Technology is evolving at a breakneck pace and every year comes a tidal wave of new and exciting IT innovations. Some of them have failed miserably, while others have become new standards in the world of business computing.
More than ever, business leaders need to be mindful about which technologies they invest in, because it can add undue risk to your organization. It is therefore crucial to be fully informed of the newest technologies before making any big decisions and investments.
Here are some of the top techs to look forward to in 2020:
5G networking
Often hailed as the biggest networking development in a generation or a fix-all for mobile bandwidth and reliability issues, 5G is rising steadily toward the peak of inflated expectations. While it likely won’t be all it’s cracked up to be, at least not in the early stages of its adoption, there’s no denying the benefits of improved performance, lower latency, and greater reliability.
Setting the hype aside, 5G is expected to bring mobile data networks almost on par with fiber optic cable broadband. It will certainly be a few years before it becomes widely accessible, especially outside major urban centers, but when it does, it will bring exponentially faster internet speeds to more people and organizations than ever. This, in turn, will greatly increase the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT), a network of internet-connected devices that already play a critical role in many industries.
Artificial-Intelligence-as-a-Service (AIaaS)
It won’t be long before artificial intelligence (AI) fully transforms business technology and information management. While AI itself is a bit of a misnomer, since we’re not really talking about truly intelligent machines, the technology is borne out of a very clear necessity. Businesses are generating more data than ever before with the constant rise of connected technologies. Most of this data is unstructured, which means it doesn’t fit into an easily searchable database format. To make sense of these vast repositories of business data, it’s necessary to use machine learning (ML) and AI algorithms.
The problem is that AI and ML require a great deal of computing power — beyond what many smaller businesses have at their disposal. That’s why a combination of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and AI could bring AI to businesses of all sizes without the hefty price tag. We can expect this to become a key development in 2020 and beyond as major manufacturers develop new data center hardware specifically for running AI algorithms.
Augmented reality
While virtual reality (VR) is already making a major impact in the world of interactive entertainment, the potential business applications of VR and its related technology augmented reality (AR) have yet to be fully explored.
Some examples include augmented intelligence, more immersive workspaces, and increased workplace safety thanks to real-time information being provided on a heads-up display. AR, in particular, has many important implications across a wide variety of sectors from manufacturing to medical care. For example, the first medical operations using AR to provide critical information and instructions to surgeons have already been carried out.
AR is undoubtedly an exciting technology, and as enterprise-grade solutions like Microsoft’s mixed reality headset enter the market, it’s undoubtedly worth keeping an eye on. Although it will likely only be useful in niche environments, rather than in the conventional office, there will undoubtedly be interesting opportunities for adopting the technology out on the field or in production environments.
At Charles IT, we take the time to know everything about the newest technologies before we recommend them to our clients. We also do comprehensive assessments of our customers’ business and determine what solutions best fit their needs. Schedule a consultation with us today and find out what technologies will help you achieve your long-term and short-term goals.
