It’s that time of year: time for predictions. Gartner Research recently released its top 10 list of technology trends for 2015 as did the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). As you might expect, there’s a great deal of overlap in their predictions despite the two firms’ different perspectives. We examined their predictions and created our own “Top 5 Technology Trends” list for 2015:
1. Mobile Computing – It’s hard to ignore all those smartphones and tablets — they’re everywhere. BYOD is alive and well, and it’s expected to explode. By 2017, the BYOD market is expected to reach over $181 billion, and half of employers are expected to require their employees to buy and bring their own devices.
2. Predictive Big Data Analytics – According to the CEA, predictive big data analytics is a trend to watch in 2015. Several forms of analytics exist ranging from the relatively simple (descriptive and diagnostic — what happened and why?) to the more complex (predictive and prescriptive — what is likely to happen and what can we do about it?). Business intelligence software has become more sophisticated and better able to help users make well-informed predictions.
3. Cloud/Client Computing – Cloud/client computing has been on Gartner’s list for six years now, and it’s a trend that is likely to continue. The cloud has its advantages, competition is robust, and more and more applications and services are being developed using a cloud/client-computing model.
4. The Internet of Things / Smarter, Interconnected Machines – Gartner listed the Internet of Things as its number two trend; however, it also listed context-rich systems and smart machines as number 5 and number 6. Though each trend has its own merits, they combine to form a larger trend: devices are better able to understand and interact with one another. The CEA also believes that the Internet of Things is one of the hottest trends to watch.
5. Increased Awareness of Privacy Concerns – The Consumer Electronics Association highlighted the intersection of technology and privacy, and it’s definitely a trend to watch. Consumers are increasingly becoming aware of the tradeoffs being made.
Works Cited:
1. TechRepublic, “Gartner’s top 10 technology trends for 2015: All about the cloud,” – http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-things/gartners-top-10-technology-trends-for-2015-all-about-the-cloud/#ftag=RSS56d97e7
2. Consumer Electronics Association, “Technology Trends to Watch 2015,” – http://content.ce.org/PDF/2014_5tech_web.pdf
3. Akuity, “Seven Stats About The Future of BYOD,” – http://www.akuity.com/2014/03/17/seven-stats-about-the-future-of-byod/
