Trends In 2021 Everyone Must Get Ready For Now

It might seem strange to be making predictions about 2021 when it’s far from certain how the remainder of 2020 will play out. No one foresaw the world-changing events of this year, but one thing is clear: tech has been affected just as much as every other part of our lives. key trends in 2021 are crucial.

 By Bernard Marr

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It might seem strange to be making predictions about 2021 when it’s far from certain how the remainder of 2020 will play out. No one foresaw the world-changing events of this year, but one thing is clear: tech has been affected just as much as every other part of our lives.

Another clear thing is that today’s most important tech trends will play a big part in helping us cope with and adapt to the many challenges facing us. From the shift to working from home to new rules about meeting and interacting in public spaces, tech trends will be the driving force in managing the change.

In many ways, Covid-19 will act as a catalyst for a whole host of changes that were already on the cards anyway, thanks to our increasingly online and digital lives. Things will happen more quickly now, with necessity (long acknowledged as the mother of invention) as the driving force. And if – as certain US presidents have predicted – Covid-19 “magically disappears” – the changes it has brought about will not, as we will have learned to do a lot of things more efficiently and safely.

Here’s my overview of how the major tech trend that I identified in my most recent book, Tech Trends in Practice, is likely to play out during the next year. Some will play their part in helping us to recover “normality” (whatever that means), while some of them will make it easier for us to understand and navigate a changed reality.

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is undoubtedly one of the biggest tech trends at the moment, and by 2021 it will become an even more valuable tool for helping us interpret and understand the world around us. The volume of data we are collecting on healthcare, infection rates, and the success of measures we take to prevent the spread of infection will continue to increase. This means that machine learning algorithms will become better informed and increasingly sophisticated in the solutions they uncover for us.

From computer vision systems monitoring public areas’ capacity to analyze the interactions uncovered through contact tracing initiatives, self-learning algorithms will spot connections and insights that would go unnoticed by manual human analysis. They will help us predict demand for services from hospitals and other healthcare providers and allow administrators to make better decisions about when and where to deploy resources.

For business, the challenge will be to understand the changing patterns of customer behavior. More human activity will occur online – from shopping and socializing to virtual working environments, meetings, and recruitment. In 2021 we can expect the tools we use to analyze these behavioral shifts to become more sophisticated and increasingly fit more and more organizations’ budget and infrastructure requirements.

2. Robotics, Drones, and Vehicle Automation

As the volume of passengers using p week to week, depending on local conditions, initiatives around self-drivin depending on local conditionsg vehicles will continue at an increasing pace. Driving efficiency across public transport networks will be a priority for service providers and civic authorities, where reducing human labor costs will help balance the uncertainty around customer demand.

In recent years we have seen the emergence of robots in the care and assisted living sectors. These will become increasingly important, particularly when interacting with members of society who are most vulnerable to infection, such as the elderly. Rather than entirely replacing the human interaction with caregivers that is so important to many, we can expect robotic devices to be used to provide new channels of communication, such as access to 24/7 in-home help, as well as to provide companionship at times when it may not be safe to be sending nursing staff into homes. Additionally, companies finding themselves with premises that, while empty, still require maintenance and upkeep, will turn to robotics providers for services such as cleaning and security. This activity has already led to soaring stock prices for enterprises involved in supplying robots.

Drones will be used to deliver vital medicine and, equipped with computer vision algorithms, to monitor footfall in public areas to identify places where there is an increased risk of viral transmission.

3. The As-A-Service Revolution

“As-a-service” – the provision of services that we need to live and work through cloud-based, on-demand platforms – is the key that has put the other tech trends we talk about today in reach of anybody. It’s the reason why AI and robotics are a possibility for just about any business or organization, regardless of their size or budget. Thanks to cloud offerings from companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and an ever-growing horde of startups and spinoffs, innovators in all fields can deploy cutting-edge tech with little upfront investment in tools, equipment, or specialized people.

As the ongoing pandemic rages worldwide, we have clearly seen that companies that rely on the cloud to provide scalable solutions as-a-service are prospering. Take Zoom, for example, which has quickly become a household name thanks to the speed with which it could add servers and increase its coverage and quality of service. Due to its cloud-based nature and its partnerships with its own service providers, we’re able to increase capacity to meet demand quickly. In 2021 and beyond, this will become increasingly important, and more possibilities will open up for everyone.

4. 5G and enhanced connectivity

Faster and more reliable internet doesn’t mean we can load webpages more quickly and spend less time waiting for videos to launch on Youtube. Each successive advance in mobile connectivity from 3G onwards has unlocked new use cases for the internet. 3G made web browsing and data-driven services useful on mobile devices, 4G led to the growth of streaming video and music platforms as bandwidths increased, and 5G, likewise, will open more doors in terms of what is possible.

5G means that services relying on advanced technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality (discussed below) as well as cloud-based gaming platforms like Google’s Stadia or NVidia’s GeForce Now become a viable proposition, anywhere at any time. They also threaten to make cable and fiber-based networks redundant, with their need for us to be tethered to a particular location.

In short, 5G and other advanced, high-speed networks make all of the other trends we discuss here available anywhere, any time. Complex machine learning applications relying on real-time access to Big Data sources can be conducted in the field via automation. A great example is Norwegian fishery operator Salmar that uses a 5G network to automate the care and feeding of its fish. Image recognition algorithms are used to detect which fish are over-feeding and automatically dispense food and medicine needed to keep them healthy. Initiatives like this will become increasingly important during 2021, where businesses increase automation across their workforces.

5. Extended Reality (XR) – Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/MR).

These terms cover technology that uses glasses or headsets to project computer-generated imagery directly into the user’s field of vision. When it is superimposed over what the user is viewing in the real world, it is AR. And when it is used to place the user into an entirely computer-generated environment, it is VR.

We can again expect to see these during next year, in conjunction with the other trends discussed here, assisting in tackling challenges posed by the current world situation. Largely, this will allow us to avoid potentially dangerous situations where there could be a risk of viral transmission. For example, medical examinations and diagnoses can increasingly be carried out remotely. A solution available to opticians allows eye tests to be carried out entirely in VR, as high-definition cameras give a clear image of the patient’s eye. An AR tool then allows the customer to browse the range of glasses on offer and see what they look like on their own faces without leaving their home.

We will also see an increase in the use of VR and AR tools within education. This will reduce the need for us to work in crowded classroom conditions – if not totally, then at least in areas and during times when it is known that transmission rates are high.

And as more data on the conditions and manner in which viral transmission occurs becomes available, AR tools will be used to give out real-time warnings when we move through areas where the infection is known to have spread. Even simple steps like reminding us to wash our hands when we touch a door handle in a public space or issuing an alert when a device senses that we have touched our face without washing our hands could help to save lives and stop us spreading illness around the real-word environments we inhabit and move through.

About Bernard Marr

Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps organizations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, blockchains, and the Internet of Things.

LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that reaches millions of readers.