In the 21st century, technology has been seen to evolve at a rapid pace, allowing for quick progress across all sectors. Industries that fail to keep up with some of the risks of the evolving trend being left behind, in terms of preparedness and opportunities. Here, find a list of the most imminent tech trends to explore.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) as-a-service
While artificial intelligence has received a lot of buzz in the last decade, it remains to be one of the most transformative tech evolutions to date. According to a recent PWC report, AI productions will by 2030 contribute to over 15.7 trillion dollars to the global economy. A majority of companies are now exploring this technology to enhance customer experience and their internal operations.
Although it is a trend that will take the center stage in 2021, deploying and designing the system will be expensive for the average business. In that case, the applications will largely be sourced from providers as a service. This is whereby companies will only be required to enter their data and pay for the algorithms.
The platforms are mostly provided by Google, Microsoft and Amazon, and are considered to be broad. In order to apply them to a particular task, a business may be required to apply custom engineering, which can be expensive. In 2021, a broader number of providers may feature, allowing companies to get more specific applications for particular tasks at a more affordable cost.
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Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Like Machine Learning and AI, RPA automates jobs. It involves the use of software for the automation of processes, including processing transactions, replying to emails, applications interpretation and handling data. Ideally, it automates repetitive tasks. Today, CIOs are turning to this technology to streamline operations and reduce costs.
With RPA, employees can dedicate more time to productive activities and leave rule-based operations for automation. With this technology, it becomes possible for a company to configure the software to interpret or capture applications. This makes it possible to reduce staffing expenses and human error.
Gamification in Education
Gamification is a trend that has gained popularity over the last few years within the education sector. Of all the trends in the education industry, this is the top-most tech trend that has proven to guarantee an increase in student engagement, competition and participation.
For those looking to benefit from a wide array of resources, programs and insights to acquire AWS certificates, for instance, it is all about increasing scores and improving performance. With gamification, learners tend to be more actively involved. It incentivizes them to practice and improve the learning process.
Cloud Computing
This is one of the tech trends that has been largely magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Microsoft now says that in the last few months, the demand for cloud services has seen a spike of 775 per cent. In 2021 and beyond, this is a tech trend that is expected to be implemented across every app.
One of the reasons Cloud Computing has been on high demand is because most people were forced to work remotely following lockdowns in many countries, something that triggered the increased use of online learning models. Most companies had to implement video conferencing to keep business running.
5G Networks
5G is the technology that follows IoT. It is expected to give superfast upload and download speeds with more stable connections. While the networks became available in 2019 after the launch of the Motorola 5G phone, they were expensive and only operational within certain areas. With the likes of Apple looking to feature in 2021, it could be the year when the 5G data network may gain more popularity, bringing more affordable plans and better coverage.
Internet of Things (IoT)
IoT will make it possible to predict and treat medical issues using smart medication containers and IP sensitivity for all body parts. In 2019, according to a report by Statistica.com, there were roughly 26 billion IoT devices, with the number expected to rise to 75.44 billion by 2025.
This technology has also been seen to be a major player in edge computing, whereby computation and data storage are now closer to their points of action, thereby bypassing latency.
Blockchain Technology
The pandemic crisis has brought the lack of connectivity within the global supply chains into the light. In the future, resiliency will be largely dependent on connective, interoperable and transparent networks.
The blockchain technology has been seen to be a top supporter of the fight against the pandemic. For instance, it is being used to track the outbreak of infectious diseases, manage the crisis and secure medical supply chains. With this technology, a company does not need to entrust a third party with the overseeing or the validation of transactions.
2021 will mark the third decade of the 21st century, a year that will converge most technologies and make business operations more exciting. Moving forward, organizations that embrace these technologies can expect to become more agile, stay automated and increase their productivity.
