So we’ve had another year go by and a new start when it comes to leaps in technology. As every business finds a way to promote, streamline, or to manufacture in a new and exciting method, there will be leaps in technology to help with that. While we can fantasise about what the future holds in 20 years time, what does it mean for business right now? What tech and trends can you, as a business, utilise to get ahead of the game?
IoT
This is one of the most exciting waves of new tech. IoT stands for the “Internet-of-things,” and the crux is based on communication between machines. With the increase in cloud computing, machines will start to gather data, and make everything “smart.” Put simply, it will be a way for systems to gather information from customers without the need for people to do the work anymore. As a signpost to what will happen, we’ve already seen CRM systems do a lot of work to bridge the relationship between consumer and company. IoT will be a completely indispensable system process for any customer-oriented company very soon. Currently, it looks like there will be some advancements in smart tech, but at the moment, there isn’t much collaboration between the bigger companies to develop this.
Automation
This is one where, as a standard menial worker, you may need to learn a few more skills to become useful in the company! It is looking like automated processes will become a lot more widespread over the next few years, which is slowly making admin and data entry tasks redundant, especially when your company needs productivity to be the indicator of big business. And it raises the question, who is a better worker? Man or machine? We have seen how automated functions work really well in a factory or in a manufacturing setting, and there are many companies that specialise in industrial robotic automation for a low cost and without the needs of much human interference. With these machines having options such as “easy-teach,” it is proving to be a very effective component in the menial industries.
Machine Learning
Machine learning is using what you have searched for on the internet to provide recommendations. Machine learning has not made too much progress in the last year, apart from on apps. However, in the coming year, it looks like it will be an essential fixture in the marketing sectors. Machine learning is quite prominent in apps like Facebook or Pinterest, which brings up suggestions based on your search history. This is now looking to expand into completely different types of apps, which will build up the interface between consumer and computer. This is very much becoming the norm on all aspects of consumer culture, and you may have noticed when scrolling on your Facebook app recently, that it is recommending things a lot more frequently based on your internet usage. No doubt as the years roll by, this type of process will become smarter and more efficient, but for now it is very much the norm on the bigger apps.
