The year 2019 will be a transformative year for the wireless world, with landmark developments in 5G, cloud computing, and hardware. So it’s crucial that your audience be kept up to speed on all the latest developments in this ever-changing wireless space.

Zachary Smith, CEO of Packet—the leading bare metal automation platform for developers—has made five expert predictions detailing how wireless technology will evolve in 2019. From stadiums and retail buildings to airports and even street corner, there’s no place that won’t be affected by the rapid evolution of wireless technology. And if your audience isn’t up on The Edge, they’re sleeping on probably the biggest story of the year.

Key Highlights :

1.  Software will eat the wireless world. It’s basically understood that in our Internet-enabled world, technology equals software, even though the reality is more nuanced. And even the cloud, the grand enabler of the latest software wave, is itself being eaten alive by the software movement it has spawned; cloud-native ecosystems such as Docker and Kubernetes are devouring the value of verticalized cloud providers and offering a portable software experience across any infrastructure substrate, spanning architectures, providers, and form factors. This multi-billion dollar industry hasn’t been disrupted, and it is growing increasingly important by the day. In short, it’s a good time to be in software!

2.  Hardware isn't a commodity, it's super special and 2019 will prove it. The influence of hardware is growing steadily, and it will really hit its stride in 2019. At Packet, we believe that powerful, customizable hardware in collaboration with state-of-the-art software is the next big thing in cloud computing. This trend will help drive investment in everything from accelerators to offloads to alternative processor architectures, especially as the worth of custom-built hardware grows.

3.  Real estate is becoming digitized and big REITs will start calling themselves tech businesses. The leading enterprises of the world are looking to deploy their technology opinion quickly and at global scale. From 5G to mobility to mobile gaming, this ambition requires a “go anywhere” model that enables cloud-style infrastructure in hundreds or thousands of locations. In 2019, large real estate owners will move beyond traditional datacenters to “digitize” assets like co-working, stadiums, and retail buildings with cloud and infrastructure.

4.  5G is really all about private networks, not about faster iPhones. Two-thirds of organizations plan to deploy 5G by 2020, according to Gartner. However, as security and control are becoming increasingly important in the wireless world, large industrial companies are being led to explore the implementation of private 5G wireless networks. By deploying private LTE networks using technologies like CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service), enterprises will be able to efficiently deliver connected experiences from the sports stadium and airports to the urban street corner.

 
5.  Edge Computing will be the buzz word of 2019. In case you haven’t heard of the already-buzzy tech phrase, “edge computing” is computing that takes place at or near the source of the data, rather than relying on faraway cloud data centers to do the work. Edge computing is a flexible model that can be dropped in literally anywhere, allowing developers to think – and develop – on a much larger scale than they already are. In 2019, the edge will become the most exciting frontier in the cloud.