Today, technology is developing, changing, and progressing at such a raid pace that it leads to the acceleration of the transformation speed as well. Yet the only thing developing isn’t just technology trends, or the newest Technologies, following the Covid pandemic like in many other fields, this field was affected, and a lot changed as well. IT professionals now realized that their roles in the contactless-remote World of tomorrow would not stay the same. An IT Professional will constantly be learning a new technology, forgetting another one or re learning one.

Most of the IT population is working from home, and if you want to make the best of your time at home here are the best 9 technology trends!

1.     Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning

2.     Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

3.     Cloud Computing ( edge computing )

4.     Quantum Computing

5.     Virtual and Augmented Reality

6.     Block Chain

7.     Internet of Things (IoT)

8.     5G

9.     Cyber Security

1.     Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning

Artificial Intelligence has gotten a lot of attention over the past decade, yet it still remains as one of the newer tech trends because the effects of AI are still at it’s early stages in our lives, workplaces etc. Visual and Vocal recognition, navigation apps, smart phone personal assistants, ride share applications and many more like this are already commonly known.

 Aside from this, AI will also be used more in monitoring underlying connections, determining insight, and analyzing interaction and allowing the users to make better calls when it comes to using resources. Aside from this AI will be used more and more to determine customer behavior patterns by analyzing nearby data, try and estimate demand towards services like hospitals etc. Real time analytics, improvement upon personalized experiences and increasing profits will be some of the focal points of AI and Machine learning. The AI market exceeded over 57 billion dollars in 2021 and by 2025 estimates show that this will transform into a 190-billion-dollar industry. New employment alternatives will be created with AI spreading its’ wings onto multiple sectors, opportunities in programming, testing, support, maintenance will arise.

A sub-set of AI, machine learning is also being used in various industries, and is creating a great demand for professionals. Forrester, robotics observation specialists, data scientists, automation specialists, and content curators estimate that %9 of all new tasks in the US will be handled by AI Machine Learning and automation by the year 2025 which makes this another tech trend to watch out for!

2.     Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

RPA or Robotic Process Automations is another technology that automates tasks. RPA is using software to automate certain processes like interpretations of apps, processing, handling data, and even answering emails. RPA automates recurring tasks that humans used to do.

Forrester Research estimates that RPA automation will threaten the employment of 230 million IT personnel (roughly %9 of  the global IT population ) however despite this threat, while changing how things work, RPA also creates new employment opportunities. McKinsey states that only %5 or less of the works can be fully automated, and %60 can be semi- automated.

3.     Cloud Computing / Edge Computing

Cloud computing was a new tech trend that needed to be watched from the earlier stages, with the market domination of big players like Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services ( AWS ) and Google Cloud, cloud computing has become mainstream recently. The popularity of cloud computing is still growing with many companies increasingly adapting to cloud computing.

 Now it’s not the tech trend that’s only developing, as the mass of the data that companies work with increases, companies have also noticed the cons of cloud computing. Edge computing was designed to counteract some of the points in which cloud computing was lacking like the delay due to cloud computing or transferring the data to a data center to be processed. With edge, one can handle the processing remotely, therefore you wouldn’t be locked down to a physical central location and one can use this technology to process time sensitive data remotely. In these scenarios IT plays the role of a mini data center.

As the use of IOT devices increases, edge IT will also increase. Estimates show that by the year 2022 edge IT market will reach 6,72 billion dollars and this tech trend will also create various different employment options primarily for software engineers which will only help contribute to the growth of the industry as a whole.

4.     Quantum Computing

The next interesting tech trend is quantum computing which is an IT method using quantum phenomena like quantum entanglement superposition etc. This intriguing tech trend plays a role in developing potential vaccines to help prevent spread the corona virus thanks to its ability to easily conduct queries for data independently from the source, tracking, analysis and making decisions based on the gathered info. Another field where quantum computing is used is banking high frequency trade and finance, here this trend helps detecting fraud and managing credit risk.

Quantum computers are much faster than ordinary ones, and Splunk, Honeywell, Microsoft, AWS , Google and other big brands are interested in innovation in this area. Estimates suggest that the market value of Quantum computing will exceed 2,5 billion dollars by the year 2029. In order to have a mark on this new tech trend one needs to be experienced in fields like machine learning, IT theory, linear algebra, quantum mechanics and the science of probability.

5.     Augmented and Virtual Reality.

The next exceptional tech trend is Virtual, Enhanced, and Artificial Reality ( VR, AR, ER ).

VR drags the user into a virtual environment, AR, augments this environment. While this trend was primarily used for gaming up to now, the US Navy and Coast guard has also adopted this trend to train ship captains, and they are using a simulation software known as VirtualShip.

In 2021, we can expect these technologies to be more integrated into our lives. AR and VR have tremendous potential when it comes to fields like, training, education, entertainment, marketing and even rehab after injuries. Like the Pepsi Max Bus Stop, this tech can be used in helping doctors perform surgery, give museum enthusiasts a deeper experience, enhance theme parks and even further develop and train the marketing industry.

Fun Fact: In 2019 14 million AR and VR devices were sold. Estimates suggest that the global AR and VR market will have a value of 209,2 billion dollars by the year 2022. More opportunities in this field are expected to arise and this game changing sector is expected to attract more professionals.

6.     Block Chain

Most people associate block chain tech with crypto currencies like bitcoin, however, blockchain offers many different beneficial security measures. Simply, blockchain can be defined as data that you can only add on to without changing it or taking some of it away. Hence the term Chain is there, essentially you create a chain of data. What makes blockchain so secure is that you can’t chain the previous blocks. Additionally, blockchains depend on unanimous consensus so no one can assume control over the data hence why you don’t need a 3^rd party to inspect or confirm/audit the data.

Multiple industries are taking advantage of of Blockchain technologies and as the use of blockchain increases the demand for talented professionals increases as well.

Gaining an expertise in blockchain can help your organization grow in different fields and increase your scope in various sectors.

          -Risk Analyst

          -Technical Architect

          -Crypto community manager

          -Front Edge Engineer

7.     Internet of Things (IoT)

Another promising tech trend is IOT. Most “things” are built with WiFi nowadays, which means they can connect to the internet, and they can connect to each other. This is how IOT has allowed for future device, household appliances, cars, and many other “things” to connect to the internet and share data.

As consumers we are already using IOT and benefiting from it. If we forget to lock our doors while heading to work, we can lock our doors remotely, we can pre-heat our ovens on the way home and we can keep track of all these things with our fitbits. Along with this, companies have a lot to gain right now and in the near future. IOT can gather data and analyze helping companies make better decisions, increase their security and efficiency. Pre-emptive maintenance, medical care, customer care and many others are just some of the fields that we can get benefits that we can’t even dream about .

We are at the beginning of this new tech trend, Estimates show that by the year 2030 IOT devices will exceed 50 billion, from smart phones to kitchen appliances, we will have a giant network of smart things connected to each other. The market value estimates suggest that IOT will have a 1.1 trillion USD value in the US by the year 2022. New technologies like 5G are expected to shape the market moving forward into the next years

8.     5G

Following IOT the next tech trend is 5G. 3G and 4G has allowed us to browse the internet, use data based services, spotify or youtube and much more. However 5G services are expected to revolutionize our lives. Google Stadia, GeForce Nor and many more cloud based gaming services are already taking advantage of this tech, combining this with AR and VR, they are revolutionizing this industry. Alternate expected areas of use are, in HD cameras in factories, to enhance security and traffic management. Smart network control, smart retail.

Verizon, T-Mobile, Apple, Nokia Corp, Qualcomm and almost all other telecoms providers are already trying to deploy 5G apps. 5G services are expected to be released in 2021, and by the end of 2021, estimates suggest that more than 50 operators in 30 countries will be providing 5G service.

9.     Cyber Security

Cyber security has been around for a while and therefore might not be considered a trending tech, however like other technologies, cyber security is also evolving. This is partially due to constant new threats. Malicious hackers trying to get a hold of data illegally aren’t going to give up any time soon, and they will always try to find a way around the toughest security measures.

As long as hackers exist, cyber security is going to be a trending tech field, because it will constantly evolve to deal with hackers.

The strong need for cyber security specialist is evident when we look at the data, cyber security employment ratios are expanding 3 times faster compared to other IT employment options. The need for proper cyber security is so high that estimates show that by the year 2021 6 trillion dollars will be spent on cyber security.

No matter how challenging a field it may be, keep in mind that some of the roles bellow still offer a very lucrative potential 6 figure income.

·       Ethical Hacker 

·       Malicious software analyst

·       Security Engineer