It’s already one week into 2019, so it’s appropriate to think about technological trends that will dominate the IT industry during the year of the pig. 2018 was quite a year in terms of technologies, and most likely, 2019 will not lag behind as well. A lot of opportunities await, but an eager entrepreneur should be careful about trying to juggle too many balls at once and rather should stick to whatever their company does the best. Always remember that our game is not about the trends but about quality and making the world a little more convenient place to be. However, knowing tech trends can help you better manage your investments and implement relevant solutions.
1. More Automation!
Automation is great; we need more of it, and we most certainly will get more. 2019 will bring more apps and technologies that will automate some repetitive stuff so more people can do what they do the best – stay creative and use more of that amazing brain power to improve lives.
And don’t be afraid it will not render half of the population jobless. As it already has happened before with industrial revolutions: the tools made some professions obsolete but also gave birth to a whole bunch of new activities that people should handle.
2. Blockchain is Growing Useful
Cryptocurrency is not the only application for blockchain technologies, and there are a lot more to the blockchain. The concept of a decentralized and secured network that blockchain provides is great, and people, who realize its potential, continue working with and investing in Blockchain technologies. Yeah, 2018 was not the best year for blockchain: cryptocurrencies were in freefall while investments in the technology were decreasing. However, we already have different blockchain platforms, like Hyperledger, that help create some useful programs, such as voting systems. And apparently, this year Blockchain technologies will take a huge breath of fresh air. So, in 2019:
–Walmart is going to start using its private blockchain system as a food supply tracker.
–The International Exchange plans to launch its own digital asset exchange with custody services for cryptocurrencies, providing the infrastructure that is required to boost investments in digital money.
-At least, 15 central banks are interested in investing in digital currencies according to the report from the International Monetary Fund.
3. AI-Human Collaboration is Closer
Yes, AI development does not seem to stop anytime soon. Apparently, because the idea of an intelligent machine performing different routine tasks of various levels of complexity is way too difficult to resist. The next most probable and important destination for AI technologies to seriously invade is software development. Despite all the creativity that programming involves, there is still a lot of repetitive tasks that could be automated and handled by AI.
In the future, it is quite possible that with the help of AI-assisted development tools laymen and laywomen will be able to develop basic applications themselves without any particular programming knowledge. Don’t worry software developers, your skills will be required for more advanced stuff, as always.
4. IoT Expansion
People want to do less while having a more comfortable environment, and “smart” surroundings can provide both. It is quite an obvious prediction that connected devices will continue to intrude on our lives and change the way people interact with the world. It is important to remember though that security will be one of the most important focuses of IoT development considering all the data-fleak scandals of the previous year.
5. Autonomous Vehicles
Whether it’s cars, agricultural vehicles, or drones people want them autonomous because it’s convenient, profitable, and awesome. In 2019, companies will continue to explore the possibilities of autonomous things to get humanity closer to our science fiction dreams and roads to science fiction safeness. Digital giants, such as Uber and Lyft, invest millions to make it a reality and pretty likely that 2019 will demonstrate some practical fruits of these investments.
6. Enhanced Data Science
Amounts of data to analyze grow exponentially, so data analysts and tools they use should adapt to the ever-growing informational masses. The automatization and AI will come in handy for sure (Gartner predicts that more than 40% of data science tasks will be handled by AI), but another important step is to implement natural language generation to deepen the results of data analysis and also provide more meaningful results immune (even though not completely) to subjective bias. Also, it will make the spooky realm of data science more accessible.
7. E-Commerce Does not Stop
E-commerce is convenient no doubt, and people are lazy no doubt as well. The continuous rise in E-commerce sales is most certainly will happen in 2019 as more and more businesses go digital while the buying power of the developing nations increases. The few lucky will be able to get a significant chunk of emerging markets to sell their products.
8. Machine Learning and AI Protect
Cybersecurity is an issue that boggles the minds of the millions if not billions. So. it is very time to leverage the power of AI and machine learning to enhance cyber defense and create systems that can predict and protect sensitive data against cyber attacks.
9. Augmented Reality Augments Apps
Augmented Reality is a lot of fun. And businesses know that where the fun is, the profits can be obtained. Therefore, it is very likely that 2019 will introduce our new applications that demonstrate novel ways of using AR while already existent apps will implement AR to improve user experience and also bring even more fun into the digital realm.
10. Software Outsourcing Will Continue to Disrupt Markets
Software Outsourcing is big, but going even bigger as the world continues to recognize all the benefits it provides. As the number of technologic savvy in the developing countries increases so will the number of outsourcing agencies and the number of employees in the already existing ones. It is not even a prediction but rather a fact that was confirmed by the events of the last decade.