Do you know what new tech enterprises are experimenting with?

We’ve all been talking about some of the most interesting technologies this past year. Digital transformation took a bit of a back seat, with the cloud, big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the internet of things dominating the conversation.

The fact is, these exciting technologies, although a bit challenging for some companies to understand and implement, they’re already here — and being deployed at scale.

Take Boeing or IKEA, for example, they’re both using artificial intelligence and IoT in new and exciting ways, demonstrating that business uses cases for new-age technologies is only limited by the creativity of those that decide to leverage them within the organization.

To help take things further, there’s a range of new technologies that are here and ready to help companies re-imagine their future.

At the ITExpo 2018 in Florida this week, Gartner VP and Fellow Daryl Plummer shed light on some of the cool technologies that are moving from the science lab and into the arsenal of enterprises looking to disrupt their industries. Here’s are some insights from his presentation:

# 1 | Quantum computing:

Quantum computing (QC) is a type of nonclassical computing that is based on the quantum state of subatomic particles. Classic computers operate using binary bits where the bit is either 0 or 1, true or false, positive or negative. However, in QC, the bit is referred to as a quantum bit or qubit.

Unlike the strictly binary bits of classic computing, qubits can represent 1 or 0 or a superposition of both partly 0 and partly 1 at the same time. Superposition is what gives quantum computers speed and parallelism, meaning that these computers could theoretically work on millions of computations at once.

Further, qubits can be linked with other qubits in a process called entanglement. When combined with superposition, quantum computers could process a massive number of possible outcomes at the same time.

# 2 | Real-time language translation:

Real-time language translation could, in effect, fundamentally change communication across the globe. Devices such as translation earbuds and voice and text translation services can perform translations in real-time, breaking down language barriers with friends, family, clients, and colleagues.

This technology could not only disrupt intercultural language barriers but also language translators as this role may no longer be needed.

Real time language translation is available today. This will change the way we work. #GartnerSym pic.twitter.com/6BBVaEWeTa

— Lori McDonald (@lorimcd) October 17, 2018

# 3 | Nano-technology:

Nanotechnology is science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale — 1 to 100 nanometers. It suggests that the creation of solutions involves individual atoms and molecules. Nanotech is used to create new effects in materials science, such as “self-healing”.

Applications in medicine, electronics, security, and manufacturing herald a world of small solutions that fill in the gaps in the macroverse in which we live.

“Nanotechnology is rapidly becoming as common a concept as many others, and yet still remains sparsely understood in its impact on the world at large. When we consider applications that begin to allow things like 3D printing at nanoscale, then it becomes possible to advance the cause of printed organic materials and even human tissue that is generated from individual stem cells,” explained Plummer.

# 4 | Swarm intelligence:

Digital business will stretch conventional management methods past the breaking point. The enterprise will need to make decisions in real time about unpredictable events, based on information from many different sources (such as IoT devices beyond the organization’s control.

Humans move too slowly, stand-alone smart machines cost too much, and hyperscale architectures cannot deal with the variability.

Swarm intelligence could tackle the mission at a low cost. Swarm intelligence is the collective behavior of decentralized, self-organized systems, natural or artificial.

A swarm consists of small computing elements (either physical entities or software agents) that follow simple rules for coordinating their activities. Such elements can be replicated quickly and inexpensively. Thus, a swarm can be scaled up and down easily as needs change. CIOs should start exploring the concept to scale management, especially in digital business scenarios.