Oracle CEO: All cloud apps to include AI as standard by 2025

Mark Hurd used the firm's EMEA conference to make predictions around the union between disruptive tech such as AI and the cloud


Artificial intelligence will be seamlessly integrated into all cloud apps by 2025 rather than being introduced as an afterthought, according to Oracle CEO Mark Hurd.

During the same time frame, as the world of business shifts further towards this increased use of AI and automation, there will be mass job creation rather than annihilation. Indeed, claims Hurd, some 60% of the IT jobs that will be required come 2025 don't actually exist today.

"The reality is cloud adoption is moving faster than predicted. Cloud is not just a technology. Cloud is a strategy, cloud is a business model," Hurd told delegates in attendance at the firm's Oracle OpenWorld event in London.

What's more, AI and robots will need to be managed and monitored in a way not too dissimilar to current, human employee/employer relationships.

"There will be a supervisor for these robots. Just like we all have bosses, the robot will have a boss," Hurd said.

Hurd also made other predictions about where things are headed, with a particular focus on data and security.

"The economy is a little less than $80 trillion. IT is a very small percentage of that - about 3%. IT then splits into two sections. One is consumer IT and the other is B2B IT. This is the first year I think we will see that consumer IT is bigger.

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"One of the big battlegrounds going forward is going to be about data, about AI, about security... The disruption is constant. Most of the data in the world is owned by two companies: Facebook and Google," he added, suggesting people would want greater ownership in the future and stressing that cloud would be both fundamental and foundational as the shift occurs.

Leo Johnson, disruption lead for PwC and co-presenter of Radio 4's FutureProofing served as the warm-up act for Hurd - who joined the conference by video link from the US as a lack of passport and inability to get a temp one due to the gov shutdown had prevented him from flying - also gave us a peek as to what the future of work could look like.

"Are we moving to a new wave of technology? Not just a set of innovative technologies, but to the deployment of it?" he said.

Source: https://www.cloudpro.co.uk/business-intelligence/7908/aws-releases-neo-ai-code-to-the-open-source-world (Accessed on January 28, 2019)

AWS releases Neo-AI code to the open-source world

Opening the platform up means developers and AI experts to develop cross-device AI tools


AWS has released its Neo-AI code as an open source project, encouraging developers and other AI experts to contribute to the platform.

The company explained that usually, ensuring a machine learning model works across a variety of hardware platforms (especially those running on edge networks) is difficult because there are so many factors and limitations to consider.

Even in less complicated devices, there are so many software variations that it can be tricky to make sure machine learning works across all of them. As a result, manufacturers and vendors are being limited by which companies they can work with to provide machine learning tools they require.

With AWS’s Neo-AI, machine learning models are automatically optimised for use TensorFlow, MXNet, PyTorch, ONNX, and XGBoost models, converting them into common formats to work on a wider variety of devices. The models can be run at a faster pace as well because Neo-AI uses a compact runtime, limiting the resources a framework would typically consume.

Even if edge devices are being constrained by resources, this is irrelevant, because Neo-AI will shrink down the resources needed to run. Neo-AI currently supports platforms from Intel, NVIDIA, and ARM, with support for Xilinx, Cadence, and Qualcomm arriving later in the year.

“To derive value from AI, we must ensure that deep learning models can be deployed just as easily in the data center and in the cloud as on devices at the edge,” said Naveen Rao, general manager of the artificial intelligence products group at Intel.

“Intel is pleased to expand the initiative that it started with nGraph by contributing those efforts to Neo-AI. Using Neo, device makers and system vendors can get better performance for models developed in almost any framework on platforms based on all Intel compute platforms.”

Source: https://www.cloudpro.co.uk/business-intelligence/7908/aws-releases-neo-ai-code-to-the-open-source-world (Accessed on January 28, 2019)

TCS becomes third most-valued IT company in the world

India's Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been ranked third most-valued IT services brand globally in 2018-19, after Accenture and IBM, according to a report by Brand Finance. Four Indian IT services companies -- TCS, Infosys, HCL and Wipro -- clinched spots in the top-10 global tally.

Valued at $26.3 billion, Accenture took the title of the world's most-valued IT services brand. The tag was previously held by IBM, which now occupied the second place with a brand value of $20.4 billion, according to the report.

"Holding steady in third place is India's largest IT services conglomerate, TCS, up 23% to $12.8 billion, with a value bolstered by the brand's disciplined focus on the market's increased demand for digital services," it added.

Brand Finance said TCS is also the first Indian IT services brand to achieve success in the Japanese market and has positioned itself as a leader in providing a superior all-round customer experience, leveraging artificial intelligence and robotic automation across its transformation programmes.

Wipro entered the top-10 list for the first time this year, said the report, which was released at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

"Up 25% to $4 billion, Wipro's significant investments in digital transformation capabilities, niche acquisitions, and a recent brand refresh, have propelled it to be the third fastest-growing brand in the segment," the report noted.

American brand Cognizant (brand value up 12% to $8.7 billion) and India's Infosys (brand value up 8% to $6.5 billion) held onto their last year's ranking of fourth and fifth positions, respectively.

The report pointed out that although Cognizant is headquartered in New Jersey, US, it holds a major employee base in Chennai and has offices in Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, and Cochin.

Others in the top-10 list included Capgemini, DXC Technology and NTT Data.

"There is a reason why Bangalore is known as the Silicon Valley of India. As more IT services brands ramp up their outsourcing outposts across the country, it is the skilled workforce, world class facilities and infrastructure that makes India such an attractive location and ultimately a global powerhouse," Brand Finance Chief Executive Officer David Haigh said.

The index is based on Brand Finance's analysis of marketing investments, stakeholder equity and business performance of these companies.

"2018 was a year of celebrations at TCS, marking the completion of five decades of industry-leading customer satisfaction, business performance, and community impact," TCS Chief Marketing Officer Ravi Viswanathan said in a statement.

He added that the past year was characterised by momentum and milestones for TCS, including reaching $100 billion in market capitalisation, and securing record-level new customer partnerships in digital services.

In a separate statement, Wipro President (Marketing, Innovation and Technology) Milan Rao said the recognition is a testament to the company's rich technology heritage, sustained investments in building digital transformation capabilities, and deep domain and consulting expertise.

"As we further bolster our innovation ecosystem and capabilities for the digital era, we are confident that our brand value will go from strength and strength," he added. SR HRS

Source: https://www.gadgetsnow.com/it-services/tcs-becomes-third-most-valued-it-company-in-the-world/articleshowprint/67661188.cms (Accessed on January 28, 2019)