Latest Technology Trends That Will Impact Businesses in 2021
By: Vishnu Narayan
Tags: 5g, Sdgs, Business Development, Technology Trends, Blockchain

Throughout 2020 we have seen some impressive innovations in the technological world, and we, the public, can be a big bunch and when it comes to this business. Many factors can affect our appetite.

As I always quote when addressing future technology, we need to look at external factors that affect future outcomes. AI, 5G, Autonomous Vehicles and Blockchain were at the top slots in 2019. 2020 saw the rise of automated processes, self-curing operating systems, and databases and a significant increase in personal data security. Data eventually became a commodity on the radar for real value. The external impact of some high-profile media coverage (social network monopolization) has affected and changed the direction of digital currency and data protection and has given more importance to usage ethics.

But what do we plan in 2021 with all these in mind?

Data Privacy — Some significant improvements

I sincerely believe that significant improvements are coming this year focused on our data footprint. With the EU’s Global Data Protection Legislation as a primary influencer, more countries and states are now extending their data privacy laws. We will see more power for the user to govern whether, how, and where Countries will use their data. This, along with data retention, will be high on the 2020 agenda!

5G — super-fast connectivity

For 2019, 5G was selected as the prevailing technology, but 2020 will be the year of maturity. Upgrades to infrastructure and greenfield installations are set up to counter the enormous boom of connective device initiatives (38 billion are suggested to be in place throughout 2020). This will require faster and more efficient communications — which is possibly why we are moving the management of such devices to our networks' edge!

SDG’s been heard!

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) finally get the recognition they deserve, and it is the time! In 2019, we saw an increase in understanding of increasing climate change, natural disasters (fires), and our oceans’ contamination. Global media coverage has been drastic but successful in raising awareness of these issues. In 2020, we expect related sustainable technologies to be dominant (electric transport with SMART city approaches) and reduce our carbon footprint. The technology behind these worthy targets is tried, tested, and most under-utilized!

Automation is getting true!

IPA’s growth (Intelligent Process Automation) will continue as complex automated tasks build on RPA (Robotic Process Automation) initiatives and become more resonant and lateral, not vertical. Now we are going to start using more reference points to have broader automation. Healthtech, market automation (building on digital twin analogies), and AI with a twist would be good examples of this (finally, dependable use cases). We will also see the rise of the bot (again), which will question the position of certain technological functions. However, it is not all doom and gloom and for certain technical functions and managerial functions because we expect to see new automated bot manager positions.

Blockchain: Is it a buzzword? that is the question!

So, are we all over Blockchain as a buzzword? Yeah, 2021 will see the rise of many use cases with real business value as we gradually conquer the crypto stigma. Throughout 2020, we have seen many new and creative uses emerge, and most of them have been custom tech ventures. Applications that are layered over this technology will emerge to illustrate the use of cases that provide business value requiring less in-depth skill sets to be applied. Oracle Intelligent Track and Trace is one example of this.

Wait for more collaborations.

With the proliferation of connected devices required to report data use and manage diverse interconnectivity collaboration, we must look at how and where to connect! Expect more strategic collaborations (e.g., Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud) that provide a more straightforward solution and allow for more seamless interactions between services. Most global technology providers are now working together, which will only expand over the course of 2020, so let us plan for collaborative service delivery networks, which has to be suitable for the customer, right?

I am looking forward to this year’s technological evolution. So, as in a month, you can see what is in store for one of the biggest tech giants (Oracle) at Oracle OpenWorld’s London launch, which promises to display all of the above.