Back then 30-40 years ago, if people were told about online shopping, social media platforms, self-driving cars, and many more such things – they surely would have made fun of it. But now, as we all know, we’re heavily relying upon such technologies like Flipkart, Uber, Facebook, YouTube, etc. In fact, we’ve already seen in the last few years that how newer technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Internet of Things (IoT), etc. have conquered the tech world and overpowered numerous other outdated technologies. This depicts the fact that how rapidly the technologies are evolving and how important is to stay aware and updated with the latest technological trends for shaping businesses or careers accordingly.
In addition, the key point to notice here is as per the reports of various standard platforms and organization – the year 2020 has paved the way for various tech transformations in the coming years due to the global outbreak and its effect on businesses and lives – and eventually, 2021 is expected to show us a major impact on the technological advancements and their implementation. For instance, tech domains like the Internet of Behaviors, Quantum Computing, Automation have seen a sudden increase in their demand & popularity rate and topping the charts of the most favorable tech trends for the year 2021. Hence, it becomes more crucial to know about all these in-demand technology trends.
Here, in this article, we’ve compiled a list of these top 10 technology trends, for the year 2021, that you can consider to advance your business or can learn to make a worthwhile career in the tech world:
1. Internet of Behaviors (IoB)
If you’ve heard about the Internet of Things (IoT) then let us tell you the Internet of Behavior is also extended from the IoT. In simple words, IoB concerns with the utilization of data and insights to bring a behavioral change. It can be taken in a way like the IoT devices are acting as the huge data sources for the Internet of Behavior (IoB) paradigms. With the help of IoB, businesses will be able to monitor consumer & their behaviors and can take its advantage for their respective platforms. For example, a health-tracking application can get the data regarding your physical activity routine, diet, sleep, etc. and this data can be used to bring further behavioral change such as by providing you customized health plans, etc.
Reports say that by the year 2025, around half of the global population will be tracked digitally and fall under an Internet of Behaviors (IoB) tool. However, what you all need to know is alike IoT, IoB is also quite volatile and will depend on the goals and outcomes – for example, if cybercriminals would have access to such sensitive data they can use it for various digital crimes.
2. Hyperautomation
Though many of you would have already known about Hyperautomation as it is currently the talk of the town across the tech world, especially after the global pandemic situation when automation has become the only savior for various businesses. It is basically concerned with the utilization of advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotic Process Automation, Advanced Analytics, Business Process Management, etc. for automation purposes. However, if you’re considering it as another term for ‘automation’ then wait…unlike automation, hyper-automation describes the level of automation too along with defining the automating tasks and processes.
Hyperautomation will surely become a most-to-go tech trend for businesses in the coming years for achieving optimal and efficient streamlined work processes. It holds the potential to leverage businesses with some remarkable features such as automated processes, greater productivity, greater compliance & reduced risk, accurate insights, and much more. As a matter of fact, Hyperautomation was ranking at the top position on Gartner’s top 10 strategic technology trends list for the year 2020.
3. Edge Artificial Intelligence
Going down with the list, here comes another prominent technology trend for the year 2021 – Edge Artificial Intelligence or you can say the future of Artificial Intelligence! What it simply means is in Edge Artificial Intelligence, the AI algorithms are processed at the local level i.e., Edge AI takes and processed the data to the nearest point of user interaction whether it be a computer or an Edge server, or any other device. Amazon Alexa, Google Maps, Drones, etc. are some of the common examples that are supported by the Edge AI. By integrating Edge Artificial Intelligence, businesses can reduce costs and latency times, can enhance the security level through local data processing, can preserve the bandwidth, and much more that subsequently will also help in building great customer experiences.
As per the reports, the Edge AI market is expected to reach around $1.12 trillion by the year 2023. However, it won’t be wrong to say too that Edge is replacing the cloud but it should be taken in another way as Edge technology will provide new additional possibilities and tech advancements in the coming years.
4. 5G
5G technology is indeed one of the trending technology and need of the hour also as almost every major technology whether it be Cloud Computing, Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain, Virtual Reality or any other primarily rely on better Internet connectivity. The traits of 5G technologies like high internet speed, lower latency, better efficiency, high throughput, etc. will take the internet connectivity game to the next level and help in unleashing a new realm of technological possibilities for various other technologies and businesses. It would be easier for you to understand the 5G scenario with this fact – 5G is 10 to 100 times faster in comparison with the 4G network. The 5G connectivity will help businesses to become faster and more efficient than ever before
Meanwhile, it has been predicted that the number of 5G connections will cross the 1 billion figure across the world by the year 2023-24. Again, 5G technology is a very crucial tech trend to consider in 2021 as it is not only about the telecommunication domain or higher internet speed but it will impact almost the entire tech world.
5. Cybersecurity Mesh
When almost the entire world is going digital, cybersecurity is indeed one of those tech trends that will see significant growth in its demand and popularity in the coming years. Also, as data is becoming the most valuable asset for any organization, there is a need to protect these data and information from any kind of cyberattack or data breach. If we particularly talk about Cybersecurity Mesh, it provides you with a more flexible and distributed approach for cybersecurity measures. It enables the security perimeter to be defined around the identity of a person or thing. In more simple words, with the help of Cybersecurity Mesh, anyone can get access to any digital asset in a secured manner – without depending on the location.
As per the Gartner reports, Cybersecurity Mesh will be one of the major tech trends for the year 2021. However, let’s see how organizations will adopt the Cybersecurity Mesh as it provides them with a great advantage of defining the security divider around people instead of the whole company.
6. Distributed Cloud
The Distributed Cloud technology trend is here to bring the game of Cloud Computing to the next level. It is concerned with the distribution of public cloud services to distinct geographical locations with being centrally managed by the original public cloud provider for operations, updates, delivery, and other related tasks. It will help in fulfilling the service requirements from the individual cloud locations separately instead of providing them with a centralized solution. Meanwhile, the organizations are surely going to get benefited from this tech trend by reducing latency, minimizing data loss risk, and cost-reduction. In addition, the technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence, etc. that require processing huge data in real-time will also get impacted positively with the advent of Distributed Cloud technology.
Furthermore, considering the prediction of several renowned reports like Gartner, etc. that by the year 2025 many of the cloud platforms will provide at least some distributed cloud services that execute at the point of need – it is obvious to watch out for Distributed Cloud technology trend in 2021!
7. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are one of those trending technologies in the tech world that have grown significantly in the last few years and is expected to dominate in the coming years as well. Taking about these two technologies, when Virtual Reality (VR) is concerned with the creation of a simulated environment of the physical world with the help of computer technologies, Augmented Reality (AR) helps to the enhancement of that environment using computer-generated elements. They are having a wide range of use in numerous domains whether it be gaming, transportation, education, healthcare, or any other. For instance, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are getting preferred by the Ed-Tech platforms to make the learning experience better than ever for students.
The worldwide market for AR and VR is expected to reach around USD 150 billion in the next 3-4 years with a CAGR of more than 45 percent over the same period. Most probably, this stat would be enough for you to understand the need of getting aware of the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality tech trend this year.
8. Quantum Computing
Though Quantum Computing is not a very new name in the tech world – it has seen a huge spike in its demand in recent years. And especially, amidst the covid-19 outbreak, when it helped in preventing the spread of the pandemic virus and in the development of vaccines – it becomes more vital to take a look at this trending technology, Quantum Computing, in the year 2021. It is basically concerned with the process of computing that is primarily based on quantum phenomena such as superposition, entanglement, etc. The technology is having its potential use in various domains such as banking & finance, healthcare, logistics, and many more. Looking at the numbers, the worldwide market for quantum computing is expected to reach around USD 2.5 billion by the year 2029 – it is indeed showing some positive signs of the bright future of Quantum Computing in the tech world.
9. Total Experience (TX)
No one can deny the fact that the future is all about creating better and better experiences for everyone! And this new tech trend, Total Experience, evidently supports that. It basically refers to the integration of multi-experience with customer experience, user experience, employee experience in order to provide a better and unified overall experience. Total Experience (TX) will surely help the businesses to take advantage of situations like distributed customers, remote work, etc. The various technological advancements can be used to deliver TX for a more seamless and integrated overall experience for both – customers and employees. One of the major advantages of TX for businesses is that it enables the organization to share the information across teams and departments appropriately i.e., no more silos. In addition, Gartner has already predicted that the Total Experience (TX) will act as a key criterion in satisfaction metrics to outperform competitors in the coming years.
10. Blockchain
Lastly, here comes another popular technology trend of recent times – Blockchain. Though, many of the individuals have the wrong perception in their mind that Blockchain is all about cryptocurrencies – which is absolutely not true. Cryptocurrency or bitcoin is just a fragment of the entire Blockchain technology. Apart from the cryptocurrencies, it is being used with numerous other domains as well like healthcare, supply chain & logistics, advertisements, etc. It is actually a decentralized digital ledger that maintains the records of each transaction executed across the network of computer systems around the world. The demand for blockchain technology is rising rapidly as various enterprises are looking for Blockchain platforms to develop top-level business solutions. The major reason behind such enormously rising popularity of Blockchain is the amount of security-level and transparency it offers. As per the reports, the global market of blockchain technology is expected to reach around USD 20 billion by the year 2025, and that perhaps would be enough reason for you to keep it on your tech radar for the year 2021.
So, these are the top technology trends that you all are recommended to watch out for, in the year 2021. Also, if you have read the article thoroughly – you must have found out that all these tech trends are somehow related to each other. For instance, the emergence of the 5G tech trend will have a positive impact on IoT, AR, and VR, etc. Hence, you don’t need to worry about which tech trend is worthwhile for you or not as knowing about all these tech advancements will enhance your knowledge and give you an edge over others. Getting aware of these technology trends will surely reward you with some better career and business opportunities!
