Technology trends 2021: Top three profound insights

Technology changes hourly. The unexpected uncertainty, occurred in 2020, caused recent trends in information technology, running in some unpredictable way.

In 2021, technology trends expectedly suffer from a significant adjustment in a more different path than any other predictions before. COVID19 outbreak has led to disruption in the global supply chain, which affects the entire market performance. In 2020, the complexity across the supply chain induced several challenges for companies due to series of delays in orders and deliveries.

Additionally, the disruption in the business environment also has stolen the flexibility in the workforce. Accordingly, the input disturbance made companies got trouble in controlling the internal process, including selling, purchasing, and divestitures.

However, the environmental vulnerabilities last year did not impose only difficulties but opportunities for technology innovation. Experts claimed that the progress of global digitalization sped up as a result of business uncertainties. Accordingly, the world would experience a new era of cloud services, EaaS (everything-as-a-service), AI, and robotic.

Three driving factors affect technology trends 2021

The pandemic took only one year to reshape the whole business market. It totally altered the performance in the technological environment. It added novel variables, which cannot define whether it benefits or harms companies. Besides, we listed here three significant indicators, which are believed to reshape the technology trends 2021.

Speedy digital transformation  

The business difficulties in 2020 led companies to form new strategies to tackle the pressure. In defending from business depression, company leaders currently improve the firm health by focusing on three key attributes. They are productivity, agility, and flexibility.   

They realized that reshaping the business model in favor of automation and real-time management tends to be the most practical solution for promoting the above priorities. In this case, they have to accelerate the digital transformation process in workplaces by initially capturing the edge of cloud computing.

By moving to the cloud, the company takes advantage of digitalizing the operation to boost productivity and flexibility. The next phase of business digitalization refers to automation and AI, which promised to defy the human error within the business process. Hence, the latest trends in the information technology industry would be related to rapid digital transformation in offices and factories.

According to Deloitte, there will be a notable expansion in the cloud services market that cloud service providers will enjoy a significant revenue growth by 15% in the next 2 years, in expectation. Evidently, the total market size will predictably reach over US$ 354 billion by 2022. Besides, the demand for AI and IoT as a service is forecasted to a steady increase in this decade.

Supply chain disruption  

With experiences from the uncertain period of 2021, IT development companies finally recognize the effect of supply chain disruption in the device production volume. Evidently, the semiconductor supply breach adversely destroys most of the manufacturing capacities. The shortage will be predictably rarely solved in the nest future. Hence, many tech companies decided to self-design their chips and only outsource the production part. This perspective would change the industry rule of the game for both current and new players.

In the supply chain issues response, various technology firms choose a centralization approach to shrink the vendor list. Accordingly, companies would add the specific geographic region as a top of the criteria for vendor selection. Besides, AI and robotics have been used to eliminate potential human-made disasters. Unfortunately, these technologies take time to be mature. At present, to adapt to supply chain disruption, companies should implement a more appropriate strategy to maximizing the current resources.

In the meantime, experts believed in more disturbances would reshape the technology environment. As a result, it poses a threat to disrupts several sectors, including software outsourcing, supply chain, and autonomous logistic. It would be an ambiguous prospect with lots of uncertainties that businesses need to overcome from 2021.

Rapid adjustment in workforce  

Last year, the concept of social distancing sent companies to the era of remote working. In some periods, many businesses had 100% of employees working remotely to deter the pandemic infection. Even in the post-pandemic, over 80% of companies have claimed that they will execute a remote working program for a part of employees in the following time. Besides, roundly 30% of American businesses decided full remote workforce from 2021.

The virtual working environment is currently become the norm, especially in the EU and America, which suffer the most severe consequences. Unfortunately, there still remain challenges with remote strategies due to a lack of adjustment time. Some of the technology companies are confused in organizing the personnel. They are struggling with balancing remote employees and in-office workers. Additionally, the execution of two working modes could lead to miss conversation and low communication efficiency.

Regarding software development, technology trends 2021 suggests continuously investing in upgrade video conferencing solutions and several online verification systems.

Technology trends 2021

Considering the above factors, which paint the picture of upcoming technology 2021, we expect three latest trends in information technology resharing the market. Please be noticed that we would not mention all the IT trends 2021 that only notable ones would be selected. 

Taking on several types of digital transformation

As expected, AI would lead the digital transformation process in the year 2021. It is indicated through several market reports and predictions. Whereby, revenues for AI-based business would reach over US$ 100 billion in the next five years. Accordingly, Healthcare software solutions, educational technology, and eCommerce tend to be the key beneficiaries of AI innovation.

On the other hand, the limitation of regulation across countries would constrain the adoption of AI. According to Deloitte survey, roundly 60% of company respondents expressed their doubt regarding potential changes in regulation sectors. Additionally, the majority believed that the government effort would deter AI innovation by regulating burdens and policies.

The terms connectivity and computing capabilities would be the heart of digital technology trends 2021. Hence, IT services would be adjusted in favor of offering more versatility and low latency for clients. Generally, you would see the dramatic innovation in three sectors:

• Autopilot and self-driving vehicles: the autonomous technology expectedly brings commodities and food delivery into the next chapter of evolution. Expressly, on demand food delivery emerging autonomous enable accurate delivery time to meet users’ satisfaction. Moreover, to take advantage of this technology trend, an independent system to control autopilot vehicles is indispensable. Hence, 2021 would be a year of software development evolution due to an immense demand for solutions served autopilot industry.
• Processing data locally: data transition is currently challenging in the IT industry due to the tons of data created hourly by smart devices. To addressing this issue, data could be processed locally without connection to any data center
• Video security: people are currently more and more concerned about their security and privacy. As a result, when video conference replaces tradigital business trips, the story of cybersecurity for business would be taken into consideration. IT trends 2021 regarding performing video would admire the technique for transmitting video data without a cloud network to prevent leakage.

Technology Solutions for a wave of remote workers  

In 2021, Companies, especially software development companies, would get used to the remote work environment. Accordingly, they should be ready for efficiency enhancement and effectiveness of their employees. They need to build a suitable virtual work environment with a proper level of IT software infrastructures.

Currently, video conferencing services are believed to enjoy promising opportunities for booming. Evidently, Microsoft video call services had reported a user growth rate of over 50% in only 6 months. Similarly, Zoom video conference has acquired a booming period with growing by 350% in 2020. In 2021, the latest technology trends in information technology suggest a new concept of a flexible workforce breaking the geographic challenges.

Additionally, in 2021, IT companies are predicted to invest more in areas that support remote workers in addressing the challenge of potential lost productivity or unexpected increase of workload from video or message issues. Hence, four 2021 technology trends for companies adapting to the era of remote workers could be:

• Technology solution to addressing risk and crisis
• Human capital management
• Worker health and safety
• Technology tools for improving worker experiences

Digitalization and diversification in supply chain  

Supply chain disruption forced production companies to reexamine factory capacity to keep resource waste minimal. Despite suppliers, companies are also struggling with the lack of data in predicting the potential failures. Accordingly, they are unable to take the full effort of their facility. Many experts believed that it is the critical reason that many manufacturers are failing to meet their demand.

In this case, technology trends 2021 in fixing the failure of the supply chain would focus on advancing technology in manufacturing:

• AI-base technology to eraser human errors in the production process
• Automation in manufacturing, leveraging sensors and robotics: It helps manufacturers instantly detect the errors occurring in the process. By which, they can make the correction within a proper time.
• Real-time operation management by instant communication network could deter potential disruption by integrated the entire parts together.

In conclusion: due to the unusual business condition this time, all technology trends 2021 can be changed. We cannot guarantee you 100% certainty regarding the direction of upcoming technology this year. But we would try to provide you a comprehensive picture of how the technology work and adjust. Alternatively, you should keep an eye on the movement of the technology industry to update new opportunities.