John Rampton
Despite the fact that I come from a non-tech background, I’ve made it a point to keep up with the latest tech trends. While it hasn’t been easy, I feel I’ve had to learn as much as possible about technology to remain competitive across all of my companies.
In fact, my dabbling even led me to establish a company completely founded on technology, Calendar. While my focus was on helping people better manage their time so they could get to the things that really mattered, it was clear that technology — digital calendars, apps, reminders — was at the center of people’s time management. That meant tech had to be at the center of mine — and our company.
Whether it’s using emerging tech to enhance the services we offer or how we market them, here are the eight trends I’m keeping a close eye on in 2019 and beyond.
1. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Artificial intelligence has been a popular topic for the past several years. And for good reason: Having machines capable of imitating human behavior and intelligence impacts how we all work and live. In fact, AI is expected to contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. Perhaps that’s why businesses are beginning to implement AI and the European Commission has asked member states to define a strategy regarding this technology.
A particular subset of AI that deserves special attention is machine learning. Machine learning is how computers use algorithms to analyze data. After noticing patterns and learning from them, computers can make predictions. For example, at Calendar, machine learning is used to identify the nuances of your tasks, schedule, and contacts so it can make smart suggestions about when and where a meeting should take place, as well as who should be included.
This tech will make your life much easier because it enables machines to do more tasks on your behalf, freeing your teammates to spend their time on high-level work. It’s also changing the job market: Machine learning was included as one of LinkedIn’s five emerging jobs in 2018.
2. Dark Social
Dark social is a term coined by Alexis C. Madrigal, a senior editor at The Atlantic. It refers “to the social sharing of content that occurs outside of what can be measured by Web analytics programs,” such as when a link is shared via email or WhatsUp instead of Twitter. Because of this, it makes referrals difficult to track and measure.
Because 73 percent of social sharing happens on dark social channels, this can have serious implications for businesses. To counter this, you need to develop a dark channel social strategy. Come up with bespoke content, encourage conversations with your audience, work with influencers, and avoid sales talk.
3. Blockchain
Blockchain has been discussed for years. However, thanks to the fact that it’s no longer exclusively associated with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, its full potential may finally be realized.
It’s predicted that the disturbed-ledger technology will create a staggering $3.1 trillion business value by 2030, thanks to its use in a variety of industries. For example, blockchain technology can be used for monitoring supply chains, sharing data, protecting copyrights, transferring titles, maintaining medical records, and running loyalty and rewards programs. No wonder it’s the second-fastest-growing job category.
4. 5G
As Lance Ulanoff points out in Medium, “the arrival of 5G-ready mobile CPUs and an improved infrastructure could mean a rapid rollout in 2019 — at least on the Android side.” For Apple users, support for the technology may not arrive until 2020.
“Unfortunately, Apple’s rumored decision might be a canny one, as it’s possible that the mismatch between 5G-ready handsets and available infrastructure may persist throughout 2019,” adds Ulanoff. As a result, this could push Apple’s 5G phase into 2020 or later. Until then, Ulanoff recommends avoiding being “fooled by tricky branding from the likes of AT&T.”
5. Autonomous Devices
Gartner listed this as the top tech trend for 2019. “Whether it’s cars, robots or agriculture, autonomous things use AI to perform tasks traditionally done by humans,” writes Kasey Panetta. “The sophistication of the intelligence varies, but all autonomous things use AI to interact more naturally with their environments.”
Autonomous devices are found across appliances, vehicles, drones, robotics, and agents, and they occupy four environments: digital, sea, land, and air. Because of this, we’re beginning to see both the workplace and home evolve. For instance, robots are already replacing people in mines, and you’ll have your pizza delivered by a self-driving car in the near future.
6. IoT
The Internet of Things isn’t an emerging technology. Like AI and machine learning, it’s been a buzzworthy trend for several years. However, IoT and business-of-life things (BoLT) are becoming increasingly popular.
One way this technology is being implemented is by syncing devices with your calendar. This way, you can control things like lighting, heating, and cooling through your calendar — ensuring when you arrive at the office, the lights are already on, the coffee’s been made, and the temperature is just right.
7. Digital Twins
“A digital twin is a digital representation that mirrors a real-life object, process or system,” Panetta explains. “Digital twins can also be linked to create twins of larger systems, such as a power plant or city. The idea of a digital twin is not new. It goes back to computer-aided design representations of things or online profiles of customers.”
Today’s digital twins are mainly used for predictive maintenance, such as “what-if” scenarios, real-time monitoring, and uncovering new business opportunities. Digital twins can also improve efficiency and processes. In the medical field, for example, digital twins of people or processes can be used to imitate surgeries.
8. Cybersecurity
This isn’t an emerging technology, per se, but with cyber threats constantly evolving, cybersecurity deserves your full attention. Case in point: Small business owners lose approximately $800,000 annually due to cyberattacks. What’s more, data breaches and cyberattacks can decrease productivity, create a negative customer experience, and harm your brand’s reputation.
Cybersecurity also needs to be top of mind outside of work — threats like identity theft can be extremely expensive and consume a lot of your time.
While there’s no surefire to stay 100 percent safe from cyberattacks, do your due diligence by following commonsense protocols, like avoiding attachments from unknown email addresses and reading up on the latest threats.
While these are the tech trends I feel are most important this year, there are plenty of others that deserve attention. Let me know what else we should be looking out for in 2019.
Courtesy: (linkedin.com)
