IT Trends of 2019

A flow diagram of many tech related items all connected by the cloud

Technology evolves at a very fast pace. It’s therefore important to keep up with the latest trends so you know how they’ll impact your organization. Here are some top IT trends for 2019: they’re expected to grow and continue to impact the work environment.

 

5. Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) are networks of devices that connect to the Internet and can exchange data. These can include “smart” devices like home appliances, speakers and TVs. 

Consumers are already benefitting from the use of IoT devices. We can adjust the temperature of our house before leaving work, or have a device turn lights on or off by simply talking to it.

These devices are collecting tons of data. This data will help organizations make strong, more efficient business decisions. Through the continuous advances in technology and the use of the data collected, we hope that IoT devices will do things like improve customer service, speed up the service across industries such as the medical field and automate daily tasks to save time and money. 

There were 8.4 billion IoT devices in 2017, and by 2020 this number is expected to be over 20 billion.

 

4. Data & Analytics

According to Forbes magazine, 90% of the world’s data has been created in the last year. The research found that we’re only using 1% of that data effectively. The IT trend for 2019 is that data will continue to be key for organizations when making good business decisions about products, pricing, employees and strategy. Major companies like Google and Microsoft will continue to implement business analytics in order to see the real power of the data that they are collecting. Smaller organizations should be doing the same.

 

3. Virtual & Augmented Reality

London bus shelter Pepsi ad shows augmented reality

Virtual Reality immerses the user in an environment, while Augmented Reality enhances the environment that the user is in. For the most part, Virtual Reality has been widely used in the gaming industry. There have also been some high level training simulation softwares used for the US Navy & Army. 

Both Virtual Reality and Augmented Realty have potential in training, education, entertainment and marketing, and is why they are top IT trends for 2019. Some places where they could be very effective include at museums or theme parks. Pepsi recently used Augmented Reality for one of their bus station ads in London. Rather than looking at the side of a bus shelter, the side appeared as a window with flying saucers and robots flying around. This is one of the most famous examples of how Augmented Reality has been used in marketing thus far.  

The demand for jobs related to Virtual Reality are up 37% since last year and there is a short supply of qualified employees.

 

2. Connected Cloud Technology:

Companies are realizing that using only public cloud, private cloud or a data centre is not the best option. They need a mix of them all which is a hybrid cloud. Let’s look at the differences. 

Public Cloud:

All resources, including the server and storage space, are owned and operated by a third party cloud service provider. You share the same hardware, storage and network devices as other organizations. 

Advantages:

  • No maintenance 
  • Lower costs
  • High reliability

 

Private Cloud:

The cloud technology is exclusive to one organization. The private cloud can be hosted by a third party provider or it can be located at your on-site data centre.

Advantages:

  • More flexibility 
  • Improved security 
  • High scalability

 

Hybrid Cloud:

A hybrid cloud is a combination of the two. This means there is a private cloud, used only by the one organization and a public cloud where you share space. A hybrid cloud allows you to move data and applications between the two cloud options.

Advantages:

  • Increased control 
  • Flexibility 
  • Ease of transition 
  • Cost effectiveness

 

1. Top IT Trend for 2019: Chatbots & Machine Learning

Cellphone on a table with a robot asking "what can I help you with?"

Have you ever been on a website and a message box pops up asking if you need help with anything? More often than not, that’s an automated chatbot! Chatbot is short for a Chat Robot. It’s an interaction through instant messaging that replicates a human interaction. This is done through natural language, which is a computer’s ability to understand human speech, as well as through machine learning. 

Chatbots are programmed to understand human phrases based on predefined scripts, and then they learn through machine learning. If the chatbot doesn’t know how to respond to something, it has default phrases it can say, or they will transfer the customer to a human.  

Chatbot use for business is expected to improve dramatically. A 2017 study showed that 4% of companies used chatbots, and by 2020 80% of businesses said they intend to have one.

 

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