The idea of "home" has greatly evolved throughout the millennia. Over the decades, technology has transformed homes into hubs of functionality -- centers of entertainment, work, fitness, security, climate control, and more. Home-based technologies are undergoing a rapid evolution thanks to new Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and next-generation IoT solutions currently in development will further transform our homes. While some may view the connected home as a futuristic concept, it is already a reality, as the hurdles to achieving connectivity have largely been met. While adoption of connected home technologies continues to expand, the next phase of innovation will guide the transition to homes that are more proactive and automated than we can currently imagine.

Digital Transformation is changing the way both Defence and commercial organisations are operating in the maritime, land and air environments. Artificial Intelligence, Machine speed decision making and Virtual, Augmented and Mixed reality visualisation tools will all be part of our digital offers in the future. Thales is looking to rapidly assess these new technologies and build collaborative relationships with best of breed partners from wider markets by conducting a Maritime Pioneers day on the 24th June 2019 at the Digital Catapult in London. Thales reviewed 21 applications from some of the UK's brightest and best start-ups and scale-ups in digital technologies, down selecting the six that responded most closely to the criteria, and whose products and expertise impressed the selection panel the most. Thales is exploring novel approaches to strategic decision-making, assessing tools and techniques that are applicable and scalable across all domains.

Machine learning and Big Data will produce the earliest wins for organizations utilizing emerging digital technology, according to Sehida Frawley, SAP Australia and New Zealand head of digital business services. However, she cautions, generating value and confidence in the technology will depend on an organization's resources, technology ecosystems, and trust. For example, in order for organizations to trust the outcome of machine learning, they must also be able to trust the underlying data, Frawley said. The trust requirement extends to other technology, like blockchain, where there must be "trust in the relationship of that chain." Ultimately, generating value from emerging technology like machine learning, blockchain, and IoT will also depend on resources – how much effort is required to have success – and the technology ecosystems to support new applications, Frawley said.

Written by our strategist and resident science fiction nerd Erik Magnuson, these monthly roundups won't cover every development in the ever accelerating world of technology, but they will hopefully provide a little insight into why things are happening, and what might happen next. I will start this roundup as I often do by talking about artificial intelligence. I am convinced that Eric Horvitz of Microsoft Research is correct when he says "the next if not last enduring battlefield between technology companies is artificial intelligence." That battle has so far been fought mostly between digital assistants from Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft. But recently a new player entered the arena: Viv.