The 2020 has been a year of unpredictability, but what awaits us, technologically speaking, for the 2021? 7 SAS experts tried to make their predictions , basing their opinions on the many revolutions that have characterized this year, and that offer new opportunities for companies that will be able to leverage data to propel their business.

The 7 forecasts of SAS for the 2021

1: Analytics: to make the most of them the cloud needs to be reconfigured.

I cloud providers will face a major challenge for 2021: to reconfigure their systems to be suitable for analytics, a function to which were not designed. “ Originally the cloud was designed for transactional systems. And not for analytics. Analytics require much more memory than a traditional application in order to operate in real-time. These are aspects that cloud providers had not thought of as initially the applications in the cloud were transactional “, explains Tom Fisher, Senior Vice President of Business Development at SAS .

2: AI to make better decisions

Artificial intelligence is one of the technologies that in recent years, especially in the 2020, have grown rapidly, adopted by a growing number of companies of all sizes. The initial skepticism has now been overcome and even executives are starting to trust AI’s suggestions more. But, to do so, they need to understand better the patterns of functioning and greater visibility into the results provided by artificial intelligences. As explained by João Oliveira, Business Solutions Manager of SAS , “ The more visibility decision makers have on AI results, the greater their confidence in the decisions made by the models. Adding human supervision and explaining the models at each stage a decision-making process will create greater trust in Artificial Intelligence and in automated decision-making “.

3: Small and increasingly connected and technological centers

The pandemic has prompted many people to revise their housing priorities. This is also due to smart working, a measure implemented quickly to ensure the continuation of the business, and which has proven to be effective, as well as appreciated by companies and employees. This will push more people to move out of big cities, but small towns will have to adapt to new needs, ensuring ultra-fast connectivity and digital services comparable to those of more densely populated realities. “ When the inhabitants of a city decide to move to smaller towns, they expect to find the same levels in the latter. services, including fast broadband, home delivery of food and effective digital interaction with government agencies and officials. Small urban centers are increasingly catching up with large cities thanks to the use of analytics. a time when the workplace has assumed less importance than in the past, small towns have greater opportunities to attract people by exploiting the potential of analytics and driving a previously unthinkable population growth “, explains Shaun Barry, Senior Manager, Global Security Practice of SAS .

4: Consumers will be increasingly attentive (and demanding)

Citizens are those who more use digital technologies and are now used to e-commerce and digital services. To be competitive, companies must be increasingly efficient and able to meet expectations. As explains Mike Blanchard, Head of Global Customer Intelligence Practice at SAS , “ Consumers are increasingly accustomed to digitization: digitization of retail, banking, healthcare – and more. Work, school, conferences, concerts , religious services, fitness are enjoyed differently, this is the trend, and companies will have to keep up. This means performing digital technologies, more efficient supply chains, online customer service – all managed and optimized with analytics. If you can quickly digitize processes, you will have more data and information and a better view of who is interested in your content, products and services “.

5: A new generation of workers arrives

If the exponents of the millennial generation were born and cr that came out with digital devices, the next generation grew up with data. I native data , defines them Lucy Kosturko, Manager, Social Innovation by SAS: “ A generation raised with data – from food to physical activity, from sleep to productivity – is starting to enter the world of work. The innate ability of “data natives” to track and understand data will improve the way we work. These are new skills of data literacy and a level of “comfort” with data and their analysis that will help make all aspects of organizations more innovative “.

6: data will put patients at the center of therapy

The theme of health has inevitably characterized the 2020, guiding the spread of technology in this area. And medicine, according to SAS, will take further steps by leveraging analytics.

“ The drug development process continues to improve with advanced analytics – and all improvements benefit patients “- stated Mark Lambrecht, Director of Global Health and Life Sciences at SAS – “ Thanks to advances in analytics, for example, clinical trials are able to group multiple drugs into a single study instead of studying one drug at a time. Genetically profiled targeted therapies are becoming easier to develop. AND Results from each phase of clinical trials are coming faster and faster, giving patients a better opportunity to find therapies that will work for them “.

7: AI and analytics will also disrupt institutions more linked to traditional approaches, such as banks and public bodies

“ Advances in Artificial Intelligence and analytics will help revive the positive sentiment towards traditional organizations such as public bodies and institutions banking “- explains Steve Bennett, Director of Public Sector and Financial Services at SAS – “The responses of public and governmental bodies to COVID – 19, for example, are changing the perception of the responsiveness of institutions. And banks that implement automated decisions surprise customers with new investment opportunities. Today, analytics can really make a difference in supporting the citizen “.