2018 is set to be a huge year for tech. While 2017 saw tons of improvements to things like AI, the cloud, and blockchain, 2018 is shaping up to be even bigger when it comes to the future of the tech world. In this blog, we're going to predict some of the top technology trends for the upcoming year to help your company prepare for the new year.
It's no secret that cloud integration is one of the biggest changes companies are going through right now. For those that haven't switched yet, 2018 very well may be the year they do so. Governments and larger enterprises have been slower than small companies to make the switch. The biggest barriers to cloud adoption has been security and data privacy risks, however processes and mechanisms to mitigate those barriers have been in place for a while. Most cloud companies heavily invest in security features, which is helping larger businesses feel more comfortable in integrating the cloud into their business.
Home assistants like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa were popular in 2017, especially as holiday gifts, so it's fairly safe to say that this trend will only increase in 2018. The futuristic devices have become fixtures in tons of homes, providing instant weather reports, controlling home lighting systems, and even ordering pizzas for consumers. As these assistants become more widespread, we can expect to see more and more third party apps being created for use with them - as well as further concerns about privacy.
Granted, Pokemon GO has changed the AR game in the last few years, however in 2018 developers will have more tools than ever to play with AR in new and creative ways. Apple's ARKit and Google's ARCore are bringing AR development to third party companies, allowing for developers to create AR experiences in ways we never imagined possible. And, of course, along with all the benefits AR can have in the medical, design, and architecture fields, we still have Pokemon GO creator Niantic's upcoming "Harry Potter: Wizards Unite" game to look forward to in 2018, which surely will bring business benefits in ways similar to Pokemon GO did in its inaugural summer.
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Along with the AI used in personal assistants like Amazon's Alexa, AI is becoming more and more prominent in the enterprise through AI-powered chatbots. This powerful tech can change the way a company does onboarding, streamline sales, and allow for 24/7 assistance. As chatbots become more mainstream through means such as Slack and Facebook Messenger, companies are beginning to see the value in creating AI-powered chatbots to ease some of their team's heavy lifting.
Blockchain provides as secure, distributed, unique system of records that allows companies to have a strongly encrypted authentication mechanism. This in turn prevents malicious users from breaking in. With security, especially cyber security, becoming a huge concern in an modern age, this technology makes huge changes in enterprise security. In 2018, Blockchain adoption is bound to increase, especially in the banking and healthcare fields.
Of course, there will be brand new tech trends in 2018 we can't even dream of now. But for right now, these are what we predict to be some of the bigger issues, solutions, and items that will change our 2018 for the better.