Analysis Of Technological Trends And Their Impact On Business
The population of the earth at the moment is about 7. 5 billion people, out of these; about half have access to the internet. Also, about two-thirds of the world’s population owns a cell phone. It is anticipated that the wave of technologies coming next will reach every corner of the globe.
It has been anticipated that in 2018, many new technologies will emerge and that science fiction might even become reality (to some extent). There are some key technological trends that are to be watched out for now and beyond. One of them is the mash up of the Internet of Things (IoT), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR) and cloud/edge computing using machine learning and it is very probable to dominate technology. It is said the Artificial Intelligence (AI) will add to the U. S. economy a massive amount of $16 trillion in GDP by 2030.
Another trend to watch out for is the business applications of AR coming on the scene. AR (Augmented Reality) fuses the physical and digital worlds together. It is what brings about animations and data points that cover what we can see. AR presents an opportunity for us to learn visually which will help us significantly because most of us are visual learners.
Experiences created by Virtual Reality and Mixed reality are rather immersive and are now altering how human beings interface with machines and the digital world. The applications for Virtual Reality are becoming more and more each day. For example, it is being used in psychotherapy to help people with phobias to overcome them. It is also used by physicians in the place of cadavers to attain better patient outcomes.
It is being projected that wearable technology will increase by 40% per year through 2022. Technological trends are moving in the direction of embedding wearable technology into existing products. An example of a company that is doing this is Levi’s. Levi’s is making fabrics that will swipe phones. Other companies are also inventing experience-specific wearable technology; an example is such as Carnival Cruise Line’s Medallion watch which can be used to guide carnival guests to dinner and opening their rooms on the ship.
Cryptocurrencies are now recognized as legitimate currency and blockchain is becoming more established. The promise of cryptocurrencies is coming into focus. The applications can be best used by third-world countries that may not have a central bank or intermediary to govern transactions, it is also most viable to a businessman who is looking to avoid costly credit card fees. Blockchain is “a tokenized ledger that allows trusted parties to exchange commercial transactions. ” It is becoming more established in the financial sector.
With the growth of technology and with everything becoming more digitized, hackers are becoming more by the day and they are moving faster than security firms can handle. This means that cybersecurity is becoming a bigger business. There is an estimate of about 285, 000 job availabilities for cybersecurity alone. With Internet of Things (IoT) on the verge of entering homes everywhere, a wave of cyberattacks has been anticipated which means that cybersecurity is needed now more than ever.
Out of all the technological trends that are to be expected, the biggest is the advent of the 5th generation mobile (5G). It is anticipated to link millions of devices and provide processing speeds that will allow downloading of large files (e. g. a movie) in a second. Industries that are data-dependent (e. g. the health care industry) will be one of the primary beneficiaries. The 5G technology is expected in 2020-2021. The rate at which technology is changing is quite fast and it can be difficult to keep up and there’s tendency to follow the “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” method. Although, in the world we are in today, lagging behind in technology can be very dangerous for a business because technology is very important when it comes to the effectiveness and efficiency of a business. After discussing all the technological trends that will affect businesses now and in the near future, it is important to talk about how keeping up with these trends can help businesses and also how businesses can stay ahead.
They can help to improve customer service. In order to make sure that you are providing your customers with best service you can and increasing their satisfaction rate, it is important to make sure that all systems are working as efficiently as possible. All customers want effortless service that they can get without any inconveniences. By keeping abreast with the current technological trends, achieving that efficiency that guarantees customer satisfaction will become almost seamless.
As new technology is developed, the efficiency and effectiveness of systems worldwide are on the rise which means they work faster and better than previous systems brought about by previous technologies. By staying current with the new technologies, you can improve the systems of your business, making them run faster and better which will streamline operations and make life easier for you as a business owner.
Competition in the market today is getting fiercer each day with more and more people joining the industry every day. The only way to stay ahead of the competition is to have an advantage and what better advantage to have than the advantage of ever improving technology. Staying up-to-date with technology helps prepare businesses for new customer expectations. It also increases your relevancy and customer appeal, which will help you stay ahead of the competition.
Using old technology and old systems puts businesses at risk of systems breaking down and because the technology is old, spare parts may be harder to find which will make repairs and maintenance quite expensive. Upgrading systems on the other hand, will cost money up-front and will be better viewed as a business investment as it will help stay ahead of competition as earlier discussed and will also save money for repairs and maintenance down the line.
In order to keep up with the technological trends, a business owner needs to define his IT strategy. Defining the IT strategy means assessing the technological needs and evaluating the resources that are available, so he will be able to narrow down the technological needs of his business. By doing this, he will be better equipped to stay ahead of them.
Another way of keeping up is to invest in scalable bandwidth. By doing this, a business owner puts his business in a position to accommodate and encourage growth. With scalable bandwidth, an internet provider can increase the broadband speed in response to a change in short-term and long-term needs. This allows for efficient running of the business and also encouraging room for growth. By doing this, the business is in a better position to adapt to changes in technology without slowing down other areas of operation.
There are many programs that will send push notifications to remind the owner that it is time to update your software while others will update automatically, although there are some that will never notify you when it is time to upgrade. As part of the business’ IT strategy, it should make automating software updates a priority to make sure that you aren’t using old versions of your existing software.
As a business owner, one is not meant to be reactive to latest trends in technology. Most of the time when new technology is about to be released, there is usually talk or news about it a long while before it is finally released. A business owner should always make sure his IT team analyzes each new technology and assesses whether it is relevant to his business.
It is very important to note that whether we like it or not, technology is ever moving forward and in order to stay competitive and relevant in the business world, business owners everywhere need to stay current with the changing technological trends. This will help businesses get the most out of technology and make the right investments moving forward.
