Top 5 Information Technology Trends To Define 2020

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The arrival of new technologies can disrupt and significantly change the shape of entire industries. We look at Information Technology Trends to define 2020!

Below, we will discuss the top 5 information technology trends we can expect in 2020, and what we should do to prepare ahead.

#1 Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), and its many different applications from machine learning to computer vision to robotics, have been the popular buzzwords in the past couple of years or so, and not without its reasons.

The fact is, A.I. technologies have developed at an amazing — or alarming — rate for the past few years. On the one hand, it opens up many new opportunities. On the other hand, many people fear that A.I. will bring negative effects, especially on the issue of employment and the workforce.

In 2020 and onwards, we can expect this trend to continue, if not to grow even bigger than before, probably with the release of more mass-reaching A.I. applications.

While there can be various different implementations of A.I., in general, we can divide them into two big categories:

Data Learning

Here, the A.I. is implemented to collect and analyze data, including changes in real-time. As a result, A.I. can analyze data far faster than humans ever could, and then can take the necessary decision based on this data, or provide suggestions for human users.

Automation

A.I. is able to take automated actions based on its data analytics process and has the ability to reprogram itself — what we know as “machine learning”. This opens up many different automation applications that are previously unavailable, for example, A.I. can analyze the trends on social media networks and automatically generate an appropriate post to capitalize on the trend. A.I. is also powering some of the marketing automation tools that help businesses streamline their marketing.

As a result, A.I.-related IT careers are increasing in demand, and employees with properly equipped skills will be very valuable in 2020 and onwards.

#2 Blockchain

The term and concept of “blockchain” rose to popularity especially thanks to the bitcoin craze in 2017. Blockchain was quickly regarded as a possible solution for the internet’s issue of trust.

With the Bitcoin crash, blockchain also experienced a bad rep throughout 2018, but 2019 saw it’s revival as the major technology with a huge potential to transform lives — both business and personal.

Blockchain is, in a nutshell, a decentralized, immutable record of data. The data is not managed by a single entity, but by a lot of computers interconnected in peer-to-peer. It’s transparent, decentralized, and democratized.

The blockchain technology opens up many different possibilities in various areas, not only in the cryptocurrency and finances industry.

Spotify, for example, has implemented blockchain to more effectively connect artists with versatile licensing agreements. Warranteer is a blockchain application in the retail industry to give consumers better information about the products they recently purchased and better services for possible troubleshooting.

In 2020 and onwards, we can expect to see more blockchain applications — possibly truly game-changing ones — across various industries.

#3 Quantum Computing

Supercomputing through the use of quantum technology is still a dream, but no longer a far-fetched one. In fact, Google claimed to have built the very first, functional quantum computer.

The system can only currently perform a single calculation — so it’s not yet practical — but it can calculate a really complex calculation of which today’s most advanced ‘classical’ computer will take 10,000 years, in mere 3 minutes and 20 seconds.

As you can see, the leap in speed is more than significant, and once we can get a practical system running, we can expect a major change in various fields, opening the possibility of implementations that were previously impossible.

With Google’s recent milestone, we can expect rapid advancements in 2020 and onwards, as more players will use Google’s research results to develop their own version of quantum computers. The competition to achieve “quantum supremacy” will intensify, and we can probably witness something even bigger than the invention of the internet in the next few years.

#4 Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality

Both Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) have been around for quite some time, but the technologies behind them are continuously being perfected. This allows the arrival of more practical applications for both VR and AR.

While VR and AR are the most prominent in the entertainment (especially gaming) industry, but practical and useful applications across various industries has been implemented.

For example, some airports have implemented AR-based guides to provide more efficient navigation for visitors. Gartner also predicted that by 2023, AR and VR-based technologies will be the norm in the U.S. medical industry, predicted to reduce emergency room visits by 20 million per year.

VR can also be a viable, more cost-efficient solutions for vocational training (i.e. military training), and can also provide solutions for the expensive customer service industry as an upgrade from chatbots.

As both the hardware and software requirements for VR and AR caught on, more applications in more niches will be possible. Professionals with AR and VR skills, as well as the related skills to produce the hardware, will be in demand.

#5 Privacy & Security

With the continuing rise of cloud computing, A.I., and the impending arrival of 5G, more and more data — both personal and professional — will be stored online.

While on the one hand, this will provide more simplicity and speed, on the other hand, this will leave a huge amount of data at risk of potential breaches.

The 5G connectivity, for example, will give us a significantly faster internet speed (currently, 10 times faster than 4G), but it will also mean that when someone breaches our system, they can steal the data also 10 times faster than before.

Cybersecurity and privacy will get more attention in 2020, and the trend has started even today with new firewall technologies, biometric recognition software to replace the password, redesigned systems, and so on.

Many companies are already aware of the potential weak spots in their system, and cybersecurity IT professionals will be more in-demand. On the other hand, IT professionals will be required to find practical solutions for possible security issues.

Conclusion

With the world of information technology has expanded into a really wide field comprising of many different things, we can certainly expect more trends to emerge in 2020 and onwards.

However, the 5 IT trends we have discussed above are expected to be the most prominent ones — and the most significant — with potential effects across many different fields and industries.

 

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