We live at a time when there are a lot of technology trends that are coming out and taking hold. There is, however, a long list of technologies that are aimed at making our lives a little bit better. But what are the technology trends that you should be looking at?
What can you expect? For 2018, we are seeing changes in every area of technology. Artificial intelligence and machine learning have the potential to also bring in automation. Smart homes and even smart cities will be able to take advantage of smarter devices and better Internet of Things. Machines will also be able to interact with people in a more natural manner. This would make interactions between humans and machines easier and may even bring about changes in how people live or work.
Here are the top four technology trends that are making people sit up and take notice in 2018.
1. Artificial intelligence for the enterprise will help businesses come up with more competitive strategies.
Artificial intelligence is the capability of machines to process data and information just like how humans think and make decisions. This means that machines can mimic humans when it comes to solving problems, making decisions, and learning.
Using artificial intelligence in your business is no longer just hype. In fact, there are now real-life use cases for artificial intelligence in the enterprise. It is considered to be among the most significant technologies today. More and more businesses are realizing the value of including artificial intelligence as part of their processes.
Artificial intelligence helps change the way businesses communicate and engage with their customers. AI also introduces innovations into their operations and processes, and even evaluate their sales. Organizations that use artificial intelligence can now extract data from various sources and then use data driven intelligence for their strategies and decisions. Most of the tasks automated by or delegated to artificial intelligence is more or less data driven. This means that even when these are done with minimal human intervention, it is still easily measured.
Artificial intelligence in the enterprise has many different forms. It can be the problem solving application that you are using or the social intelligence tool you have. It can be that chatbot that takes care of your customers or that reasoning app you use. But one of the most widely used types of artificial intelligence involves predictive analytics.
Predictive analysis combines data mining, statistics, modeling, and machine learning. This is to help you analyze and interpret current and even real-time data to create forecasts and predictions.
2. Discovering new opportunities with blockchain.
Blockchain is a distributed database that stores all of your digital transactions. It does not need a third party to authenticate transactions. Thereby reducing transaction costs because you do not have a point of verification. Blockchain also guarantees faster transactions.
Is it any wonder that blockchain technology trends is forecasted to be worth at least $20 billion by 2025. This is up from “only $315.9 million in 2015”. That translates to an annual growth rate of 58.7 per cent from 2016 through 2024. According to Transparency Market Research, this growth is fueled by the fact that you do not need middlemen to verify online payments using blockchain. It also decentralizes information and automates different transactions.
Blockchain is also getting a lot of press because it is the technology behind cryptocurrencies. But there are other areas where blockchain technology could also be used. This includes music, healthcare, smart property, smart contract, and other industries outside of the financial sector.
3. A new “as a service” offer: cybersecurity.
In 2018, cybersecurity will be offered via the cloud, in a model that is very similar to software as a service and infrastructure as a service. This new approach to security and privacy will rise because cybersecurity will be at the center of every business process.
If you do not have a dedicated IT team in house, you would not be able to keep up with all the things you need to do. This is regarding to securing your network, data, and computers, among other things. That might stop some businesses from innovating and taking advantage of the latest technological innovations.
Cybersecurity as a service is a mixture of processes and best practices. It is delivered by a third party to protect your data, systems, and networks for any attacks, unauthorized access, and breaches. Instead of being viewed as a capital expense, it is considered as an operating expense. This is because it involves protecting confidential data, managing the security of your network, and allowing you to address security issues and incidents as they happen.
4. The Internet of Things will be smarter.
Over the past few years, the Internet of Things has become one of the mainstream technology trends. There is now a long list of devices that can be used in a variety of ways and use cases. Already, we are seeing some of the biggest tech companies dabbling in the Internet of Things for their devices and products. These include Intel, Amazon, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Google, and Apple. There are also a lot of technologies that are used with the Internet of Things now. These include near field communication (NFC), Z-wave, Zigbee, RFID, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth Low Energy.
So is it any surprise that the Internet of Things is expected to explode to become a $1.5 trillion market worldwide? The estimates are already very impressive for 2016, when the market stood at $334.22 billion.
The optimism is not baseless. The Internet of Things has helped several cloud computing platforms to manage energy and storage related issues. Plus, the demand for more data and information would increase, and you can get this cost effectively and efficiently with IoT.
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The year 2018 is a very good year for technological improvements and advancements, especially when these technologies enable businesses to get more data, to save money, to simplify tasks, and make their tasks a whole lot easier to do.
Photo courtesy of Gerd Leonhard (Flickr).
