The term “swarm intelligence” is now known to many people, while “herd management” is not (yet). That is likely to change considerably in the future, as cloud computing and agricultural technology are expected to grow together.
Author: Ralph Novak
Not every application is ideally carried out centrally via the cloud. Direct data processing is often more suitable. This is especially true when time is of the essence and the results need to be distributed quickly. Such local solutions are summarised by the generic term of fog computing.

In 2016, it is predicted that around 6.4 billion linked devices will be in use, up 30% from 2015.
According to Forrester Research, more than three quarters of marketing decision-makers believe that their digital customer communications could run more smoothly. Oracle has now enhanced the Marketing Cloud with several new features in order to provide a better customer experience and increased sales figures.
While the digital transformation seems to be affecting every industry, particularly rapid changes are affecting the retail sector. One group of customers is almost completely responsible for this: Generation Y.

The sales figures for Personal and Entry-Level Storage (PELS) in the third quarter of 2015 have experienced a global decrease of 13.4% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, down to 16.7 million devices.
Industry 4.0, digital transformation and growing pressure to get a lead over the competition when it comes to technology – companies face considerable challenges today. Does their management require a special executive board position, a “Chief Digital Officer”? In practise, the CDO has hardly gained acceptance.
Although the tools are available, in many companies it is still not clear what kind of application options the systematic analysis of large data sets offers. Big data is the raw material; only analysis and intelligent selection provide smart data.
Cloud technologies and big data, networking and Industry 4.0 – the economy is currently undergoing a process of profound change. Many companies, especially SMEs, are demanding that training for young people should be geared more closely to the requirements of the digital transformation.
The market research firm IDC expects dramatic changes in the business strategies of companies over the next few years: Enterprises will have to invest particularly in their digital business. Cloud computing is becoming virtually indispensable.