The 7 biggest technology trends for the year 2021
The year is coming to an end, and it’s a good time to take a good look at the technology trends that all companies and professionals need to be prepared for. We are in the midst of the 4th Industrial Revolution, and technology is evolving faster than ever. And companies and individuals who don’t keep up with some of the major technology trends risk being left behind. Understanding the major trends will enable individuals and companies to prepare for and take advantage of opportunities. But now is the time to look ahead and identify the most important trends. In this article, you will discover what are the seven most imminent trends that everyone should prepare for in 2021.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the most transformative technological evolutions of our time. Most companies have begun to explore how they can use AI to improve the customer experience and streamline their business operations. This will continue into 2020, and while people will become increasingly accustomed to working alongside AI, designing and deploying our own AI-based systems will remain an expensive proposition for most companies. For this reason, much of AI applications will continue to be done through “as-a-service” platform providers, which allow us to simply feed our own data and pay for algorithms or compute resources as we use them. Currently, these platforms, provided by companies such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft, tend to be somewhat broad in scope, and custom engineering (often expensive) is required to apply them to the specific tasks an organization may need. During 2021, we will see broader adoption and a growing group of vendors likely to start offering more tailored applications and services for specific or specialized tasks. This will mean that no enterprise will have an excuse not to use AI.
5G data networks
The 5th generation of mobile internet connectivity already gives us super-fast download and upload speeds, as well as more stable connections. While 5G mobile data networks first became available in 2019, they were still mostly expensive and limited to operating in confined areas or large cities. 2021 is likely to be the year when 5G really starts to fly, with more affordable data plans, as well as greatly improved coverage, meaning everyone can join in the fun. Superfast data networks won’t just give us the ability to stream movies and music in higher quality when we’re on the move. The huge increase in speed means that mobile networks will be more usable even than the wired networks that reach our homes and businesses. Businesses should consider the business implications of having super-fast and stable Internet access anywhere. Increased bandwidth will allow machines, robots and autonomous vehicles to collect and transfer more data than ever before, leading to advances in the area of the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart machinery.
Extended Reality (Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and 360º Video)
Extended Reality (XR) is an umbrella term that encompasses several new and emerging technologies that are used to create more immersive digital experiences. More specifically, it refers to virtual, augmented and mixed reality and 360° video. Virtual reality provides a fully digital immersive experience in which you enter a digitally generated world using headsets that blend the real world. Augmented reality superimposes digital objects on the real world through screens. And finally mixed reality (MR) is an extension of AR, meaning that users can interact with digital objects placed in the real world. Like a holographic piano that you have placed in your room through an AR headset that you can play. These technologies have been around for a few years, but have been largely confined to the entertainment world: the Oculus and Vive headsets offer the latest in video games, and smartphone features such as camera filters and Pokemon Go-style games are the most visible examples of AR. From 2021 onwards, all this is expected to change, as companies grapple with the wealth of exciting possibilities offered by the two current forms of XR. Virtual reality and augmented reality will become increasingly prevalent for training and simulation, as well as offering new ways to interact with customers.
In a world where human interaction is increasingly reduced, and with the rise of telecommuting, applications such as virtual showrooms, virtual work meetings, virtual tours and other services will experience an unprecedented increase in demand.
Autonomous driving
While we are not yet at the stage where we can routinely travel in, or even see, autonomous vehicles in 2021, they will undoubtedly continue to generate a significant amount of excitement. In addition, other systems in the car that are not directly related to driving, such as safety and entertainment functions, will become increasingly automated and will rely more and more on data capture and analysis. Google’s sister company, Waymo, has just completed a test of autonomous cabs in California, where it transported more than 6200 people in the first month. It won’t just be cars, of course – road and maritime transportation are becoming increasingly autonomous, and advances in this space are likely to continue for years to come. As autonomous driving technology matures, we will also hear more and more about the actions that will be taken by regulators, lawmakers and authorities. Changes to laws, existing infrastructure and societal attitudes are likely to be necessary before autonomous driving becomes a practical reality for most of us. During 2020, we are likely to start to see the debate around autonomous driving spread outside the technology world, as more and more people come around to the idea that the question is not “if,” but “when,” it will become a reality.
Personalized and predictive medicine
Technology is transforming healthcare at an unprecedented pace. The ability to capture data from wearable devices such as smartwatches offers the potential to increasingly predict and treat people’s health problems before they even experience any symptoms. When it comes to treatment, the trend is toward much more personalized approaches. This is called precision medicine, which allows doctors to prescribe drugs and deliver treatments with greater precision. This is thanks to a data-driven understanding of how effective they may be for a specific patient. While this is not a new idea, thanks to recent technological advances, especially in the fields of genomics and AI, it is giving us a greater understanding of how different people’s bodies are better or worse equipped to fight specific diseases, as well as how they are likely to react to different types of drugs or treatments. Throughout 2021 we will see new applications of predictive healthcare and the introduction of more personalized and effective treatments to ensure better outcomes for individual patients.
Blockchain
Blockchain is a technology trend that is like a digital ledger used to record transactions, but secured due to its encrypted and decentralized nature. Continued investments by companies like FedEx, IBM, Walmart and Mastercard in recent months are surely starting to pay off in the real world, and if they can prove their worth, could quickly lead to increased adoption by smaller companies. If you want to keep track of these technologies, just keep an eye on Two Reality‘s blog and social networks, where we’ll be updating you on the latest in technological advances, especially in virtual reality, augmented reality and 360º videos, to make your personal and professional life easier.
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