Where is the technological journey heading next year? Gartner has compiled the ten most important technology trends for 2020. The market research company confirms that these trends have the potential to bring about considerable disruption and open up new opportunities in the next five to ten years.
The trends do not exist in isolation from one another. Therefore, an important task for companies is to decide which combination of technologies is best suited to drive innovation. It is also important to consider and evaluate technologies in a business and human context.
Hyperautomation
Hyperautomation takes systems and users to a new level. It refers to the combination of automation tools that makes all steps of the working life significantly easier for the human being. The goal is to intervene in a supportive manner wherever people perform repetitive activities. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) forms the basis of this trend.
Multiexperience
Technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) are already changing the way people perceive and interact with the digital world. In the future, new types of human-machine interfaces will be added and provide multi-sensory and multimodal experiences. How users experience the digital world will change fundamentally through multiexperience by 2028. There will be a change from technology-enabled people to people-enabled technology.
Democratization
When people have easy access to technical and business expertise, this is called democratization of technology. This also means that expensive and time-consuming training becomes unnecessary. Democratisation focuses on four key areas: Data and Analytics, Application Development, Design and Knowledge. IT laymen gain access to tools and expert systems that allow them to perform tasks beyond their own capabilities.
Human Augmentation
How can technology be used to improve a person’s cognitive and physical experience? Human Augmentation deals with this question. Scenarios in which technology is implanted into the human body also play a role here. It also includes intelligent clothing and devices (wearables). Cognitive augmentation optimizes the human ability to think and make decisions. This is made possible by accessing information and using applications on conventional computer systems, which improves the ability to learn.
Transparency and Traceability
As personal data is a valuable asset, it requires strict control. Companies increasingly recognise their (ethical) responsibility when it comes to collecting and storing personal data. Governments adopt strict laws to ensure the necessary security. Transparency and traceability play an important role with regard to digital ethics and data protection. Artificial intelligence and machine learning, as well as the ownership, control and protection of personal data, come into focus.
Empowered Edge
Whenever Empowered Edge is mentioned, allusion is made to a decentralisation of content. Edge computing is a topology in which the collection, processing and provision of data takes place close to the place where it was created. The trend is gaining ground in virtually all industries and use cases as increasingly sophisticated and highly specialized computing and storage units promote edge computing. The Internet of Things (IoT) with complex edge devices such as robots, drones, autonomous vehicles and operating systems is accelerating this change.
Distributed Cloud
In a way, this trend heralds a new era of cloud computing. While most public cloud providers previously offered centralized models, the distributed cloud will distribute cloud services across multiple locations. However, the public cloud provider remains responsible for operating, managing, updating and developing the services.
Autonomous things
Autonomous things are physical devices that become more independent with the help of artificial intelligence and take over tasks that were previously reserved for humans. As their number increases rapidly, they will evolve from independent autonomous things to collaborative swarms. This means that several devices will be able to work together independently of humans or in response to human input. However, autonomous things cannot replace the human brain. They work best within a narrowly defined framework.
Practical Blockchain
In business ecosystems, block chain technology offers the possibility of conducting transactions confidentially, transparently, comparatively quickly and at low cost. Since assets can be traced back to their origin, the risk of trading in counterfeit goods is significantly reduced. This applies to more and more sectors, whether it be normal supermarket shopping. When paying at the gas station or gambling in a Online Casino Schweiz. In the case of foodstuffs, the supply chains can be traced back to the producer. The same applies to suppliers in an industrial supply chain. And the block chain can also play an important role in identity management.
AI Security
New technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning bring potential security vulnerabilities and may open doors for cyber attacks. There are three key perspectives with regard to AI security: the protection of AI-based systems, the use of artificial intelligence to improve security defences, and the early detection of misuse of artificial intelligence by attackers.