The thing with technology is that it is always changing and dynamic. Technologies rise, and in due time, they become obsolete. Some have been around for quite some time but have never really hit primetime just yet. Others reign for so long that they change the way things are done forever.
Because it is close to the end of the year, it is high time that we take a look at the technology to watch out for in 2005. According to Gartner, here are some of the IT trends that you should expect in 2015.
- Computing will become more ubiquitous. You might think that computing is everywhere now because of smartphones, but it is about to become more universal with smart wearables. From fitness trackers to health monitors to smart watches, there will be an influx of wearable computers in one form or another in 2015.
- 3D printers will be more popular. Sales of 3D printers worldwide is forecasted to almost double in 2015, and then another doubling in 2016. The inexpensive devices used in the process, as well as the increase in industrial usage will fuel the increasing popularity of 3D printing. 3D printing makes it possible to have a cost-effective means to have products with better designs, to come up with prototypes quickly and to manufacture things faster.
- Analytics. With the influx of data coming from sensors, embedded systems and other sources, analytics will not be far behind. The huge amounts of data will be useless and businesses would need to be able to gather these data and analyze them. Plus, they would need to make sure that the insights are delivered to the right person at the right time.
- Context-rich and aware systems. Because of the rise of embedded systems, data, and analytics, we would be seeing systems that are aware of their surroundings. These systems will be able to respond to what is happening around them. For example, a context aware system can use location and time of day to decide whether to allow you access to its data, or if you need to authenticate your data request first before doing so.
- Machines and devices will become smarter. 2015 will see the rise of smarter machines. These smarter devices will be able to use advanced algorithms to understand and interact with the environment, while also learning about user behavior. They will be able to act autonomously. Self-driving cars, autonomous robots and other machine helpers would be commonplace.
- Cloud and client computing. Today, the merging of mobile and cloud computing has given rise to apps that synchronize content and application states, as well as ensuring that your app is portable and works efficiently over multiple devices. In the future, you will have applications that are managed and coordinated in the cloud, allowing it to be delivered to any device you might have. This will also usher in applications that make full use of your devices, including wearables and IoT gadgets.
Other technology trends to watch out for include:
- Software-defined storage, data centers, security and networking.
- Web-scale IT, wherein ordinary businesses would begin to build their infrastructure and applications they way Web giants such as Facebook and Amazon do.
- Risk based security, wherein security is built into the applications, allowing the app to protect itself.
- The Internet of Things.
If you want to take advantage of these up and coming technologies, act now so that you won’t be left behind.
Photo by Ververica.
