Scott Simons, Managing Director of Telecommunications at Networkers International, attended the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week to give us his tips on the top technology trends due to emerge in the near future and what this means for the recruitment industry.
The first thing you notice when you walk into the venue, Fira Gran Via in Barcelona, is just how vast the arena is. There were swarms of people all congregating towards the entrance creating a buzzy, exciting atmosphere. I first attended the congress five years ago when it was held at a smaller venue so it’s exciting to see just how much the event has grown in such a short space of time.
This year, what really stood out for me was the innovation in connected technology. For example, the evolution of apps on your phones that connect with your car or your heating system. Technology is integrating with each other to help make our lives easier. The three buzzwords that I took away from the exhibition this year were:
- Efficiency
- Speed
- Revenue
If a new product ticks those three boxes then it is going to be a hit. This year’s exhibition was all about the “networked society”.
In the short-term, the one thing that will continue to be in “vogue” are the wearable technologies. Wearables are already here in various shapes and sizes and from what I saw demonstrated at the Mobile World Congress, it is going to be around for a while to come. In particular, I saw a lot of smart watches such as Huawei and LG among others, however, casting a shadow over these announcements at the Mobile World Congress was the upcoming Apple watch announcement due in a few weeks.
I also noticed advances in wireless charging at the exhibition. With bigger, better and more powerful phones the drain on battery life is going to be inevitable. Samsung announced their new flagship phone, the S6 and S6 Edge, which will be the first to offer an embedded wireless charging solution whilst even Ikea have announced a range of furniture with wireless charging pads so that your phone will charge simply by placing it on the table next to you.
In the mid to long-term (over the next few years) the next major development in the telecommunications market will be the launch of 5G networks. Recent tests in the UK have achieved speeds of 1 terabit per second. To put this into perspective, that would enable you to download a file 100 times the size of a film in around three seconds. Whilst speeds of this kind are only currently achievable in strict laboratory conditions, the likes of Ericsson, Nokia, ZTE and Huawei demonstrated their progress with 5G so far at Mobile World Congress and have suggested interesting real-world applications for these speeds.
From a recruitment perspective, everything displayed indicates a positive trend for the industry. There seems to be a strong push towards convergent markets and a networked society demonstrating a buoyant market overall.
The Mobile World Congress has demonstrated that the IT and Telco industries are never standing still. With some exciting new technologies coming out in the upcoming months and 5G paving the way for more innovation to come, we have to stay in tune with the new developments in order to keep up with the market.
