This 5-year tech industry forecast predicts some surprising winners - and losers - Related to 5-year, helps, intelligence, forecast, plug

Microsoft to Pull the Plug on Skype in May 2025, Teams Set to Take Over

Microsoft has showcased that Skype will be retired in May 2025 as the business shifts its focus to Microsoft Teams. The move is intended to streamline its consumer communication services and adapt to user needs.

“We will be retiring Skype in May 2025 to focus on Microsoft Teams (free), our modern communications and collaboration hub,” noted Jeff Teper, president of collaborative apps and platforms at Microsoft.

consumers will still have access to core Skype elements in Teams. Including one-on-one calls, group calls, messaging, and file sharing. Additional elements in Teams include hosting meetings, managing calendars, and building or joining communities. The enterprise showcased that over the past two years, the number of minutes spent in meetings by consumer consumers of Teams has quadrupled, indicating growing adoption.

“Hundreds of millions of people already use Teams as their hub for teamwork, helping them stay connected and engaged at work. School, and at home,” Teper added.

Microsoft is offering Skype people two options during the transition period. Skype people will be able to sign into Teams using their Skype credentials. Chats and contacts will automatically appear in the app.

The rollout begins with people in the Teams and Skype Insider programs. Teams and Skype people will be able to call and message each other during the transition. people who choose not to migrate to Teams can export their Skype data, including chats, contacts, and call history. Skype will remain available until May 5, 2025, allowing people time to make a decision.

To transition to Teams, customers can download the application from the Microsoft Teams website and. Log in with their Skype credentials. Microsoft has also provided a step-by-step guide to assist customers in making the switch.

Microsoft will discontinue paid Skype functions for new end-clients, including Skype Credit and. Subscriptions for international and domestic calls. Existing subscription clients can continue using their Skype Credits and subscriptions until the end of their next renewal period. After May 5, 2025, the Skype Dial Pad will remain available on the Skype web portal and. Within Teams for the remaining paid clients.

Microsoft acknowledged Skype’s role in shaping modern communication. “Skype has been an integral part of shaping modern communications and supporting countless meaningful moments, and we are honored to have been part of the journey,” Teper noted.

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This 5-year tech industry forecast predicts some surprising winners - and losers

Smartphone sales will grow in fits and starts, while tablet demand will wane. Large language models (LLMs) will boom, and demand for data management solutions will soar.

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Furthermore, these technologies will be "hot" -- or "not" -- over the coming five years. As projected by ABI Research in its latest upgrade on technology markets through 2029. Some surprises emerged. The consultancy examined 66 essential tech market shifts, with 33 poised for growth and 33 facing contraction. Below are eight leaders and eight laggards.

Large language models: LLMs will see 35% compounded annual growth over the next five years. ABI predicted: "Enterprise software spending on LLMs continues to grow rapidly as proofs of concept mature into scaled deployments embedded across entire companies."

Data management tools. The exponential growth of cutting-edge technologies such as machine learning and generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) will generate more than $200bn worth of data management opportunities worldwide by 2029: "The emergence of sovereign clouds underscores the need for more effective protection of personal and sensitive data."

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Smart home devices: ABI predicted technology offerings for home safety, security, and. Convenience will see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% through 2029, reaching total shipments of 500 million.

Smart glasses: "High-value extended reality use cases and novel devices like AI-enabled smart glasses will propel enterprise XR adoption, which will reach million shipments by 2029," ABI expressed.

Humanoid robots. Shipments of life-like robots "will pick up pace in 2025, reaching over 180,000 per year by 2030 -- regardless of technological maturity and. Practical value," forecasted ABI. "Driven by lowering costs and novelty, humanoid robots for service, hospitality, and entertainment will buoy demand in the near term."

Security software and services: High demand for 5G-based network security software and. Services will drive a CAGR of 30% for software and 35% for services. "A dearth of available experts," noted ABI, "prevents the growth of in-house security teams and drives the need for managed solutions."

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Warehouse management systems: Investment will reach $ billion, "driven by the introduction of advanced planning and analysis capabilities, as well as the increasing numbers of connected devices and automated material handling solutions requiring orchestration."

Data analytics for overall equipment effectiveness (OEE): ABI stated these solutions will grow at a CAGR of 13%: "With the increasing importance of data utilization, along with the never-ending goal for complete transparency into factory-floor operations, OEE is making a resurgence as a key stepping stone to effectively tackle these issues."

Tablet computers: Despite a 7% increase in 2024, tablet shipments will decline slowly through 2029, ABI predicted: "However, future demand may be driven by improved cellular attach rates with more aggressive pricing, new form factors -- foldable/flexible displays -- and. Adoption of AI aspects."

Smartphones: Though ABI projected billion smartphone shipments over the next five years, the market "has been maturing with demand being hampered not only by economic headwinds in recent years but also by a lack of compelling upgrades and lengthening replacement cycles." However, adding Gen AI to smartphones could provide a boost.

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Datacenter CPU chipsets: Declining from a 26% market share to 18% within the next five years.

Industrial blockchain: Revenue will fall almost 2% annually: "Most applications for industrial blockchain have failed to move past the pilot stages into successful commercial offerings," noted ABI. "Many of these do not provide a compelling enough use case that cannot be fulfilled by other technologies -- private networks, sovereign clouds, and. Emergent confidential computing technologies."

Cloud hyperscalers: "By 2029, with 7,800+ data centers globally, cloud hyperscalers face intense competition from colocation data centers as enterprises turn to localized entities," ABI stated. "Colocation facilities allow enterprises to partner with local providers that understand the local regulatory landscape, allowing greater control over their data and. Infrastructure."

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Security hardware: The CAGR for the next five years will remain modest at 7%, ABI predicted, buffeted by "the growing prevalence of software-based alternatives to traditional hardware security tools such as firewalls."

Robotics offline programming software: "Revenue will grow at a modest annual rate. Resulting in turbulent years for smaller software vendors. For robotics automation, service providers and original equipment manufacturers must provide programming software at a minimal cost to demonstrate the working viability of their products," .

Tethered and mobile-based VR devices: Shipments of these devices will plateau. mentioned ABI, "accounting for only 34% of all shipments by 2029. While standalone VR devices are expected to continue to see shipment growth over the next five years, the rate of growth is slower than previously expected."

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Even one year out. The future is difficult to predict in the fast-changing technology industry. However, ABI research displays the market favors more intelligent, cost-effective solutions. The researcher's projections are a guide to where the market will shift.

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Physical Intelligence Launches ‘Hi Robot’, Helps Robots Think Through Actions

Researchers at Physical Intelligence, an AI robotics firm, have developed a system called the Hierarchical Interactive Robot (Hi Robot). This system enables robots to process complex instructions and feedback using vision-language models (VLMs) in a hierarchical structure.

Vision-language models can control robots, but what if the prompt is too complex for the robot to follow directly?

We developed a way to get robots to “think through” complex instructions. Feedback, and interjections. We call it the Hierarchical Interactive Robot (Hi Robot). — Physical Intelligence (@physical_int) February 26, 2025.

The system allows robots to break down intricate tasks into simpler steps, similar to how humans reason through complex problems using Daniel Kahneman’s ‘System 1’ and ‘System 2’ approaches.

In this context, Hi Robot uses a high-level VLM to reason through complex prompts and. A low-level VLM to execute actions.

Testing and Training Using Synthetic Data.

Researchers used synthetic data to train robots to follow complex instructions. Relying solely on real-life examples and atomic commands wasn’t enough to teach robots to handle multi-step tasks.

To address this, they created synthetic datasets by pairing robot observations with hypothetical scenarios and. Human feedback. This approach helps the model learn how to interpret and respond to complex commands.

It outdid other methods, including GPT-4o and a flat Very Large Array (VLA) policy. By superior following instructions and adapting to real-time corrections. It achieves a 40% higher instruction-following accuracy than GPT-4o. Hence, it demonstrates superior alignment with user prompts and real-time observations.

In real-world tests, Hi Robot performed tasks like clearing tables, making sandwiches. And grocery shopping. It effectively handled multi-stage instructions, adapted to real-time corrections, and respected constraints.

Synthetic data, in this context, highlights potential in robotics to efficiently simulate diverse scenarios, reducing the need for extensive real-world data collection.

As seen in an example below. A robot is trained to clean a table by disposing of trash and placing dishes in a bin. It can be directed to follow more intricate commands through Hi Robot.

Building on these developments, this system allows the robot to reason through modified commands provided in natural language. Enabling it to “talk to itself” as it performs tasks. Moreover, Hi Robot can interpret user contextual comments, incorporating real-time feedback into its actions, such as handling complex prompts.

This setup allows the robot to incorporate real-time feedback, such as when a user says “that’s not trash”, and adjust its actions accordingly.

The system has been tested on various robotic platforms, including single-arm, dual-arm. And mobile robots, performing tasks like cleaning tables and making sandwiches.

“Can we get our robots to ‘think’ the same way, with a little ‘voice’ that tells them what to do when presented with a complex task?” the researchers mentioned in the firm’s official blog. This advancement could lead to more intuitive and flexible robot capabilities in real-world applications.

Researchers plan to refine the system in the future by combining the high-level and low-level models, allowing for more adaptive processing of complex tasks.

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