Going into 2019, many business owners are more than likely wondering the following: Which technology trends should I keep an eye on? While there’s a lot of hype surrounding a range of emerging technologies in 2019, there are five key trends business owners should pay close attention to if they’re looking to grow in the next year.
Cybersecurity is top of mind for businesses. Without a doubt, cybersecurity is top of mind for many small business owners in the country and across the world. On average, small businesses are losing close to $80,000 a year from cyber attacks. By reporting on security breaches at some of the most powerful companies in the world, the news media is constantly reminding everybody (including small business owners) about how hackers are exploiting system vulnerabilities — the most recent story being the cyber attack on Marriott International, where Chinese hackers collected personal details of nearly 500 million guests. Concerns over cybersecurity are n0t going away anytime soon, especially with cybercrime costing the global economy nearly $600 billion a year.
Business leaders are bullish on AI. Being that AI could contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy in 2030, techies aren’t the only ones intrigued by the science behind the technology nowadays: Business leaders are also taking an interest. Twenty percent of business executives in the U.S. are planning to implement AI enterprise-wide in 2019, according to a 2018 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) study. Additionally, when it comes to AI, business leaders are not only taking initiative but also viewing the trend positively. A Pew Research Center survey found the following: Nearly 65 percent of technology leaders and business executives believe the majority of individuals will be better off with AI by 2030. How trending is AI in today’s economy? The governments of France and Canada have plans to establish a global panel dedicated to assessing the effects of AI.
Blockchain technology isn’t going anywhere. Blockchain continues to be the talk of the town. The distributed-ledger technology will create $3.1 trillion in business value by 2030; however, there are several factors hindering blockchain’s growth — the main one being the uncertainty of regulatory and compliance environments. Is blockchain technology right for your business? Published in October 2018, a Gartner report suggests the following practical approach to blockchain development: First, understand the potential impact of blockchain technology on business opportunity; second, be aware of the capabilities and limitations of blockchain technology; third, be open to trust architecture; and fourth, have the skills necessary to implement blockchain technology.
IoT integration is becoming increasingly popular. While IoT isn’t anything new, business leaders are still investing in the concept. Of those who haven’t already invested in the concept, nearly 50% of them are planning to invest over the course of the next two years. In fact, thirty-four percent of SMB leaders believe the IoT is critical for them to conduct business. The global IoT market is expected to see a CAGR of 21% by 2026.
What happens when there aren’t enough data scientists? Data scientists are paid to interpret data; however, they’re in short supply. To overcome this challenge, many players in the analytics market are adopting an emerging approach to data mining: augmented analytics, which basically automates insights using machine learning. By 2020, more than 40 percent of data science tasks will be automated. Augmented analytics assists businesses with identifying patterns without unintentionally introducing personal bias into the algorithms. Businesses will leverage augmented analytics, data scientists and citizen data scientists for data insights in the future, according to Gartner.
There are many technology trends business owners should pay attention to in 2019, but the top five include cybersecurity, AI, blockchain, IoT and augmented analytics. If business owners keep an eye on these trends, they’ll be in good shape the coming year.