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Discover the evolutions of disruption technology in the infographic below

Disruptive Technology journey infographic

Discover the definitions used in the map below:

Fixed Networks

Fixed Networks
Whilst the underlying technology has changed in the last decade, the idea of a permanent physical connection between two (or more) points remains the same along with most of the original network infrastructure. We first plugged-in around 140 years ago and over 1.2 billion of us are now hard-wired to each other. Most corporations still rely upon private connections (leased lines) and landlines are the access technology of choice for most home broadband subscribers. In addition, mobile networks need to ‘backhaul’ through fixed networks to cope with data bandwidth demands and industrial networks require the robustness of wirelines t maintain integrity and efficiency particularly in harsh environments. We might not talk as much but fixed lines still keep us in touch.

PSTN (Publically Switched Telephone Network)
The original copper analogue landline developed by Bell Labs that largely remained unchanged for nearly a century. At just 64kbits, voice was the only application.

ISDN (Integrated Digital Services Network)
Digital arrives for business and doubles speed for data to 128kbits. It also enabled more advanced voice services.

Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC)
Not quite a galaxy far far away but the Cable Guy alternative to provide multi-media services. It’s super-fast for internet access and video-on-demand and no need for a satellite dish!

Leased Lines
Large companies can connect data and voice services across the globe. Still widely used and can provide dedicated internet access at lightening speeds of 10Gbits!

IP Networks
Sometimes referred to as Next Generation Networks (NGN), a combination of internet protocol (IP) and advanced switching technologies meant lower costs and high-speed networks ready for the 21st Century.

VPN (Virtual Private Network)
Secure remote access or site-to-site connectivity across public networks. Home working and disparate offices suddenly became unified with the main corporate network.

Voice over IP (VoIP)
Making phone calls over the internet using your computer is now commonplace but amazingly services only began in 2004. International calls now cost pennies and distance has died with video calling.

VPN (Virtual Private Network)
Secure remote access or site-to-site connectivity across public networks. Home working and disparate offices suddenly became unified with the main corporate network.

P2P (Peer-to-Peer) Networks
You might think this is the domain of dodgy file-sharing and piracy but the reality is that distributed computing has liberated spare processing power, helped us map the galaxy and is the foundation of video services and media streaming.

FTTH (Fibre to the Home)
Think broadband then multiply it by five-fold through fibre-optics. Suddenly the light dawns for cloud based services including applications, streaming music and blockbuster movies!

ISDN (Integrated Digital Services Network)
Digital arrives for business and doubles speed for data to 128kbits. It also enabled more advanced voice services.

Network Virtualization Platform (NVPs)
Making virtualization software out of the Data Centre and into to the network. Programming, administration, traffic management and deployment is handled in one place. This approach will not only simplify network management but is a cornerstone of future network security and intrusion detection.

Machine-to-Machine (M2M)
From smarter energy systems to intelligent urban environments, M2M enables to wired and wireless devices to seamlessly communicate with each other to monitor and control without a human in sight.

Nanoscale Networks
Imagine networking at the molecular level. Somewhere between medical instruments and virus killing nanobots is a future where everything is interconnected and microscopically small!

Internet

Internet
Not to be confused with the Web, the internet is the global network of interconnected computer networks that enables the web (plus telephony, social, industrial, corporate and peer-to-peer networks) to run. From a word that dates back to the 19th Century, access to the internet is now identified by the UN as a fundamental human right.

Nanoscale Networks
Imagine networking at the molecular level. Somewhere between medical instruments and virus killing nanobots is a future where everything is interconnected and microscopically small!

Bonded ISDN
This borderline sustaining technology actually revolutionised data access for small businesses that needed (but couldn’t afford) a dedicated leased line. At 128k it was typically 4x faster than dial-up.

Cable Modem
Unlike its ‘dial-up’ cousin, the cable modem used the co-axial TV network to provide faster internet access with little delay and no robotic noises.

ADSL
is a type of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem can provide. ADSL differs from the less common symmetric digital subscriber line (SDSL). Bandwidth (and bit rate) is greater toward the customer premises (known as downstream) than the reverse (known as upstream).

SDSL
The big brother of early home broadband that offered ‘synchronised’ upload and download speeds. It was perfectly suited for small businesses that needed a bit more va va voom to send and receive files!

IPv6
Every internet enabled device has its own address. With the explosion of devices such as mobile phones, laptops and fridges, the original address system couldn’t cope. Now with IPv6, we now have a unique IP address for every atom on the surface of the Earth with enough left over for another 100+ planets.

Internet of Things (IoT)
Anything with a unique IP address from heart monitoring implants and animal biochips to cereal boxes is now connected.

Cloud of Things (CoT)
Think IoT but this time connected to the internet of people and the internet of services.

Mobile Networks

Mobile Networks
Mobile isn’t just about the omnipresent device held in your hand, it’s also about a staying connected, personal choice, engagement preferences and the blurring of lines between work and play. Without the continuing innovation in mobile networks, we would all still be tied to beige coloured computers and public pay phones.

Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS)
Motorola may have been making the first mobile phone but it was America and Japan that were creating the first generation (1G) networks to enable people to roam albeit with a suitcase sized battery pack.

2G Digital
Digital mobile networks arrived in the mid-90s. Problem was that two rival systems developed but that didn’t stop explosive cellular growth and an annoying cacophony of ringtones.

Short Message Service (SMS)
Also known as text messages, this was the first mobile data application. It now rules as the number one data application with over 7 trillion 160 character messages sent every year. OMG!

General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)
Sometimes called 2.5G, the introduction of GPRS extended the data capabilities of 2G and paved the way for always-on internet, instant messages and picture messaging.

3G
Just like fixed IP networks, this was the first packet-based mobile network for voice, data and video. High operator licence costs in an expensive bidding war held back innovation but the spare capacity enabled cheaper calling and even more growth!

LTE (Long Term Evolution)
Competing with Wi-Max, LTE is the strongest candidate for the first true global mobile network standard. The ‘advanced’ version supports up to 1Gbit downloads which is great for high quality streaming services without the…..delay.

4G
The mobile broadband ‘big bang’ with a 10-fold speed increase enabling HD video streaming and advanced collaborative technologies whilst on the move. However, two competing systems are at war.

Fog Computing
Also known as ‘fogging’, this model extends the concept of Cloud out to the network edge so that more processing can be done locally rather than in large Data Centres. It is still Cloud but closer to the ground!

5G
Still in R&D, the expectation is that by 2020 we will have 10Gbit mobile networks! Possibly more ‘nomadic’ than mobile it will mean super-hot spots in certain geographic areas.

6G
Convergence with IoT could mean the emergence of one device that augments and provides a single plane of glass on every aspect of your existence. You, only better and inside out!

Wireless

Wireless
The history and innovation of modern technology is one of duality between wired and wireless networks. A century of telegraphy (and IT for the last 30 years) required the perfect blend and balance of fixed network muscle, radio communications and cut-the-cord convenience. The wired and wireless world has always been complementary and this congruence is set to continue. From technology megatrends such as Cloud and Big Data to headphones and clothing, frankly without wireless we wouldn’t be so connected.

Bluetooth
Despite being named after a Viking king of a scattered nation, this wondrous cable-free wireless connection brings together different devices creating personal area networks at home or in the car.

Wi-Fi
It may have taken 20 years to take off but this disruption gem is one of the most significant when it come interoperability of devices and easy access to the internet. As a local area network (LAN) technology it has untethered everything from laptops to game consoles to smartphones.

Wi-Max
Often referred to as Wi-Fi ‘on steroids’ due to its extended range Wi-Max uses microwaves to provide ‘last mile’ connectivity for mobile devices. The limit of 128 Mbits may, however, restrict growth for more advanced mobile devices and services.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
This no contact wireless technology is essentially a non-powered tag sometimes as small as grain of rice. RFIDs can be affixed to anything from inventory and electronic devices to pets and people.

Small Cell
These low-powered radio access nodes may provide the answer to handling the data deluge by ‘backhauling’ mobile networks, the middle-mile between devices and the main network.

Near Field Communication (NFC)
Wi-Fi but without the personal boundaries. It could be the end of cash as smartphones bump an instant payment point and magically you’ve paid for your morning coffee and muffin. Spare change charity boxes, however, will need transformation into penny ‘tap’ points.

Li-Fi
Using visible light communications instead of radio frequency waves, this ‘post-Wi-Fi’ technology is more secure and safer in environments such aircraft and hospitals. Extended range through solid walls is the main challenge for this technology to see the light of day.

Drone Networks
Whilst unmanned aerial vehicles will probably revolutionise transportation and air rescue, the concept that drones can be used to create a whirring network in the sky doesn’t actually require new technology. The potential disruption is that ‘DroneNet’ could open-up the rest of the planet to cheap and fast internet access.

IP Devices

IP Devices
With more devices connected to the internet than people, a small village or town now generates more traffic than the entire internet in 2008! The average home network now has at least 5 devices connected to the internet. You might think there is only so much we can connect but with IPv6 we’re in no immediate danger running out of internet addresses for our cherished smartphones, tablets or anything else that we want to connect from animals to trees.

PC
It started as an isolated beige box and is now the connected hub of many homes and small businesses. There may be more portable alternatives and sales are falling but in terms of achievement and current performance and value for money, the personal computer is still the daddy!

Mobile Phones
A mobile phone (also known as a cellular phone, cell phone, hand phone, or simply a phone) is a phone that can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link while moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile phone operator, allowing access to the public telephone network.

Laptop
These flip-screen marvels are now more common than PCs but were hampered by lack of flat screen and battery-life innovation. They are now the workhorses for most white-collar workers.

Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
Revolutionised the idea the portable devices could be used for data in the palm of your hand. The advent of touch-screen interaction was a pre-cursor to smartphones. Although they have disappeared from general view they are still used in military, industrial, medical and logistic environments where ‘hello kitty’ protective cases dare to roam!

Netbooks
The first sign that the internet could be used to provide most services and applications instead of native software. By stripping out expensive components, netbooks were used as the ultra-mobile wireless device of choice by people on the move as well as the next wave of digital natives.

Smartphones
More touchscreen computer than phone, smartphones have revolutionised personal connectivity, productivity and entertainment but have blurred work/life boundaries. It may have taken 20 years to arrive but with an ‘app for everything’, around 1 billion of us may be smarter but walk ‘zombie slow’ when checking messages or directions!

Tablets
Once again Mr Jobs got it right! Straight from science fiction, the idea of a powerful hand-held computer became both desirable and practical with the Apple iPad. Tablet sales have now rocketed, it’s not quite the final frontier but Gene Roddenberry would have been proud.

Wearables
It’s not just about wearing a pair of glasses or a new kind a wrist watch to save time on checking a smartphone. The future of wearables could actually regulate body temperature so that we no longer need air conditioning units; now that would be a cool!

Modular Phones
Smart and smartish phones for everyone. Sometimes referred to as ‘grey’ phones, the idea is that you can produce cheap phones at the bottom-end and highly bespoke custom built devices at the luxury end. With an array of colours, materials and finishes, it is almost certain that some phones will end-up looking like an 80’s Ford Escort bolt-on spoiler!

Biometric Phones
The journey has already begun with fingerprint and iris recognition but biometric signatures could be embedded into security in a way that more pervasive (and less hassle) than a login or password entry. This will become even easier with wearable technology or even voice recognition based search.

Kinetics
The major drawback of portable devices, smartphones and tablets is short battery-life. Research into Kinetic energy could mean that your favourite mobile device could be recharged via physical movement or even your own pulmonary system. Now that’s enough to get the heart racing!

Kinetics
The major drawback of portable devices, smartphones and tablets is short battery-life. Research into Kinetic energy could mean that your favourite mobile device could be recharged via physical movement or even your own pulmonary system. Now that’s enough to get the heart racing!

GPS (Global Positioning System)
Literally timing is everything when it comes to GPS. Once the preserve of the military, geo-location applications from automobile navigation to exercise apps now mean it’s harder to get lost but easier to find a friend.

Online Gaming
Digital gaming started with arcades which followed in the 70’s with proprietary consoles. It was the ultimate teen status symbol despite being expensive and often lonely. Today, online gaming is a console crushing service that even has die-hard ‘Call of Duty’ fans going declassified!

Web

Web
The web began by revolutionising the way people accessed information, it has now evolved to transforming the way people collaborate, distribute ideas, share experiences, make decisions and buy. In the future the web will be able to predict and respond to our needs better than a chocolate brown Labrador.

World Wide Web (WWW)
The World Wide Web was the ‘killer app’ for the internet making life easier to access and interlink resources. Thanks to Sir Tim Berners-Lee we now have over 644 million websites to choose from.

Email
A 25 year slow-burn from academic circles to public use was hampered by a lack of network and software innovation. After 20 years we now face email ‘bankruptcy’ where more emails are created than can actually be read.

Search Engines
Google may dominate today but the abundance of search engine choice that happened after 1993 resulted in high valuations and lots of disillusioned investors. Most of us love the brilliant simplicity of using Google but the virtual monopoly on global market share today tells us that ‘search’ is ripe for disruption.

Bookmarks
Saving your favourite websites or webpages has been possible since the mid-90s and was a pre-cursor to social tagging which is a rich source of data that is already ‘big’.

Blog
Born out of web publishing, suddenly the process creating, distributing and sharing written content with the entire web became possible. Great for the inner author but not so good for hypochondriacs and conspiracy theorists.

Photo Sharing
With the disruption of digital photography (sorry Kodak!) and broadband, it was only natural that sharing images with friends and family would follow. Given that 3.5 trillion photos have been taken, considerate sharing is always appreciated as we simply don’t have enough time!

Instant Messaging (IM)
Real-time chat over the internet has revolutionised multi-channel communication and enables different conversations at the same time. Just don’t accidentally tell your tax advisor that you ‘love them’ unless you mean it!

Multi-Media Messaging Service (MMS)
An instant version of photo sharing but this time it’s completely mobile and real-time. It’s still popular for those private shots but it has largely been overtaken by the rise of social media services as an open photobook.

Video Sharing
You Tube can be credited for revolutionising video sharing by providing an intuitive platform to upload and view content. It may sometimes infringe copyright and intellectual property but it’s a small price to pay for ‘Charlie bit my finger’ and ‘Fenton the Dog’.

Social Media
The birth of collaboration at a global level. From personal to professional networks this disruption is so colossal that many social players have entered the common language (and Hollywood) whilst giving birth to a billion collaborators sharing experiences, videos, photos, opinions and what they had for dinner….you know who you are!

Music Streaming
Whilst iTunes benefited from early broadband download speeds, faster access connections through fibre and 3G networks meant consumable streaming became possible at home and on the move.

Micro Blogging
For those of us who want to keep it short but sweet, then all you have to do is tweet. Whilst only 10% of users actually write stuff, with a good proportion being pointless babble or shameless self-promotion, microblogging has revolutionised news and even sparked revolution!

Video Streaming
It may seem like a modest upgrade but the reality is that the development of high-definition streaming services has increased competition, choice and liberated all of us from just watching quality content sat on the sofa in front of the the TV. Commuters and road-warriors now rejoice!

AR
Augmented reality (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality.

Visual Discovery
Now that we have trillions of photos, social networks and image recognition, we can explore the world and discover things of interest augmented by technology. Just be careful what you pin!

Erasables
Nobody is perfect and once captured digitally it can be accessed, misinterpreted and misused by anyone including future employers! The shift to momentary content sharing is already here but how long before here today gone tomorrow time limits and expiry dates are applied to everything.

Private Social Networks
The flip-side to general security strategies where responsibility for individual data becomes personal. Facebook ‘friends’ are one-thing but keeping things private between close companions, associates and family may stop unwanted poking.

Orchestrated Media
Not confined to the future of multi-device consumption, any screen can be utilized to bring you relevant and contextualized content and advertising. Once viewed as dystopian, it’s probably more Back to the Future than Bladerunner!

Data Centre

Data Centre
The Data Centre (which originated as the ‘Computer Room’) is now the vital engine of all internet based services. It has shifted from being a noisy and chilly location somewhere in company HQ to a plethora of hyper-sized, industrial scale facilities complete with mission control systems fit for a NASA space launch. Providers and vendors in this space can now guarantee service availability, provide unlimited capacity and offer peerless scalability. With the advent of Cloud and Big Data, the Data Centre has reached a tipping-point of effortless and low-cost delivery in the same way the power industry transformed energy distribution less than a century ago.

Multi-Protocol IP Router
Now in every telephone exchange, IT room and most homes, routers form the fundamental ‘backbone’ of the internet. Before the advent of multi-protocol routing, proprietary networks ruled which didn’t allow different computer networks to talk. Without this innovation from our friends at Cisco, frankly the internet would be, at best, a bunch of ring-fenced internets.

Servers
The engine room of the internet and Cloud services in general. Essentially, any networked computer can be a server delivering and sharing data. Now that Microsoft has at least 1m servers alone, the new as-a-service model suggests we are probably better off as clients!

Storage Arrays
For effective storage (or filing) removing single points of failure and swapping-out faulty gear at the same time was a major challenge. The development of Storage Area Networks (SANs) helped make the idea of storing stuff securely, resiliently, quickly and cheaply possible and is now the cornerstone of modern data centres.

Hosting
The growth of internet services meant everyone needed to have their own IT equipment and technical expertise in an air-conditioned room. Well not quite. Just like voice services, data and internet services could be hosted by a service provider on your behalf and collocated with other clients. Hosting continues today in a variety of flavours and configurations (and made even cheaper by virtualization and cloud based service offers).

Server Virtualization
Now imagine if you had a single shared kitchen with different chefs cooking different meals on-demand and often at the same time? The idea is that within any individual host machine, software creates many virtual computers that can run multiple operating systems and serve data for different clients. Plus there is no fear of cross-contamination from allergies or unwashed utensils.

Storage Virtualization
Do you know where Facebook photos and You Tube videos are physically stored? The reality of virtualization is that data is now meta-psychical. A number of ‘snaps’ are taken which means data is replicated in different places and then compiled on demand. It may seem complex but it improves security, lowers cost and simplifies data migration to such as extent that is referred to as digital ‘teleportation’….beam me up Scotty!

IaaS
The ability to call-up your own Data Centre on-demand. Instant access to network, storage and computing resources without owning any equipment or hardware will accelerate innovation and remove the brake on creating the next big thing!

Software Defined Data Centre (SDDC)
This is the first wave of Data Centre automation where all resources and associated workloads can be optimised dynamically and managed through a single screen. Lifting equipment and re-patching cables will be a thing of the past.

Federated DC
A federated cloud (also called cloud federation) is the deployment and management of multiple external and internal cloud computing services to match business needs. A federation is the union of several smaller parts that perform a common action.

DCN (Data Centre Network)
About 70% of traffic is currently within the four walls of the Data Centre. As Data Centres become more interconnected and pool more resources, the Data Centre Network (DCN) will be the engine room of Cloud and Big Data.

Big Data

Big Data
Every 2 days we create as much information as we did from the beginning of time up to 2003. By 2020, we will do this every minute. Powerful technologies are bringing the advantage of behavioural and contextually relevant information to organisations, governments and people. The term ‘Big Data’ is simply short-hand for making sense of all the unstructured and disconnected bits and bytes that we have created. This raw data is now ready to mined, manipulated and managed; from predicting crime to understanding the spread of potential pandemics to unlocking the secrets of the universe.

Relational Databases
Although databases have been around since the dawn of computing, they were as ‘flat’ as a bookkeeper’s ledger. By creating different tables where data was entered as columns and rows, the tables could then be searched at the same time to find information based on a specific search or query.

Object Databases
Object databases remove the need for tables by storing complex data and their relationships directly. Using a visual interface, pointers are linked to objects to establish relationships.

Database Reporting
There are now an abundance of database reporting tools but in the 90’s, it was a different matter. Crystal Reports was the first vendor that started make information transparent.

3D Data Management
Using data generated from sensors 3D Data Management has transformed everything from car design to MRI scans to predicting earthquakes. Now that’s seismic!

ERP
Enterprise Resource Planning collects, stores and interprets real-time business data. Almost every component of an organisational can be tracked and monitored using ERP including late expenses!

Parallel Processing
Imagine if you had two brains instead of one? Essentially, Parallel processing uses more than one brain (or central processing unit known as a core) to execute highly complex tasks simultaneously.

Massive Parallel Processing (MPP)
It’s Parallel Processing but at a whole new level with at least 200 ‘brains’ or multi-cores processing data in a completely co-ordinated, synchronized and orchestrated way.

Cloud Analytics
Using scalable Cloud infrastructure the ability to use tools to extract information in real-time will revolutionise our understanding of everything from economic forecasts to weather systems.

Data Virtualization
Essentially on-demand memory for Data Centres to share a distributed and global memory pool taking performance to a new level as data gets even ‘bigger’.

Programs

Programs
Delivering a set of instructions is the essence of computer based programs. From hard-wired beginnings, the drive to towards freedom and flexibility has been a slow amble through the countryside compared to network innovation. The fundamental shift of moving processing power from the end-device (PC, laptop or mobile) has meant programs are now available ‘as-a-service’ instead of a localised piece of software. Cloud delivered services called Cloudware is already changing the way developers and users create, consume and share.

Floppy Discs
Long before the internet, the most efficient way to save and store data was magnetic. In consumer markets the tape cassette ruled but everywhere else was floppy as hard disc drives were unaffordable.

CD ROM
Although not as flexible as their floppy disc predecessors, CD ROMs transformed software distribution including dial-up internet programmes. It was also capable of storing arcade standard amusements for the Sony Playstation that was frankly game-changing.

Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
Invented by IBM in the 50s, it took nearly four decades for the ‘hard drive’ to become the primary storage technology in place of its floppier sibling. The principal of HDDs will continue with the advent of non-moving part flash drives but the principal of localised central storage remains.

USB Disc Drive
These key fob sized devices (and their ‘flash’ memory stick cousins) transformed storage and document sharing at the turn of the Millennium. Using the USB standard they are still ubiquitous as file transfer speeds remain relatively fast without the need for a network.

Downloaded Software
It may seem the norm today but downloaded software only became a reality with broadband. It sent boxes of software containing shiny CDs to the graveyard and village gift shops.

Mobile Apps
Seen as the ultimate consumerization of software, this disruption was made possible by the advent of 3G networks, Wi-Fi and a supporting application development ecosystem. 100 billion downloads latter and the mobile app has changed the face of gaming, education, entertainment and business one icon at a time.

Software Development Kits (SDKs)
Although mostly proprietary SDKs allow developers to create software and services quickly and without too many bugs! It helped create the right conditions for Apps to enjoy explosive growth.

Web Applications
Sometimes referred to as ‘thin client’ essentially the application runs from the browser rather than installing software and annoying plugins. From Java to HTML5, this development is a significant precursor to software-as-a-service.

Application Service Provision (ASP)
The first iteration of on-demand applications but focused at larger enterprises who could afford to use specific in-house hosting hardware to support it.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
Virtualization and multi-tenancy meant one instance of software could serve different clients without the need for them to have any supporting infrastructure. In other words software that’s available on-demand on any device without infuriating downloads, patches and upgrades.

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)
Taking software and platform development to the Cloud. A mix of proprietary and open-source development environments is already creating a new wave of digital makers.

Cloudware
Where any IT and communication service is available via the Cloud to any device, anytime, anywhere just like a Martini Rosso. With pay-as-you-go options, you could even upgrade to all-inclusive holiday!

Mobile Cloudware
Not just about optimising cloudware in a mobile environment, there will be a need to support greater processing capability on the move. A blended combination of central and localised workload management is a likely scenario.

Unified Communications

Unified Communications
Unified Collaboration (UC) is about integrating and optimising communications in all its forms. UC is not confined to fixed or mobile communications but can relate to any medium where you can see, hear or even type to get your message across and collaborate in real-time. The virtualization shift away from physical hardware with associated deployment and integration challenges has gained pace with UC ‘as-a-service’ (UCaaS). In the UCaaS model, multi-platform communications over the network are packaged by a service provider and then delivered through the Cloud to any IP enabled device.

Private Branch Exchange (PBX)
Call Centres and offices utilized private branch exchange (PBX) technology to service multiple customers at the same time. This service disruption also sparked evolution in headset technology, phone systems and customer relationship management (CRM) software.

Contact Centre
The humble call centre evolves to accommodate the plethora of communication options available to customers. In terms of efficiency agents having multiple online chats whilst drafting an email is now common place.

Web Conferencing
Using the internet to talk, see and share with anyone on the planet. This was the first significant step in true unified collaboration and improved the effectiveness of countless home/mobile workers by saving them from wasted commuting hours.

UCaaS
Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) means that all corporate communications can be delivered via the Cloud based Service Provider without specific on-site hardware. Services can be accessed on any IP enabled device with embedded messaging, conferencing and video wherever you are. Just don’t have a bad hair day!

Virtualized Contact Centre
Powered by the cloud, pay-as-you-need agents can be anywhere and called upon at any time based on demand and expertise. It will be less about who or where you are and more about what you know!

Predictive Services
The first predictive service centres that can use real-time ‘big’ data from devices or sensors. Imagine being contacted proactively by the hospital using biometric data or your car contacting breakdown recovery before you breakdown!