08 Jan
Changes in the technology sector in 2021
Since march 2020, the world has dramatically changed due to the COVID-19. Many of us are now required to stay home, protecting ourselves and others from exposure. As a result, many of our daily tasks such as grocery shopping and ordering takeout must be done online to avoid person-to-person contact.
The difficult and unforeseen reality in which we have to live has influenced the development of technology in a way that we did not expect at the beginning of 2020. Let’s take a look at what the future unfolds for us.
Expansion of remote work and videoconferencing
Remote work and videoconferencing had seen rapid growth during the pandemic, and this growth probably will continue in 2021. “Zoom” platform which grew from a startup in 2011 to going public in 2019, now is experiencing a revival during the pandemic. Other existing large corporate tools such a Teams, Google Hangouts and GoToMeeting are also providing state-of-the-art videoconferencing systems, facilitating remote work across the globe.
There are many new developments in the remote working sector. Those tools trying to face the clients need and provide visual collaboration platforms enabling to create and share content, interact, track projects, train employees, run virtual team-building activities, and many more.
These tools also help distributed teams keep track of shared learning and documentation. Users can create a virtual office that replicates working together in person by letting colleagues easily communicate and collaborate with one another.
Contactless delivery and shipping remain as the new normal
All over the world we could noticed increase in preference for contactless operations, with various industries implementing alternative processes from contact deliveries. Food delivery was already a rapidly growing industry before the pandemic. Customers started to desire to minimize physical contact, so no-contact delivery becoming a new normal reality for all of us and offering drop-off delivery will continue in 2021.
The ability to change and offering customers a non-contact delivery has allowed many restaurants that previously did not use the drop-off option to survive. The world is changing and we must go along with it.
Flourish of telehealth and telemedicine
Institutions, especially in health care, are working very hard to lower the exposure of Covid-19 to patients and hospital workers. Many private and even public practices have started implementing more telehealth offerings such as doctor-patient phone conversation, video chats, A.I. avatar-based diagnostics, and no-contact-based medication delivery.
This not only makes our life easier when we’re sick but also protects us from unnecessary leaving home. We can also look at it as time-saving and especially as significant technology development.
Online education and e-learning as part of the educational system
Covid-19 has accelerated the growth of e-learning and online education industry. During this pandemic, 190 countries have enforced nationwide school closing, affecting almost 1.6 billion people worldwide.
There is a major opportunity with schools, colleges, and even coaching centers conducting classes via videoconferencing. Many institutions have actually been recommended to pursue a portion of their curriculum online even after everything returns to normal.
The issue of conducting classes in a way that would not involve the parents of children remains to be refined. The development of technology should make life easier for each side of the process. We have to admit that it’ll make everyone’s lives easier and it will be a change worthy of the 21st century.
The rapid growth of A.I., robotics, automation and IoT
In 2021, we expect to see huge demand and rapid growth of artificial intelligence and industrial automation technology. As manufacturing and supply chains are returning to full operation, manpower shortages will become a serious issue. Automation, with the help of A.I., robotics, and the internet of things, will be a key alternative solution to operate manufacturing.
Artificial intelligence can be used to predict future virus spread and developing early warning systems by extracting information from social media platforms, calls and news sites and provide useful information about the vulnerable regions and for prediction of morbidity and mortality. When used wisely, AI can bring many benefits to society.
Increased development of 5G infrastructure
5G networks are the next big thing in all-round mobile internet connectivity. After a very short time of development in some zones it has finally become a reality. It offers phenomenal transmission speeds that far exceed its archetype, 4G. Also, since we’re talking about gigabytes at each successive transfer speed, 5G is faster than virtually any home broadband access.
Increase usage of virtual and augmented reality
Augmented reality and virtual reality have grown significantly in 2020. These immersive technologies are now part of everyday life, from entertainment to business. The arrival of Covid-19 has prompted this technology adoption as businesses turned to the remote work model, with communication and collaboration extending over to AR and VR.
The immersive technologies from AR and VR innovations enable an incredible source of transformation across all sectors. AR avatars, AR indoor navigation, remote assistance, integration of A.I. with AR and VR, AR cloud, mobility AR, virtual sports events, eye tracking, and facial expression recognition will see major traction in 2021. The implementation of AR and VR will accelerate with the growth of the 5G network (mentioned above) and expanding internet bandwidth.
Looking ahead
New technologies are designed to make our lives easier. The development of technology in 2021 will be somewhat of a continuation of 2020, but if covid-19 evolves during the year, we can expect other changes. Many of our new behaviors will become part of the new standard in 2021.
This year for sure will reshape the future of many industries including trade, commerce, etc. Digitization and automation will make many changes in the client experience. Unfortunately, numerous jobs will become obsolete, yet a ton will likewise open up.
*inc.com
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