Recent and not-so-recent events resulted in us using technology in ways we wouldn’t have thought of before or made us accelerate adopting some solutions. Besides these events, some technologies are growing steadily and promising to change how we use technology. In particular, businesses have been crucial in spearheading this continuing digital transformation as they look for ways to stay afloat or maximize profits.
Hybrid workplaces
With video platforms plus remote working applications becoming used more due to COVID over the past two years, new opportunities for employees and employers have risen. One of these is that this has allowed employees to work wherever they’re most productive and affords them more time for things like self-development or childcare.
For employers, hybrid workplaces allow them access to broader talent pools as the geographic location is no longer a barrier. Employers can downsize, too, with a reduced need for on-site workers and reinvest in technologies like a next-generation operational data store to streamline productivity. Gigaspaces’ high-performance InsightEdge Smart Cache will make them considerably quicker and more reliable when investing in these data stores.
Data fabric
A technology that’s starting to rapidly fast-track digital transformation is data fabrics, which are platforms that aggregate data. Data fabrics pool data from different sources within or outside your organization and present it as a unified data set. Creating this giant data set makes it easy to develop insights that will get used to making informed business decisions.
Data fabrics also reduce query turnaround times on large databases, making it invaluable when using business intelligence tools to create reports. In addition, data fabrics shorten query fulfillment times by using machine learning to automatically detect what information must get retrieved from the unified dataset.
Software 2.0
One of the most revolutionary technologies driving digital transformation is Software 2.0, which promises to change developers’ roles in software engineering. That’s because in the currently popular Software 1.0, developers have to tell a computer exactly what to do line-by-line for it to understand the instructions.
Instead, software 2.0 gets used for its deep learning capabilities, allowing computers to understand what must get done to achieve certain results instead of requiring line-by-line instructions. That means developers will eventually become data handlers for their algorithms and provide them some guidance as it learns how to write their code.
Customer data platforms
Customer data platforms drive digital transformation in developing consumer-centric experiences and marketing efforts because they keep tabs on every encounter consumers have with your business. After tracking these interactions, CDPs then aggregate all this data and sort it according to various categories to make using or understanding what it can get used for easier.
While CDPs may sound like CRM systems rebranded, they’re different because CRMs only keep track of data consumers leave on your systems manually. CDPs, on the other hand, gather data on anonymous visitors too. They can also track consumer data online or offline without requiring manual input.
Contact-free solutions
One of the technologies that became popularized by COVID is contact-free solutions that have made us realize how convenient they make life. One of these solutions is digital payments that have become very popular and will continue to get used for years with or without COVID. In addition, digital payments have also made consuming online entertainment less cumbersome and popular.
Telehealth tech like wearables that track your vitals or online consultations has also contributed to digital transformation by making essential medical assistance easily accessible and cheaper.
Automation
More companies are now starting to utilize automation than ever by deploying solutions like chatbots and software or physical bots to perform repetitive tasks. By using automation, businesses don’t only make monetary savings but also increase employee productivity by focusing their energy on the essential parts of their jobs like sales or planning.
Automating repetitive tasks reduces the number of mistakes employees can make due to fatigue or human error. Reducing these mistakes also lowers the risk of getting into legal trouble in sensitive areas like accounting, where there are strict regulations. Not having to do rote tasks can also significantly improve employee morale.
5G
5G, which is the newest networking technology, is currently rolling out quickly and is promising to replace 4G networks in the near future. 5G’s most significant selling point is the high internet speeds this network type offers, which will play a significant role in kickstarting the widespread use of other technologies like VR.
Fast internet speeds and low latency potential also offer the chance of innovations to realize as remote surgery is now being seen as possible with 5G. Many automakers are holding out until a widespread rollout of 5G has been achieved as they don’t believe making cars fully autonomous is possible without it.
IoT
More “things” are being gradually added to the Internet of Things every year, and those “things” are very diverse and can be living organisms like people or animals too. The addition of things to the IoT has opened many opportunities for businesses. They can utilize this new data provided to them to better their offers or plan highly targeted marketing campaigns.
IoT offers more control over processes by increasing visibility and progress at certain points that weren’t monitored before. There are IoT devices that can also reduce energy costs as they can detect vacant places using energy. Researchers say unoccupied spaces amount to about half of business energy costs and futuristic IoT are fully capable to address that in the best way.
To sum it up
Many technologies are being designed, optimized, and getting more widespread usage that will change the way we use or view tech this year. The best part about these technologies is that they’ll positively impact many sectors, which presents businesses with new opportunities to improve and profit.
Many new technologies will improve customer experiences with businesses and various organizations that are worth looking out for. We hope that you’ve spotted a few that’ll make 2022 a year that you look forward to when it comes to tech.
