Technology, in recent times, is evolving at an accelerated rate. It’s not just technology or trends that are changing; a lot of things changed this year due to COVID–19. This made the IT professionals realize that they had to do something to cope with tomorrow’s contactless world. The 2020 pandemic has prepared us to become very much experienced with uncertainties. It also taught us the importance of technologies and how much we rely on them.
Those who have been following industrial and digital trends know the importance of staying tuned to what is changing in all spheres of technology. Here’s an overview of how the major trends and changes are going to play in 2021. You can watch for these trends if you’re planning to work from home or possibly try to secure a job that will be created by these technology trends.
Most Advanced Tech Releases in 2021 – New Products in Development 2021
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Artificial Intelligence (AI )
AI or Artificial Intelligence has already created a buzz in the past few years. In 2021, it will help us more to understand the world around us. AI is known for its image and speech recognition, smartphone personal assistants, navigation apps, and so much more.
Other than these, AI will work to analyze interactions to determine underlying connections and insights. This will help predict demand for services and enable authorities to make better choices about resource utilization.
For businesses, Artificial Intelligence will help to understand the changing patterns of consumer behavior as more activities will take place online like, meetings, shopping, and socializing in the virtual working environment. Artificial Intelligence is spreading rapidly, and it will create new jobs and employment opportunities like programming, testing, maintenance, and support. Moreover, AI also offers one of the highest salaries making it the leading technology you should watch out for.
Robotic Process Automation ( RPA )
Just like Artificial Intelligence, Robotic Process Automation, or RPA, is also creating jobs. RPA uses software to automate the business workings such as carrying out transactions, dealing with data, replying to emails, etc. While the pandemic has caused economic and logistic havoc on global enterprises, the RPA industry is becoming more popular in turn. It’s because RPA requires no coding efforts and can perform repetitive tasks 24*7.
The recession due to COVID – 19 has forced the companies to shift towards automation to improve overall operational performance and cut back on the cost of manpower. On the other hand, RPA provides plenty of career opportunities that include developer, business analyst, project manager, etc.
Augmented Reality ( AR) and Virtual Reality ( VR )
AR and VR have continued to gain popularity in the last few years. These techs have had a significant effect on various industries, including entertainment. VR immerses a user in the environment while AR enhances that environment. Though this technology has been used for gaming so far, it is now training the US Navy, Army, and Coast guard ship Captains. With increasing popularity, AR and VR are also used in professional development courses. For instance, people studying any hazardous or complex areas can train without actually facing danger and getting involved in it.
Both AR and VR look to improve drastically in the coming years. It’s because AR and VR have enormous potential in training, educating, entertainment, marketing, and even rehabilitation after a severe injury. It’s vital to note that getting started in VR doesn’t need much-specialized knowledge to land you a job; you just need basic programming skills and a creative mindset to think of the future. You can look for these job positions :
Content Producer
AR and VR Content Writers
Product Management
Software Engineer
UI and UX Design
Quality Assurance
Internet of Things ( IoT )
Another promising trend you can expect is the Internet of Things or IoT. IoT refers to many physical devices connected to the Internet, all sharing and collecting data. IoT trends in 2021 will focus on core needs such as health and safety efforts, but IoT in customer experience will also emerge.
As consumers, we have been using IoT already. We can adjust the temperature through voice commands; we can turn on the lights before entering a room, lock our doors through a remote, and preheat our ovens before reaching home. However, businesses will also gain from IoT in the coming years. It can speed up medical care, improve customer service, efficiently support decision making, and whatnot.
Suppose you’re looking forward to entering this field. In that case, you should have knowledge of Information Security, AI, machine learning concepts, hardware interfacing, knowledge of embedded systems, and thorough design knowledge.
Cyber Security
Cybersecurity has been around for a while, but it is evolving as every other technology is on our list. It’s because online frauds and threats are constantly new, and the hackers who want to access our data illegally are not going to stop soon. Hackers have successfully found ways to get through even the most challenging security measures, which is why cybersecurity technology is being adapted to enhance security. Till the time we don’t have hackers, cybersecurity will continue to become an emerging trend in the coming years.
The more challenging the field, the more income it generates for an individual. There are many jobs like an ethical hacker, security officer, or security engineer for someone who wants to pursue a career in this field.
Blockchain
Many people think of Blockchain as a technology that powers electronic currencies like Cryptocurrencies, but it offers security, which is useful in many ways. If we say in simple words, it’s an electronic ledger that can be shared among various users but can’t get altered. What makes it so secure is that you can only add to this data but not alter or take it away. After new data is saved or added into a block, it cannot be erased. Also, the system is decentralized; hence it’s not needed to pay the centralized entities.
Several industries are adopting blockchain, and that increases the demand for professionals in this field. If you are interested in making a career in this field, this might be the best time to do so. The rise in this trend will create many job positions such as Blockchain quality developers, Blockchain engineers, Legal consultants, or attorneys. To get into this field, you need to know programming languages, relational and flat databases, networking, and web app development.
Edge Computing
Just like the trends we mentioned above, edge computing is also getting famous day by day. This technology is based on the thought of bringing computing power very close to the data source. This technology works to run fewer cloud processes and shift those processes to the locations such as edge servers. Bridging this gap enhances the speed of the whole process. This is why people use edge computing for managing time-sensitive data stored in remote locations with limited reach to the central location. This technology will contribute to making IoT devices faster.
Experts estimate that the edge computing market will be worth $ 7 billion by 2022. Industries like healthcare, manufacturing, and retailing will adopt this trend. This, in turn, will create great job opportunities for those who want to become Edge Computing Professionals.
Wrapping Up
Technology is evolving at a rapid pace. As more funds are being spent on research and development, experts and computer scientists are constantly working on upgrading technologies to get the most out of them. As a result, a lot of new trends and techs are launching every year.
When the pandemic hit the world last year, it also forced tech industries to come out and perform extraordinarily. It won’t be too much to say that life after 2020 has been dependent on technology.
These were the emerging technology trends for 2021 and how they’ll affect our lives as well as for those who want to pursue a career in those fields.
