Into the Next Dimension

Developers today need to pay attention to evolving platforms that will shape the future: Big Data, Machine Learning and Augmented Reality.

Are we headed into another dimension where data is the new frontier? I addressed this question in a session at M3 Conference called "Into the Next Dimension."

Developers today need to pay attention to evolving platforms and the rapid rate at which they are expanding. I outlined three key technologies that will shape the future: Big Data, Machine Learning, and Augmented Reality.

The session recording is available below along with some extended talking points that weren't covered in the presentation.

Visualizations with Kendo UI

Michelangelo said that "every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it." The same can be said for data—every bit of data has a story inside it and it is the task of developers building apps to reveal it. We do this through data visualizations, which is all about providing a view into the world of what the data is telling us.

For some, the era of big data is just around the corner. For others, it's already here. The reality is that big data is coming whether your organization is ready or not. As this data is collected, it becomes increasingly important to understand it through tools that visualize it. That's where solutions like Kendo UI come in.

Kendo UI provides a rich library of charts and graphs to help you visualize data in meaningful ways. In the article "6 Rules for Awesome Data Visualizations with Kendo UI," John Bristowe talks about how Kendo UI provides a powerful foundation to create beautiful data visualizations and shares a list of tips in order to best take advantage of it.

A Content First Digital Experience

There are products that call themselves content management systems (CMS), but in actuality many of these CMS's are document management systems. It's an important distinction that should be taken seriously in this digital age.

As any good developer knows, there should be a clear separation between document, code, and data. With this separation, much more can be done with the data stored within the system.

Take Progress Sitefinity, for example. Sitefinity is a content-first CMS where content is treated as data. By having a clear distinction between data and document, Sitefinity can do much more. In the article "How to Create Mobile Apps with Sitefinity and Telerik Platform", Peter Filipov explains how to use Sitefinity's data to drive a content-driven mobile application.

With the Telerik Platform and Sitefinity you can create fully-functional, content-driven applications without writing any code.

In addition, the Sitefinity Digital Experience Cloud utilizes data and predictive analytics to create a unified marketing command center that enables marketers to drive growth by understanding, and optimizing every customer’s journey. This is an example of using customer data in a positive way to enhance user experience by providing the user with what they need. Just imagine having Siri/Cortana/Alexa working behind the scenes on behalf of the customer.

Take Your UWP Apps to the Holographic World with Hololens

A unique property of the Microsoft HoloLens is that it can utilize 2D applications in a 3D space. These 2D applications are Universal Windows Platform (UWP) applications. Being able to run UWP applications on HoloLens means that developers can reuse existing code and skills to create apps that run not only on HoloLens but also on laptops, phones, tablets, XBox and more.

On HoloLens the AirTap gesture is automatically mapped to click/touch gestures. Because of this feature, existing UWP components like those found in Telerik UI for UWP simply work in the HoloLens as a 2D app. Visualize your data with variety of charts, gauges and bullet graphs or utilize HubTile, LoopingList and ListView, all of which cater to unique UWP UI paradigms.

Stay tuned to Progress for more investments for UWP coming in the future.

The below video demonstrates UWP app with Telerik UI.

The Future Is Ours

Now more than ever, technology is rapidly evolving. No one knows what exactly the future of technology holds, but what is certain is that software developers have lots of options today and tomorrow. Getting involved with these technologies now will help secure a role in the process of building exciting things that were once considered science fiction.