Top Trends of 2015

Internet of things will start to emerge.

2.    Tablet and Smart phone will keep on merging into one device in developing markets.

3.    Consumers will further loose control on personal data. Advertisers will follow you from one device to another (Phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, smart glasses, etc.). Bye bye privacy.

4.    Bigdata, HTML5, Java Script, CSS experts will be in great demand.

5.    Android will further penetrate into automobile market as entertainment and controlling hub.

6.    Private Cloud will gain currency will ultra large (e.g. Wallmart), financial institutions (Banks, Insurance, etc.), security and privacy conscious industry (defense contractors, etc.).

7.    Big Data and Social networking Analysis will rise further.

8.    Spatial gesture sensitive and voice controlled devices will rise further.

9.    BYOD will gain further momentum

10. Jobs will keep on shifting from Hardware to Software.

11. Wearable computers will emerge stronger.

12. Mobile payment will rise further

Prediction for remaining decade (2014-2025) - 2015

1.    Bigdata trend will keep gaining strength in both spheres – Batch & Real time. But too many tools may kill momentum.

2.    SAAS and PAAS will prevail for small and big enterprise.

3.    IAAS will thrive in enterprise data centers (Private Cloud).

4.    Industry specific cloud platforms will rise to cater regulatory and vertical specific needs.

5.    Fragmentation and Alternatives of Java and Enterprise Java (like Apache harmony, and Spring) will emerge stronger and official java from Oracle will loose its sheen due to lust for its monetization by Oracle.

6.    Laptop, mobile and tablet will merge into one.

7.    Indian IT workforce will shift from permanent job to contractual jobs like in USA.

8.    Developing countries will swept by telecom revelation like India in previous decade.

9.    Gamification will engulf almost all experiences especially of social media.

10.  Outsoucing will change from India focused to 2I + 1 (2 location in India and one elsewhere).

11.  Digital currencies will impact financial markets in big way.

12.  Application will be pervasive in devices and appliances like phones (mobile and fixed line), TVs, automobiles, refrigerators, disk (CD/DVD/BlueRay) players, and any computing device.

13.  Fragmentation of Internet - There will be walls around country or region specific internet.

14.  Rise of china based technology companies.

Bigdata Ecosystem

I have had a lot of discussions on big data with my clients and prospects.  During these discussions some questions comes up on Hadoop for ex: – What are the different components of a Hadoop ecosystem?

In my point of view the question should be - What are different components of a Bigdata ecosystem?

Everyone seems to have a different answer for it.  I have tried to consolidate the answers. The results are this picture.

Agile Team – Cricket or Basket Ball

Let’s consider a few examples.

Example 1: Army – In case of the army, a command and a control structure is very important and they play a crucial role. In any armed force, the following the order is must. There’s one boss and the others should executes the orders. 

Example 2: Borgs from Star Trek – There is no central command. Everyone is equal and completely replaceable. 

Example 3: Cricket: Team has a captain who calls the shots but the team depends heavily on cooperation of the players.  Also, the captain is a player first, and captain later.

Example 4: Basket Ball:  In this team, the coach calls the shots though he is not part of the “playing team”

Where does your agile team fit? I am sure your answer is NOT the either of the first two.

Let’s look deeper into the workings of  a  Crickets team.  In Cricket, while one team is fielding, its captain decides who will be throwing the ball,) but HOW the players should cover the field is decided by bowler..   Simplistically speaking, once the overall strategy is decided by the Boss, the execution details are left to the people on the ground.

Now let’s look at Basket Ball. Here the coach decides on each and every aspects of the game, though he is not playing. Who will be playing in which part of the court, who will be playing at this point, etc. The coach also gives instructions during the game. In summary, the Boss is not only involved in strategy making but he also keeps a tight control over the execution.

So now, with which game, your agile team associates more - Cricket or Basket Ball?

Book Review: Hands-On Programming with R - Write Your Own Functions and Simulations

Book Review:  Hands-On Programming with R - Write Your Own Functions and Simulations by Garrett Grolemund: Publisher- O'Reilly: ISBN- 13: 978-1449359010

“Hands on programming with R” very nicely introduces its reader to R. The approach adopted by book is excellent.  Book focuses on language features and its practical usage and takes readers to a smooth journey.

Few people consider R from point of view of Data manipulation & visualization perspective, while book takes procedural language path which is refreshing and will attract more programmers.

The example of casino game seems to be little off from real world usage of R but overall book is excellent and a good start for any programmer to start learning R.

Disclaimer: I did not get paid to review this book, and I do not stand to gain anything if you buy the book. I have no relationship with the publisher or the author. I got electronic format of book from publisher for review.

Further reading: There are several books on similar topic. The Art of R Programming: A Tour of Statistical Software Design (http://www.amazon.com/Art-Programming-Statistical-Software-Design/dp/1593273843), R for Everyone: Advanced Analytics and Graphics (http://www.amazon.com/Everyone-Advanced-Analytics-Graphics-Addison-Wesley/dp/0321888030)

One can get more information about book and related topics from:

1. Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hands-On-Programming-Write-Functions-Simulations/dp/1449359019
2. Publisher -- Oreilly http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920028574.do