In the last ten years digital technology has revolutionised the world of work. If you’d paid good attention to technology trends maybe you would be ahead of the crowd on cloud computing, social media marketing and online sales platforms. Businesses that stay in touch with changing technologies are best placed to stay ahead.
So what do you need to know about to give your business that edge in 2016?
The infographic from Lucas Blake below shows the top strategic technology trends in the year to come. First, here’s our overview of the top new technologies on the horizon.
Internet of Things Platforms
Internet of Things (ioT) platforms are the systems that link all of the IoT together. So, if you have a smart toothbrush or toaster, the IoT plaform can enable them to communicate with each other. Imagine a modern day Wallace and Gromit breakfast routine, where brushing your teeth signals the toaster to go on and so on! If you can get smart objects to coordinate what else could you create?
Mesh App and Service Architecture
This factor acts as a unified model to build microservices linked together into applications delivered across devices in the digital mesh. Bringing together the various different entities of information, such as devices, apps, services, and microservices into a flexible architecture. This is where the apps extend across multiple endpoint devices as a means of coordinating with one another to produce continuous digital experience.
Autonomous Agents and Things
Autonomous agents and things are on the rise in creating new business opportunities. This may include robots, drones, driverless vehicles, virtual customers, smart applications and tools, smart security and operations, and smart enterprise apps. As such, the software based smart machines have a broader impact than a robot. Ultimately, rather than users having to interact with menus, forms, or buttons via a smartphone they are instead able to speak to an app which acts as an intelligent agent.
Advanced Learning Machine
This factor uses new types of models to infuse greater intelligence into systems. This basically moves beyond the classic computing and information management to create systems which have the ability to perceive the world on their own. Making these machines so intelligent are deep neural nets, also known as DNN’s. These deep neural nets are what enables hardware and software based machines to learn for themselves, using the finest details from the a broad abstract class of content.
Information of Everything
Information of everything is the means of making data meaningful as a means of creating smart machines that store, collect and share valuable, actionable knowledge sources across the business ecosystem. The information involved goes beyond simple text, audio and video information as a means of including sensory and contextual information. Using semantic tools and other such emerging data classifications and information analysis techniques enables us to bring valid meaning to the information that is present.
3D Printing Material
The 3D printers use advanced, multiple materials to create high-value innovation opportunities in many industries and industrial manufacturing. The idea of 3D printers, although they have been around for prototype purposes since the 1980’s aim to use a variety of materials that include resin, plastic or other materials and layer these as a means of building a physical model. The quality of these printers has increased and broadened over time and has been predicted to have a significant success over the next 20 years. Advances in this sector have already enabled 3D printing uses of nickel alloys, carbon fiber, glass, conductive ink, electronics, pharmaceuticals and biological materials.
Those are the defining trends of 2016 and beyond. See the infographic for a recap and overview.
Image: 3D printer via Shutterstock