It’s great to see what today’s technology is capable of doing. So, what exactly will 2018 have in store? Here are Eight tech trends to keep your eyes on:
- Blockchain
By now, you have probably heard a thing or two about the promice of blockchain technology is a way of securely managing access and information. The core of decentralization, which essentially distributes power and risk equitably across players in a network.
Blockchain startups are finding niche and clever ways to optimize industries, by replacing intermediary parties(brokers, agents, etc.) with smart contracts that automatically verify actions without compromising data security.
- Internet of things
Bl Intelligence’s report on the “internet of things“ notes that nearly $6 trillion will be spent on loT solutions in the next five years alone. This deluge of investment has turned this once science-fiction notion into reality.
Alredy, many of us wake up in our “smart beds” to a Bluetooth-connected alarm clock that communicates with our wifi-enabled speakers. Soon all of our devices-microwaves, washing machines and even bird feeders – will be connected to the web.
- Virtual reality
Is 2018 the long-awaited year that virtual reality goes mainstream ? While the technology is still evolving, and while players like Oculus and HTC continue to iterate on their consoles, things look promising for the industry as VR platforms begin to appeal to the masses.
One of the biggest obstacles to virtual reality achieving true scale is the creation of enough content to attract a wide swath of consumers. Beyond gaming, there a number of virtual-reality startups that are building high-value add services specifically for enterprises. As the industry has learned, on-boarding hard-core gamer will not be enough to sustain a long-term effort.
- Augmented reality
The rise of Pokemon in 2016 was just the first of many implementations of augmented reality that will make a massive impact on society. Apple and Google recently introduced both ARkit and ARCore and are driving an inflection point for the indistry. As hardware and software continue to improve, we can expect to see more developers building AR applications in 2018.
It’s not startups looking to get in on the action. In fact, it likely that many of the world’s biggest brands will invest their resources into creating augmented-reality experiences to enhance their users’experiences both inside and outside of their stores.
- Chatbots
Chatbots, at the most simplistic level, are front-end interfaces for compnies to communicate with their customers. More advanced bots leverage artificial intelligence to provide enriching and interective user experiences. Enterprise applications of messaging bots seem poised to have a tangible impact on the software space, as more companies invest in developing their own consumer-facing bots.
- Automation
Artificial intelligence and machines will soon become ubiquitous in the professional world. Form virtual assistants, to manual labor to intermediary servicess, many jobs will likely be disrupted in the coming years. Through humans are indispensable in certain fields, there are many points of optimization that we can fully automated with embedded technoogy.
