There’s no denying that we’re living in the 4th Industrial Revolution and technology is evolving at breakneck speed right now. Individuals and companies that struggle to keep up with major tech trends are running the risk of being left behind and becoming obsolete. Therefore, you must make every effort to understand the key trends that are going to shape the future and allow businesses and people to prepare for and grasp opportunities that will come their way.
Every year brings about more advancement in technology and with it a scope of completely new technology trends that will confound anyone. Youneed to keep a keen eye on major shifts and changes in technology as it will influence the future of mankind and businesses. That’s easier said than done, which is why we are going to make things simpler by sharing the 4 biggest technology trends everyone must prepare for in 2020.
1. Blockchain Technology
You may have heard about Blockchain Technology and its impact on the way businesses conduct transactions and secure valuable data. It’s a technology that has been scrutinized extensively ever since it came about, yet most non-tech-savvy people and businesses have no idea what it is and what use it has. That’s all set to change in 2020, which is shaping up to be the year of Blockchain technology.
To give you a refresher, Blockchain is a digital ledger that records transactions securely with its decentralized and encrypted nature. Some commentators have argued that this technology isn’t going to be useful and has been over-hyped. But that hasn’t stopped the likes of Mastercard, Walmart, IBM and FedEx from investing heavily in Blockchain.
If these big hitters could manage to prove what this technology is capable of with real-world results, it’s going to be a matter of time before smaller players start adopting Blockchain as well. Facebook has plans to launch its Blockchain-based cryptocurrency, Libra in 2020, and that’s guaranteed to create a major stir.
2. Extended Reality
Extended Reality (XR)is a term that describes several emerging and new technologies that are being used to create more immersive digital experiences. It refers to mixed, virtual, and augmented reality.
- Augmented Reality (AR)overlays objects in the digital world onto the real world through smartphone displays or screens, just like Snapchat filters.
- Virtual Reality (VR)offers a full digitally immersive experience where users enter a computer-generated world with headsets that blend out the real world.
- Mixed Reality (MR)is an extended part of AR as it allows users to interact with digital objects that are placed in the real world, just like playing a holographic piano in your room through an AR headset.
There’s nothing new about these technologies as they have been around for several years now, but they have generally been used in the world of entertainment. Think about the Vive and Oculus Rift headsets that offer state-of-the-art visuals in videogames and games like Pokemon Go offering the most visible AR examples to users.
All that is set to change from 2020 as businesses start getting serious about the wealth of opportunities presented to them by current forms of XR. Augmented and Virtual reality is going to be used extensively for simulation and training and offer a new way to interact with customers.
3. Computer Vision
Speaking strictly in computer terms, ‘vision’ generally involves systems that can identify people, objects, places, or items from visual images, which are collected from sensors or cameras. This technology is responsible for allowing your smartphone to recognize what part of the image is capturing the face. It also powers technologies like Google Image Search.
When we move into 2020, computer vision is going to be seen in technology and tools for a variety of uses. It’s going to be fundamental to the way autonomous cars are going to navigate their way around traffic and danger and will be used in production lines as computer vision cameras will be used to monitor equipment failures and defective products. It’s also going to allow security cameras to alert us about anything happening out of the ordinary without needing 24/7 monitoring.
Computer Vision is going to play a major role in face recognition, another major technology that will make waves in 2020. Everyone knows how useful facial recognition technology is when it comes to controlling access to smartphones and allowing airports to offer smoother customer experiences. However, when it is adopted and implemented everywhere there are going to be more cases and debates about how to use this technology because it has the potential to erode the privacy of others.
4. 5G Data Networks
Everyone is already super-excited about the 5th generation of mobile internet connectivity, which is predicted to provide more stable connections and lightning-fast upload and download speeds. It was in early 2019 that 5G networks became widely available but they were only used in major cities or confined areas and were extremely expensive.
However, 2020 is shaping up to be the year when 5G starts taking off as it is expected to come out with greatly improved coverage and more affordable data plans, ensuring that everyone has access to it. Having lightning-fast data networks will allow people to stream music and movies at a higher quality on the move, and increased speeds mean that mobile networks are going to take preference over wired networks currently running in homes and businesses.
Companies are already considering the implications of stable and super-fast internet access and what it will mean for their business. The increased bandwidth is going to enable autonomous vehicles, machines, and robots to collect and transfer data efficiently, which will have a ripple effect on the advancement of smart machinery and the Internet of Things.
Final Word
If you would like to follow these technologies and track all the latest developments in technology trends all you need to do is keep reading and following us on our website for more in-depth articles on them.
by Bobby J Davidson
We love our company and we love what we do. Check out the ‘Why Percento‘ page to learn more: Love of Technology and Business! As the President of Percento Technologies International, I provide day-to-day leadership to the company’s senior management and I am personally involved in the strategy, business development and sales activities of the firm.
The company was founded in 1999 with the purpose of providing a one call source for organizations in need of Enterprise IT Consulting and Management. We also provide a line of products in the boutique Cloud Server space with a touch of high-end website strategy consulting and design services. We personalizes the IT Service experience with a team approach, working with clients from diverse sectors of industry, including energy services, financial, legal, entertainment, healthcare, hospitality, retail and general and/or corporate business. percentotech.com/contact