Where do we go from here?

“Office work will continue its journey to the cloud throughout 2019,” Aspillaga says. “USB drives will become a thing of the past. But the deepest impact will be provided by AI and cognitive technologies that will enhance human capabilities in essential industries.”

Aspillaga also has tips for organizations that have adopted – or plan to adopt – intelligent technologies in the near future.

“I’m convinced that technology is the means and not the end. My recommendation is to always start with the user experience – in this case, the people who work in the company. Envision the experience that would benefit them the most and then identify which set of technologies would enable that experience.”

For example, AI is already being used for a range of business purposes like spam filters, security surveillance, voice-to-text, automated responders, automated insights and more

While automation has in the past been burdened by negative predictions – such as inevitable job losses and therefore higher unemployment rates – many experts believe automation, in tandem with collaboration tools, are crucial for shaping a completely ‘smart’ office.