It’s that time of year again – time to start identifying trends for the coming new year! Gartner has come out with their list of Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2016, and we think that it’s looking like an exciting and innovative year ahead for business technology.
Here are some of the trends that are coming up, according to Gartner:
- The Device Mesh: This trend refers to what types of methods, or endpoints, people will use to access information or interact with others. According to Gartner, this includes mobile devices, wearables, home electronic devices, etc. Gartner claims that, “While devices are increasingly connected to back-end systems through various networks, they have often operated in isolation from one another. As the device mesh evolves, we expect connection models to expand and greater cooperative interaction between devices to emerge.”
- Ambient User Experience: The dawn of virtual reality is upon us, and the ambient user experience trend means that “user experience preserves continuity across boundaries of device mesh, time and space.” This means that the user can experience a blend of environments including physical, virtual and electronic that incorporates an array of different devices.
- 3D Printing Materials: 3D printing is becoming increasingly more common in a wide range of industries using a wide range of materials. In fact, you can purchase objects that have been 3D-printed on websites like Amazon! Gartner predicts that the use of 3D printing will continue to expand over the next 20 years, and we will see an increase in the types of materials that will be printed using this method.
- Information of Everything: As new devices are developed and are able to communicate with each other, more and more information is used and transmitted. “This information goes beyond textual, audio and video information to include sensory and contextual information.” Gartner predicts that information will be able to be more easily analyzed.
- Advanced Machine Learning: “In advanced machine learning, deep neural nets (DNNs) move beyond classic computing and information management to create systems that can autonomously learn to perceive the world, on their own.” These DNNs will automate the new and complex information that comes in from different data sources. They enable machines to seemingly learn and act on their own.
- Autonomous Agents and Things: Are robots finally going to become widely used? Maybe not yet, but autonomous machines like robots, self-driving cars and other smart machines will likely become more common. Included in this category are virtual personal assistants (VPAs) like Microsoft’s Cortana and Apple’s Siri. “The emerging notion of assistance feeds into the ambient user experience in which an autonomous agent becomes the main user interface. Instead of interacting with menus, forms and buttons on a smartphone, the user speaks to an app, which is really an intelligent agent.”
- Internet of Things Platforms: According to Gartner, “The technologies and standards in the IoT platform form a base set of capabilities for communicating, controlling, managing and securing endpoints in the IoT.” The platform will make sure that data is transferred effectively from endpoints.
Which trends are you looking forward to, or expecting to see?
by The TM Group