TECHNOLOGY IMPACT ON GROWTH AND EMPLOYMENT

MARKET OVERVIEW

n-memory Computing Market is estimated to register a CAGR of 25.37% over the forecast period (2020-2025). Adoption of In-memory Computing, also known as IMC, is on the rise. This can be attributed to the growing demand for faster processing and analytics on big data, the need for simplifying architecture as the number of various data sources increases, and technology enhancements that are optimizing total cost of ownership (TCO).

• To maintain a competitive edge and meet the demands for optimal customer experience in the current scenario, enterprises are seeking for solutions to deal with the constant upsurge of available data and the never-ending demands for better and faster performance. This is boosting the development of In-Memory Computing technologies.
• Over the past several years, companies across a broad range of industries increasingly started adopting in-memory computing platforms to achieve the application performance and scalability they need to achieve their digital transformation or omnichannel customer experience goals.
• For instance, American Airlines is using in-memory computing to accelerate response times, automate processes and meet SLAs for business applications that process huge datasets from multiple sources.
• Further, developments with respect to peer-to-peer transactions, bitcoins and mobile wallets are an addition to the instant payment capabilities. This enables the service providers to ensure a level of reliability and scale capacity ahead of demand. And, in-memory computing platform helps them by offering low latency, scalability and resilience.
• The outbreak of Covid-19 will affect the chip manufacturing industry in the short-term as several operations have come to a halt because of global lockdown. But at the same time, companies are collaborating to find the cure of this pandemic using advance computing, which uses IMC, for analysis. For instance, recently Intel and Lenovo collaborated with the Beijing-based BGI Genomics to apply its technology and expertise, and further accelerate the analysis of genomic characteristics of COVID-19. 

Scope of the Report

In-memory computing is the storage of information in the main random access memory (RAM) of dedicated servers rather than in complicated relational databases operating on comparatively slow disk drives. Type of components such as In-memory Data Management and In-memory Applications are considered unde the scope of the report. The In-memory Applications include in-memory analytics and in-memory application server.

By Component
		In-memory Data Management
		In-memory Application

By End-user Vertical
		BFSI
		Healthcare
		IT & Telecom
		Government
		Other End-user Verticals

Geography
		North America
		Europe
		Asia-Pacific
		Latin America
		Middle East and Africa

Key Market Trends

In-memory Data Management to Hold Significant Share

In-memory data management is the process of monitoring and managing the storage retrieval and operations of data stored within a computer, server or other computing device memory.

• In-memory technology has become a relied-upon part of the data world, now available through most major database vendors. In-memory can process workloads up to 100 times faster than disk-to-memory configurations, which enables business at the speed of thought.
• In-memory databases and technologies enable decision makers to get to the information they are seeking rapidly and more readily.
• While in-memory technology has been on the market for many years, currently, the demand for intelligent, interactive experiences requires back-end systems and applications operating at high performance, and incorporating movement and delivery of data faster than ever before.
• According to a recent Unisphere-AWS survey, over the next 3 years, 60% of IT managers, DBAs, and C-level executives expect to store more data in the cloud than on-premise. In addition, the use of NoSQL platforms, including document, graph, columnar, and in-memory, which are still in the relatively early days of adoption, will also see an increase, spurred by new applications for the technology and an increased availability of skills and expertise.

To understand key trends, Download Sample Report

Asia-Pacific to Witness Fastest Growth

• Asia-Pacific is estimated to be the fastest-growing region, owing to the presence of countries, such as China, Japan, and India. These countries act as the hub for enterprises such as BPOs and KPOs, and hence are known as manufacturing factories of the world. The very basic foundation of such organizations is the huge quantities of data that need to be stored, analyzed, and then used for the purpose of decision-making. This indicated the huge growth potential for the IMC market in Asia-Pacific.
• The increased demand for big data and growing number of SME’s offers huge opportunities for growth in this region. Increasing investment by several incumbent technology players are some of the factors driving the market in the APAC region.
• The in-memory computing market is consolidated, with major players, such as SAP SE, Microsoft, Oracle, Altibase, and others. These players adopted various strategies, such as new product developments, in addition to collaborations and partnerships, and business expansions to accommodate the needs of the market. The major market players have adopted acquisitions and integrations as major strategy to expand their market shares, security portfolio, and customer base.

Competitive Landscape

The competitive rivalry in this industry is high and this market is highly fragmented. Market incumbents, such as SAP, SAS, and Oracle Corporation have considerable influence on the overall market. Vendors of in-memory computing are increasingly focusing on delivering enhanced solutions that can cater to various requirements.

• July 2019 - Intel and SAP announced a multi-year technology partnership focused on optimizing Intel’s platforms, including Intel Xeon Scalable processors and Intel Optane DC persistent memory, for end-to-end SAP enterprise software applications, including SAP S/4HANA. The partnership will use technologies from Intel to boost the SAP platform technologies that underpin its enterprise applications, including: real-time in-memory computing, streaming and Big Data analytics, blockchain, augmented and virtual reality, machine learning and artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and security.
• May 2019 - TIBCO acquired SnappyData, a provider of a Spark-based data platform. The acquisition is estimated to enable data scientists with a high-speed, highly scalable in-memory data store to explore new, larger data sets

Major Players

1. SAP SE
2. SAS Institute Inc.
3. TIBCO Software Inc.
4. Oracle Corporation
5. Software AG

JOB POLARIZATION

In addition to affecting the quantity of jobs, technology can also have a great impact on job quality.46 Some have concerns that automation steals jobs, while others insist that it actually improves them. In reality, both of these are true. Machines have affected jobs all across the skill spectrum—both increasing and decreasing the demand for jobs of different skill levels.47

Low-Skill Jobs

On the low side of the skill spectrum, the demand for jobs ( i.e.: milkmen, switchboard operators, mail-sorters, dishwashers, ice-cutters, weavers, and assembly line workers) has fallen drastically ––or even disappeared–– because of technologies such as refrigerators, cell phones, and industrial machines. Although the invention of these technologies has driven out jobs, it’s also allowed us to make certain forms of work more bearable. For example, by investing in industrial dishwashing machines, restaurants don’t require as many human dishwashers. Consequently, the demand for dishwashing jobs would decrease, though some would still remain. These remaining jobs would then be simplified. Instead of doing the actual washing by hand, human dishwashers would only have to load and unload dishes.

While it’s easy to imagine other low-skill jobs dying out due to automation—as robots now have the ability to vacuum rooms, patrol buildings, and flip burgers (to name but a few tasks) —machines still aren’t replacing low-skilled jobs in cleaning, security, and food service.48 This49 is because although certain tasks may be automated, robots aren’t able to take over entire jobs. For example, while dishwashing machines do an excellent job washing dishes, humans are not completely replaced in the process, as machines don’t load or unload themselves. Humans still outperform machines, especially in jobs that involve manual skills and varying environments.50 Therefore, there still is (and will be) a demand for low-skill jobs. In fact, as we’ll see later, demand is actually increasing.

Middle-Skill Jobs

The middle part of the spectrum is a little more complicated. Middle-skill jobs (which include blue-collar production and operative positions, as well as whitecollar clerical sales positions) are more likely to be codifiable. As a result, they’ve been disappearing, even though low-skill jobs haven’t.

Some forms of automation force people to perform mind-numbing tasks. Think of how most artisans and craftspeople were replaced by assembly line workers. In this process of “deskilling”, middle-skill jobs get replaced by low-skill jobs. Meanwhile, some jobs simply die out, forcing workers to resort to lower-skill jobs. For example, most manufacturing job losses have been due to automation (rather than international trade, as politicians tend to suggest).51 Workers previously in employed in the manufacturing sector have since had to turn to lower-skill and lower-paying in service sector to get by.52 This increases job growth in low-skill work. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), about one-third of medium-skill jobs that have disappeared worldwide have been replaced by low-skill jobs.53

However, much like in low-skill jobs, other forms of automation can take out the danger and drudgery out of certain tasks, thereby allowing us to do safer and more meaningful work. For instance, although removing humans from coal mines might rob them of their incomes and jobs, fewer people now have to suffer from black lung disease or be threatened by deadly mine collapses. And while many bank employees may have been replaced as more customers use ATMs to conduct routine transactions, those employees who do remain can now, instead of counting cash, do potentially more important work, such as recommending financial services to clients. The OECD estimates that two-thirds of lost middle-skill jobs have been replaced by jobs that require higher-skill work, such as analysts and managers.54

High-Skill Jobs

Although technology has been widely known to displace lower-skill and bluecollar workers, high-skill occupations have, for the most part, been protected because jobs that require more training and more complex cognitive skills (such as analysis, problem-solving, and decision-making) are much less codifiable. As David Autor and others have noted, this makes white-collar professionals and knowledge workers such as doctors, programmers, engineers, marketing executives, and sales managers difficult to replace.55 Therefore, even though recent developments in automation have targeted high-skill work, there is still growth on this side of the spectrum.56 After all, to get the most out of their technological investments, firms have to hire workers who are more highly skilled and educated.57

Thus, we have ended up with a polarized workforce—an effect that’s been occurring around the world.58 As Autor has observed, job growth has increasingly become concentrated on the two opposite sides of the skill spectrum, while medium-skill jobs are shrinking.59 Indeed, the share of US workers in low-skill and high-skill jobs both increased from 1979 to 2016.60 (See Figure 3.) On the other hand, although just over 61% of US workers were employed in middle-skill jobs in 1979, this share fell to 43% in 2016.61

As a result, those who aren’t able to find employment could be facing two types of options—neither of which are good.62 On one hand, there is a set of available jobs that aren’t as rewarding or as satisfying as they were before, since they require fewer skills or offer lower wages. On the other hand, there is another set of jobs that could be more desirable, but these jobs are unattainable because they require a higher level of skill or education than the worker has achieved.

RACE WITH THE MACHINES

It’s important to consider how technology has changed the labor market and the economy for the better for some, but for the worse for others. We should focus on finding solutions to the issues that have arisen (by ensuring job security, and supplying healthcare and retirement plans) while taking advantage of new opportunities (through new technologies, data and analytics, platforms, etc.) and remaining flexible as the times change.

Whether or not we like it, technology, and the increased competition from globalization of the workforce has changed labor markets. The days of steady, long-term, full-time jobs ––especially with one single firm for one’s career–are coming to an end sooner than we think. This is certainly difficult to accept for those who had been prospering in fields now rampant with automation. Regulation, trade barriers, or otherwise fighting and racing against machines will not be fruitful in the long term. Instead, as Brynjolfsson and McAfee like to say, we should continuously be investing in new skills to race with the machines.63

So how do we race with the machines? Davenport and Kirby, as well as Autor recommend that people focus on becoming tech-literate and on improving their manual and abstract skills.64 Learning how to code in various computer languages and knowing how to collect and analyze data, for example, would be immensely helpful in the race with machines. Manual skills such as dexterity and flexibility will also still be valuable in the near future, and further developing innate human qualities (i.e., abstract skills that machines aren’t good at—such as creativity, persuasion, empathy, pattern recognition, and complex communication) would certainly be beneficial.65

Davenport and Kirby identify five different ways for both people and companies to use such skills to succeed in the second machine age:66

Stepping up: Let machines do your dirty work, so to speak, thereby allowing you to focus your time and energy on making big-picture insights (e.g., managing investment portfolios).

Stepping aside: Use abstract skills, such as creativity or empathy, to do things that machines aren’t good at or to explain decisions that computers made (e.g., communicating negative news).

Stepping narrowly: Do things that would be too costly to be automated, such as specializing in a very particular area of a field (e.g., specializing in the legal issues pertaining to malfunctioning garage doors, or in connecting buyers and sellers of Dunkin’ Donuts franchises).

Stepping in: Use tech skills to improve machines’ decision-making abilities and to make sure that they function well (e.g., providing feedback to programmers by identifying bugs and suggesting modifications to be made).

Stepping forward: Use tech skills and entrepreneurial thinking to create advanced cognitive technologies (e.g., becoming a machine learning engineer).

The better that individuals and companies become at finding such complementary and “mutually empowering”67 relationships that augment human labor with machines (or vice versa), the more likely it is that employment growth and job quality will improve. With more fitting skills, there would more people employed in more satisfying and meaningful jobs.

However, there will still be those who are left behind and who aren’t able to find jobs in the increasingly unstable labor market. There’s been much debate on whether a safety net in the form of a universal basic income should be provided to address the Great Decoupling, particularly the stagnant wages Americans have experienced for three decades.68 Nevertheless, a guaranteed income won’t fix all the issues we’ve been dealing with. Employment is important for one’s well-being, providing many with a sense of purpose. As Voltaire once said, “Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need.”

                                           Thanks for reading my blog!

                                    Contributor to this article: Nipun Jain

References:https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/articles/technology-s-impact-on-growth-and-employment/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/memory-technology