The trends set to dominate the digital enterprise

Equinix's 2019 predictions include:

1) Paving a Path to the Promise of 5G—Tomorrow’s high-speed wireless networks will accelerate today’s network transformation

Equinix anticipates that 5G will open up endless possibilities of digital transformation, especially in an IoT and AI-connected world. To attain the high radio density required for 5G, operators are looking to optimize costs through the use of open-source commodity networking hardware and  virtualization of the wireless networking stack. These efforts will pave the way for an Edge architecture to solve for cloud radio networks that will power several radios through pools of virtualized network software. Equinix anticipates increased investments in 2019 in the revamping of existing cellular building infrastructure and building of new edge infrastructure, as well as innovation in hardware and virtual wireless networking stacks for both performance and cost optimization.

2) Riding the Rise of Distributed Artificial Intelligence Architectures—Next-gen architectures will break free from centralized locations

Equinix predicts that the growing use of AI in business and society will increase data usage exponentially. While first-generation AI architectures have historically been centralized, Equinix predicts that in 2019 enterprises will enter the realm of distributed AI architectures, where AI model building and model inferencing will take place at the local edge, physically closer to the origin source of the data. To access more external data sources for accurate predictions, enterprises will turn to secure data transaction marketplaces. They will also strive to leverage AI innovation in multiple public clouds without getting locked into a single cloud, further decentralizing AI architecture.

3) “Un-Blocking” the Chain—A network of networks will mature blockchain for greater business security and monetization

Blockchain investments are growing at a CAGR of 73%, with a projected total spending of $11.7 billion by 2022, according to IDC.[1] Equinix predicts that:

·       Enterprises will start to participate in multiple blockchain networks (e.g., food safety, financial services, global container shipment), thus creating a network of networks—something that allows them to simultaneously interact with multiple blockchain ecosystems.

·       Blockchain performance will become a more important requirement within the enterprise space, driven by the need to accommodate more than simple transaction data or as an element in applications where real-time performance and linkage with other data sources matter. Examples of performance-sensitive blockchain applications include track & trace (supply chain), machine-to-machine (IoT) communication/exchange, and cross-border currency settlement, just to name a few.  

• Integration will become a huge challenge as enterprises combine their legacy applications with multiple blockchain networks, necessitating the deployment of exchange points for blockchain participants to directly connect and collaborate.

4) Maneuvering the Data Privacy Maze—Changing data protection laws and heightened privacy concerns will inspire more progressive and distributed security processes

Many enterprises and SaaS providers are deploying mini-clouds in multiple regions in order to adhere to local data residence and compliance requirements. They are also looking at distributed data management architectures that require global networks and data fabrics in order to coherently manage these distributed mini-clouds.

Equinix predicts that in order to prevent data breaches and retain control over their data, enterprises will consider:

·       New data management techniques that operate seamlessly on encrypted data (for example, limited forms of data querying on homomorphically encrypted data).

·       New hardware-based virtualization technology that will prevent service providers from surveilling their customer’s data.

5) Tapping Interconnection to Tame Cloud Complexity—Hybrid multicloud environments will increase the relevance of interconnection