The New Technology Trends That Came out of 2021

This past year was certainly a wild ride in the technology sector, and things are only evolving more rapidly. There are some estimates that in the next year we’ll have more advancements than in the last decade or two of technology. Some of these technology trends and advancements will no doubt dominate the tech landscape for years to come.

To be ready for these trends, you will need to identify them and pivot to leverage them effectively. Businesses and individuals that are ready to make the most of these technology trends are the ones who will reap the biggest benefits from them. Let’s take a look at the best trends that came out of the previous year, and are ramping up to truly change technology.

Next-Generation Computational Platforms

The computational advancements that will continue over the next year will serve to help solve some of the most complex problems that we face today. This can mean everything from quantum cryptography and decryption to protect against industrial sabotage, to fully automated vehicles and cargo systems. Everything that needs computational power will advance unbelievably quickly.

Enhanced Connectivity

The Internet of Things is expected to continue to boom, with billions upon billions of connected devices all beginning to interface with each other. This technology trend has largely been enabled by the introduction of 5G wireless and can mean futuristic upgrades to entire fields of industry, such as healthcare, mobility, manufacturing, and research.

Distributed Systems

While they may be incredibly complicated for IT support teams to manage, one of the biggest technology trends that came out of 2021 was the increased prevalence of distributed systems and networks. During 2022 the number of companies that are using cloud platforms, whether multi-cloud or cloud-hybrid, is expected to reach 3 out of 4 companies worldwide. The increasing popularity of these networks will undoubtedly enable companies to become faster, more agile, and eventually less complex, as they also increase their security.

AI

While we thankfully aren’t yet at the “Skynet” level of AI, it is being used in ways that people just 5 years ago would have been hard-pressed to imagine. AI will soon be used in widespread speech generation and customer interaction scenarios, as well as purely AI-driven software creation. Software 2.0 is the crossroads of machine learning, AI neural networks, and software creation will soon intersect, resulting in the creation of the most complex yet elegant software that we’ve ever seen.

Zero-Trust Security

With the rapid and pandemic-driven change to how many businesses fundamentally operated in 2021, and will continue to operate for some time, IT support teams across the digital landscape are pushing for the implementation of zero-trust security architecture. Zero-trust is a technology trend that requires all network users to be continuously authenticated, validated, and authorized to access data and applications on trusted networks.

One of the main benefits to this is that it can reduce the security strain that is put on IT support currently by having trusted networks outside of the traditional trusted network edge. This means that since all the trusted users aren’t in a physical location where they can be validated and the network traffic contained, remote workers are currently targets for hackers and phishing attempts that can lead to massive security breaches.

Futuristic Materials

Some of the most high-tech materials ever devised made headway in 2021, making them incredibly viable and more commercially available in 2022 and beyond. These materials have the potential to disrupt industries across the globe, such as energy, transportation, health & pharma, and manufacturing.

For example, the development of graphene, an arrangement of carbon that is stronger than steel and hundreds of times lighter, has grown in leaps and bounds over the past year. There have also been advancements in nanoparticles like molybdenum disulfide, which is used in cutting-edge flexible electronics like foldable HD screens.

Technology That’s Clean & Green

This is a technology trend that has been growing for some time but is now gaining a lot of momentum. More and more businesses are moving to renewable or green energy sources, cleaner transportation, and even entire energy-efficient and automated buildings.

One of the drivers behind this trend is that high-tech, low-carbon clean technology is falling in price and becoming more accessible overall. Another factor in cleantech advancement is the abundance of cleaner, renewable energy sources that can help sustain the level of growth and development that the field needs. Companies will often be forced to keep a competitive pace with others in the industry or face being left behind by a more eco-conscious customer base.

Upcoming Technology Trends

Even though some of these new technology trends are still not available on a commercially-implementable level, they are still poised to cause a big stir this year. Be ready, because technology is advancing faster than ever before, but it’s also easier than ever to get left behind.