Technology has now become a center point in businesses. In the business world, you’re only as good as the technology you use. The rapid evolution of technology and its impact on businesses and professions will not slow down anytime soon. Be it Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Learning, IoT (Internet of Things) or Augmented Reality, 2018 is surely going to be the game changer in stabilizing these all. Here are the top 7 technology trends to look forward to in 2018 and that will change the business scenarios globally:
1. Rise of cloud adoption in mid-sized & larger enterprises
The adoption of cloud has been a bit slower as businesses are concerned about costs, security and privacy. But now, businesses and governments have well understood these barriers. Governments and larger enterprises also now know that cloud is the future. They recognize that security and privacy concerns are handled very well by the cloud companies. As a result, they are becoming adaptable to cloud and cloud security.
2. Big Data and Machine Learning
There is already a bunch of companies like Amazon’s re-order feature and subscription services that cater customers’ shopping experience precisely to them. This is done by curating products by accessing data from social media or purchasing history. In 2018, this is going to only increase. More and more companies will look to combining user data with modern technologies like augmented reality and machine learning systems. This will aid them in improving customer service and making better-informed strategic decisions.
3. AI-Enhanced Systems
Many companies have already started using AI in their products, mostly to the customer’s benefit. 2018 will see far more companies adjusting their product design around AI. The use of AI will be much more for organizational security, business process automation, data loss predictions, etc. Investing in AI like chatbots for customer service, etc. transforms your data into useful business insights and actions without much ado.
4. Voice Activated Everything
The near future is all about voice. The war for domination amongst Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, Cortana and Bixby is clearly evident. Connected cars, fridges and many such things are making it clear that ‘Voice Activated Everything’ is going to be a thing in 2018. Be ready to exploit this opportunity within your own business / industry to make your product or service stand out. In March 2017, Microsoft has announced that it’s seen a 350% yearly increase of monthly active users to about 0.7 million users on its Cortana digital assistant.
5. Tightened data protection laws
One of the main concerns of businesses in adopting anything digital is security and privacy. From storing, transmitting, and processing the data, it is all changing to being digital. Due to more and more businesses adopting digital transformation, tighter data protection laws are very much needed. While some countries like India are coming up with data protection outlines, others will improve their current data protection framework.
6. Smart Automation
AI and business intelligence not only eliminate monotonous tasks but also improve automation technology. By integrating AI and automation, businesses can build healthy relations with customers by sensing and processing personality, tone and emotion and extracting personalized data. Intelligent automation is going to be a trend-setter, thus enabling them to advance problem solving, improve agility, and boost decision-making to attain extensive productivity gains.
7. IoT and Edge Computing
Tens of billions of connected things generate massive volumes of data from disparate sources .While cloud computing is adopted by many organizations, IoT experts are now starting to unleash the benefits of doing more compute and analytics on the devices themselves. This is edge computing. This on-device approach helps reduce dependence on the cloud, lower transmission costs, minimize error rate and thus, better manage the huge piles of data generated.
Are you ready to take the advantage of these technology trends?
In conclusion, 2018 is going to be the year of business transformation. With all the new technologies turning up and older ones taking a better shape, the opportunities are infinite. Adopting these modern technologies is the only way to stay ahead of the competition and to provide better customer experience. Are you ready to transform your business? We can help you in getting equipped with what it takes to be ready for 2018’s technology trends. Learn how.
