IT ever continues its evolution in the wake of new technologies, software enhancements, SEO, and even AI. Remaining competitive in a technologically driven market then requires staying aware of big trends, especially those for an upcoming year. To give you an idea of what to look for, here are five trends to watch for in 2019.
1 – NLP and Automated Assistance
Natural language processing is expected to expand in complexity for the coming year. In short, it’s how chatbots and AI services respond to customer inquiries through – you guessed it – chat programs. This is big for a couple reasons: one, it marks the next step in automated assistance, where general questions are handled by an intelligent, non-human workforce.
It also means the way AI processes human questions is getting smarter, and we expect that to feed into a variety of services. Keep an eye on this and see how it might influence your own customer service model.
2 – Cloud Interconnection
Unsurprisingly, cloud models will continue to advance in order to meet the nuanced demands of their client base. However, beyond the scope of private, public, and hybrid models, “multi-cloud” is the next expected step.
A variety of new options may soon appear, with the mentioned cloud models connected to each other. This is good because companies can’t rely on a “one size fits all solution.” What if your business needs the accessibility of a public cloud, but its own private network as well? Providers like Amazon and Google are likely to answer with their models.
3 – More Blockchain
As many still scratch their heads over the deployment of blockchain, it’s still emerging as a secure way to commit to transactions, send data, and protect information.
This doesn’t mean you’ll see an accessible blockchain model (yet). It’s a complex system still rooted in cryptocurrency. Tech leaders like IBM are looking for ways to create the layperson’s version of blockchain. If successful, it will likely change the way transaction models and data are used.
4 – Big Data (Again)
Big data isn’t going anywhere because everything is so data-driven. And despite how reliant business models across the world are on this deluge of information, only a fraction of it is utilized, analyzed, and turned into meaningful results.
With the growth of AI analytics and a slew of other services (some of which we’ve mentioned here), expect there to be a greater emphasis on taking this information and turning it into something meaningful.
5 – Augmented Reality
No, not quite virtual reality. AR has a place in the workforce as a valuable training tool falling under just about every industry. While it’s far from mass adoption, the ability to instruct a workforce and teach specialized skills under the safety of an AR setting can really change how we modernize the next generation of employees.
2019 will bring greater changes to tech development, but these are just a few to expect in the new year. Keep an eye out for said trends and even more as the next year appears.
