support its initiatives, including five common digital platforms, 29 essential digital initiatives for key sectors, and a number of national digital assets that may be developed to support government digital transformation.

Last year, the Boston Consulting Group’s Digital Government Survey ranked Saudi Arabia top on the highest net perception of service improvement over the past two years. It also ranked third for the highest level of frequency in the e-government usage.

“Stakeholders from all strata of business and government really needs to step up to help society adapt to app- and data-driven opportunities and pitfalls,” said Mamduh Allam, Saudi Arabia general manager, F5 Networks.

“From responding to the new security risks and skill-gaps created by the expansion of the IoT, to ensuring the promise of AI services can be realised, a new culture and approach to cross-industry cooperation will be essential. The key is to effect a sea-change that is specifically structured to promote tangible benefits for society, government and business.

Optimum Intelligence

Another key report finding centers on how AI and machine learning will influence the developmental trajectory of future apps.

Developments in this field are likely to include more personalized, predictive services in areas such as cognitive health. Foresight Factory found that around half (49%) of EMEA consumers crave services to understand the future impact of their dietary choices, rising to 57% among Gen Y.

Cognitive finance is another hot topic. Nearly 6 in 10 (58%) Gen Y consumers — born in the 80s and 90s – expressed interest in a service predicting future financial situation based on current actions.

A case in point of the mainstreaming of AI is Amazon’s Alexa platform, which hosted over 10,000 third-party voice enabled apps at the end of Q1 2017 — a 100% increase on the last quarter of 2016.

Looking ahead, Foresight Factory flags critical advances in areas such as collaborative AI, where virtual assistants — and underlying apps — can communicate and act accordingly. The report also highlights a raft of implications from the emergence of AI and machine learning, including their native ability to code and develop apps, as well as evolve functionality when “live”.

New Networks

Foresight Factory anticipates far greater decentralization as blockchain technologies and edge computing become mainstream, empowering IoT and privacy-hungry consumers. Any momentum in this direction hinges on significant technological advances, including edge computing and 5G.

Research and Markets anticipates that by 2020 blockchain technology and solutions will be used by up to 65% of enterprises. The global blockchain market will grow from $210.2 million in 2016 to $2,312.5 million by 2021.

The ethos of decentralized apps, or “dApps”, chimes with a growing appetite for peer-to-peer solutions, driven in part by institutional mistrust and a desire for better value.

Personal Realities

One of the more eye-catching sections of the report explores the rise of “mixed reality” and hardware innovation. Increasingly, location will become irrelevant to many aspects of communication, learning and experience, creating the notion of “individual realities”. In parallel, new risks will arise as individuals become ever more immersed in their computational existence.

“To keep pace with this change, developers need to approach app design with a view to embed or layer into a wider ecosystem. Equally, they need to anticipate new app interfaces that more effectively integrate voice, biometrics and haptics,” explained Allam.

F5 makes apps go faster, smarter, and safer for the world’s largest businesses, service providers, governments, and consumer brands. F5 delivers cloud and security solutions that enable organisations to embrace the application infrastructure they choose without sacrificing speed and control. — SG