Top Technology Trends for 2021 That Are Changing the Way We Work and Live

Technologies are rapidly evolving. For some people, this trend has become so habitual that they no longer try to follow it but simply take the changes for granted.

However, tracking technological trends is not just about curiosity. Understanding which way things are going allows us to better prepare ourselves for the future and make changes to our plans now. Furthermore, this approach applies both to businesses, ensuring their competitive advantage like this, and us — ordinary citizens. For example, we can consider such things when choosing a future profession.

In a word, it is always helpful to understand the technology movement vector. Next, we will share our vision on six global technology trends that are significantly impacting the economy and our lives right now, and their impact will become even more noticeable in the nearest future.

Artificial Intelligence Becomes a Conventional Reality

Startups and software using neural networks and other artificial intelligence technologies are already available in almost every niche. Cognitive technologies, using computer vision, speech synthesis and recognition, simultaneous interpretation and other features to solve various tasks, are particularly promising.

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Self-driving cars, face recognition, and the world without language barriers are just some of the opportunities that come along with their practical application. By and by, AI algorithms will move beyond routine things and start solving increasingly complex tasks like making management decisions.

More “Smart” Things and Automation

Voice-enabled and voice-controlled loudspeakers, smart kettles and light fixtures — there are more and more of such things in everyday life, and people have already appreciated having them at hand. However, IoT devices, being massively used in the industry, will offer a real breakthrough. The potential effect of the cyber-physical systems’ mass integration into production has already been called the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The main feature of the Internet of Things is its autonomy. It allows automating processes at such a level where factories operating with minimal human intervention are no longer perceived as science fiction but a close reality. Countries, which will become leaders in this area, will achieve very tangible economic benefits.

Ubiquitous Internet

Internet access becomes even more necessary in times of total mobile technology utilization and transferring computing capabilities to the cloud (remote servers).

Moreover, the more widespread Internet access becomes, the stronger it affects the economy in a good way. Suffice it to mention how the spread of 3G/4G communication tech boosted the growth of the e-commerce industry.

In this context, it is worth mentioning the governments’ and corporations’ initiatives aimed at maximizing worldwide access to high-speed mobile Internet.

Digital Transformation on the Move

Lvivity’s experience of working with corporate customers located all over the world allows me to confidently say that the next couple of years will be dominated by the digital transformation for most businesses. Innovation technologies in skilled hands can be a powerful tool for competition and market capture.

The question of using digital technologies to streamline internal business processes (and customer engagement) is beyond all doubt. The true question is when to start the process. Moreover, it is definitely not worth procrastinating with it, taking into account that digital transformation can be quite time-consuming.

Trust and Privacy Come to the Fore

More and more Internet users are starting to realize that the services they use for free are not really free of charge. Actually, their personal data is the fee, and corporations use it not only for advertising but for other purposes. Moreover, there is always a risk that malicious users can get access to it.

Over the past year, Facebook alone has faced a large range of privacy breaching and user manipulation scandals. The news was not just widely reported in the press but eventually caught the regulators’ attention and forced the tech giants to take appropriate action themselves.

In 2020 and beyond, people will increasingly trust those companies and businesses whose earnings and capitalization do not depend on user data seling. New attempts to legislatively regulate the issue (say “hi” to GDPR) are also inevitable.

Augmented Reality (AR) — The Next Big Thing

After Apple and Google provided virtually every modern smartphone owner with a possibility to use augmented reality technologies, we can expect a new round of boosted interest in this development segment. Education, shopping, navigation, the gaming industry are among many more potential applications of AR technologies.

In fact, it is the augmented reality technology segment where we can expect the emergence of some popular startups with the potential of reaching a wide audience and delivering substantial economic dividends. Unlike VR (Virtual Reality), potential users need no separate device because they already have everything necessary in their pocket — a habitual smartphone.

So, if we try and summarize all stipulated above, we can come to a simple conclusion — processes will become increasingly automated, technologies will be more accessible, private data protection will gradually become a priority, and business digital transformation will be a flagrant necessity.

Companies and people have to acquire an important ability to adapt quickly to the changing world to gain both commercial benefits and life quality improvement. They have to embrace innovation and progress as an opportunity but not to take it as a risky venture.