There is a lot to focus on during 2018 and the IT world will need to make several adjustments to remain up to date. Yet, the “pursuit of happiness” for IT managers and CIOs has become a lot more complicated comparing to what it used to be. The reason? Hypes and unsolicited trends!  
 
 
Artificial intelligence, blockchain, big data, virtual reality, hyperconvergence have become part of our everyday life and actual stress factors for IT executives. Are they all worth it? What should IT managers care about for 2018?  
 
 
“Beyond hypes and meaningless buzzwords, there are specific key trends the IT world cannot afford to ignore. We expect them to have significant impact on businesses over the next five to ten years” says Petros Tritsinis, Marketing Manager at Lamda Hellix.  
 
 
Let’s take a good look at these key trends:  
 
 
Artificial intelligence: According to a recent Gartner survey, more than 60% of organizations are now piloting or already adopting AI technologies in an effort to make their products and services more efficient and flexible. Data center managers are now in need to incorporate all the necessary infrastructure to support operations and leverage the power of these technologies for the benefits of organizations employing them.  With the term AI, of course, we do not necessarily mean machine and robots replacing humans. We refer to artificial technologies making our lives and our jobs better, assisting humans and making daily business operations more efficient.  
 
 
Internet of things: The Internet of Things is already everywhere, turning physical things into data generating machines. Sensors, robots, watches, home appliances - even baby accessories - are here to inform us about the state of people and trigger significant advancements on major industries such as healthcare, insurance services, financial services, and more.  
 
 
Virtual & augmented reality: During 2018, companies expect to invest heavily in virtual and augmented reality, in an effort to differentiate the customer experience they offer. In fact, the interface of things as we know it today is about to change dramatically with a shift towards digital experiences.  
 
 
The digital twins: We saved the best one for the end. This is the “new kid on the block” for organizations looking to make their products as valuable as possible. A digital twin is a software model of a physical thing. It combines all the embed characteristics of the physical product coupled with highly sensitive sensor data which provides manufacturers and maintenance engineers with valuable data for the condition of products. 
 
It is expected that within 3 years, millions of things will be represented by digital twins!  
 
 
We do live in the most exciting times for humanity. Technology frameworks like the ones mentioned are pushing the IT world towards its limits. Data centers are here to follow these developments and to provide all the necessary infrastructure organizations need in order to embrace a sustainable digital future.