If you are tech-savvy or just someone who stays on top of all the latest offerings in tech, you should be familiar with the fact that technology is one of the most volatile domains of all. It evolves at such a pace that technologies become outdated even before anyone realizes it even existed. Technology-based jobs and careers are therefore affected and every person with a career in the IT industry knows that they need to constantly learn and adapt to the fast pace of the tech world to survive. With the calendar turning to 2020, we can expect a lot of new powerful and advanced technologies to play a role in the new decade. And every organization and individual under the IT domain needs to focus on these tech trends of 2020. Let us now take a moment to drill down through the top tech trends that will be on the rise in 2020.
Mobile apps
Mobile apps have already started to compete with and in many ways supplant web applications. The mobile app market is rapidly growing and is expected to rise even further this year. Almost all online services — if not all — are readily available over mobile applications for users. Considering the rate at which mobile apps are progressing, it is highly likely that it will redefine the current services industry.
Domains such as banking, transportation, logistics, and everyday essentials have tons of mobile app offerings for everyone readily available to download and use. And look for a rise in mobile apps in the industrial and agricultural segments in 2020.
Moreover, payment services over mobile apps is also on the rise. We are already witnessing a sharp rise in the use of mobile payment systems be it Apple pay, Google Pay, or any UPI-based wallet payments. Starting this year, we can expect even better, faster, and more streamlined mobile payment solutions.
5G networks
And 2020 will likely be the year where we will witness the fifth-generation mobile networks in wide use. 5G has been around the news for a while and we already know what it is capable of.
According to Huawei, 5G could “support 1,000-fold gains in capacity, connections for at least 100 billion devices and a 10 Gb/s individual user experience of extremely low latency and response times.” All major smartphone and device makers including Huawei, Snapdragon, Apple, Samsung, and more have started producing 5G-compatible devices. However, the large-scale network implementation itself is still in its infancy. But industry experts believe that 2020 will be the year in which 5G becomes mainstream.
Currently, 5G networks are available only in a few countries. The U.S., Australia, China, Korea, the UK, and a few other parts of Europe have launched 5G networks. It is estimated that various other countries might be rolling out 5G networks for users by the end of 2020.
However, for 5G networks to rise, network operators need to find a way to increase bandwidth and usability and reduce costs associated with 5G networks.
Distributed cloud
Cloud computing has revamped the landscape of the IT industry. It provided us with a way to reduce costs drastically while achieving a more reliable and efficient means of computing. Cloud computing has been a hot topic in the world of IT for many years now. But industry experts believe that distributed computing is one of the top tech trends of 2020 and will take off before the year ends.
In simple terms, a distributed cloud distributes the public cloud instances and services to external locations. However, the original cloud provider or the originator is still responsible for handling and managing the cloud. Currently, centralized cloud computing is the norm in various industries, and Gartner points out that the evolution from centralized cloud computing to distributed cloud computing will be one of the 2020 tech trends to watch.
With distributed cloud, companies can place their datacenters anywhere and access all their cloud resources and services from anywhere in the world without having to worry about latency challenges. Currently, the distributed cloud is still relatively small, but some providers are offering a small subset of their cloud services in a distributed manner.
Edge computing
Efficiency and latency are the two most crucial challenges concerning enterprises around the world. Companies are doing everything to increase efficiency while reducing or avoiding latency. And to do so, edge computing plays a very crucial role.
By definition, edge computing brings data storage and computation closer to the target. This eliminates or drastically reduces latency while improving efficiency. There are several other advantages concerning edge computing that includes saving bandwidth, reduced costs, better management and more efficient operations.
Edge computing is fueled by the rise of IoT. However, there are several other advantages edge computing has to offer. Various industries such as telecom, health care, finance, automobiles, and more can benefit from edge computing and therefore make it one of the most important tech trends to keep an eye on in 2020.
Robotics
Robots are already taking over our jobs as a wide array of redundant tasks have been automated with the use of machines or software. And considering the high return on investments robots offer for industries and their low maintenance costs, it is likely robotics will usurp even more jobs in 2020.
Internet of machines
If industry leaders are predicting a rise in robotics in 2020, it will needless to say also pave the way for the rise of the Internet of Machines (IoM). With robots getting smarter and networks getting more robust, the need to establish a communication channel between computers and these machines is apparent.
Edge computing has the potential to rapidly fuel the growth of IoM. The Internet of Machines will enable machines or robots to communicate with each other to speed up business processes and operations.
While it is undeniable that we are rapidly advancing in terms of technological development, we are still in the infancy with respect to various technologies that began just a few years ago. Blockchain, autonomous cars, and more are gaining ground but are still far from practical large-scale implementation.
2020 tech trends: Fasten your seat belts
Considering the volatile nature of technology, it is impossible to predict how these technologies will fare in the real world. However, the only certainty about technology is that it is rapidly evolving, and these 2020 tech trends may be part of everyday life by the end of the year.
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