Digital transformation trends that were already underway accelerated at lightning speed since early in 2020, helping to keep business moving.
Trends move our world. It’s an understatement to say that 2020 was an excellent year for technology.
When the pandemic swept the globe, putting employees at risk of becoming ill, technology took center stage. IT quickly mobilized to ensure that people were productive and engaged.
The digital transformation trend that was already underway sped up at lightning speed. It kept business moving.
In the coming year, we can expect more radical changes in how we work. What are our expectations?
It will be quieter at work.
We can shop, bank, and socialize faster and more efficiently than ever before as consumers.
However, things are getting more complicated when it comes to working. Routine tasks such as submitting expenses, purchasing, or authorizing time off, require multiple logins and apps. This means we have to switch contexts constantly.
According to Dovico (via Inc.) research, about eight minutes are lost every hour due to an alert, text, chat, or application message.
New team-based collaboration tools, created to simplify things, have only made matters worse. Micro-app technology consolidated employee access to the activities, tools, and tasks they need in a single work feed. Companies can also use these micro-apps to reduce noise.
Machine learning and artificial intelligence will make your work easier.
Robots aren’t out to get you. They are there to assist us in many ways.
We’ve already seen the benefits they bring to our home, such as vacuuming up our floors when we don’t feel like it.
They can also help us be more productive and efficient at work. They do this by leveraging the technology that underpins them. IT is putting the wheels in motion by leveraging digital workplaces infused with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). This allows employees to be freed from repetitive tasks. It allows them to concentrate on what’s important.
Robots and IoT trends will make work safer.
Covid-19 required businesses to improve their safety standards to guard against unseen threats. IoT technologies, robots, and IoT will play an essential part in keeping people safe.
Already, robots are capable of taking over hazardous tasks. Remote-hand technologies will further enhance human-machine interaction.
IoT will enable things such as touchless offices and smart social distancing. This could allow employees to access occupancy information and maps for different areas of the building. They can confirm that spaces are clean, and even reserve conference rooms or hot desks from their own devices.
IT is always-on.
Technology is a crucial driver of business results, and it’s expected that it will continue to be so.
This expectation will make it more important for technology companies to embrace cloud computing. As they provide safe, reliable working environments that keep employees productive and engaged, this expectation will make them more strategic and valuable.
CIOs trends are expected to be more security-focused.
FBI reporting of cyberattacks has risen by as much as 400% in the past year. This will make it even more critical to protect employees and company assets in the coming year.
Experience and security are not mutually exclusive. They are two sides of the same coin. Deposits must be baked into all IT activities.
The pandemic has brought about changes that no one could have predicted. It taught us a lot about how to prepare for the unexpected.
No one can know what the future will bring, but one thing is sure. The world will change rapidly and continue to change. Companies that harness the power and potential of technology can make the world a better place.
Trends are not laws.
Please remember that trends are not laws. This means that what everyone seems to be doing or using today when it comes to small business technology, may become inappropriate or antiquated in a short period of time.
Some technologies are engineered to remain basic building blocks. Other technologies will soon become nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Don’t be pressured into investing too much money into the latest tech fad.
Keep yourself up to date, but also watch and wait.
One of the best ways to do this is to keep an eye on your competitors. Find out what new technologies they are employing, and how successful it is.
Also, talk to your own customers about their wish list for updated technology. You may be surprised at what you hear from them. Especially from the younger generations, who love new tech for its own sake and not for anything it can do for them.
