Predicting Tech Trends for 2017

By: Archana Sharma, Senior Director, Xavient Information Systems

Today, the famous quote by Heraclitus ‘The only thing constant in this world is change’is well suited to the IT industry which is in continuous pursuit of innovation and change. With the beginning of year 2017, researchers are predicting a mammoth of trends which are most likely to take over and reshape lifestyle of millions by creating an intelligent, digitally enabled mesh of solutions, devices and people.

As innovations in the digital era continue to explode, below mentioned are some of the prominent trends which will define 2017:

Automation
With the advanced automation techniques, the next 5 years are expected to be highly transformational for the IT world.

Heuristic automation will soon be a reality
Heuristic Automation is expected to take the fore front in 2017.It is one of those promising disruptive concepts which hold the potential of setting a new milestone for existing IT business standards.

Heuristic automation, as the name suggests; is the most recent innovation in technology that works in an auto pilot mode on logically deduced outcomes, just as a human administrator. It will be finely capable of making decisions on its own using the mathematical algorithms and the self-learning that it receives from different processes. Once brought into practice, it can prove to be highly useful in automating the routine work, hardly leaving any room for errors, resulting in increased efficiency and reduced human efforts. Adding to the benefits that it has to offer,looks like the professionals will also be left with ample of time at hand to work on developing other innovative IT solutions.

Heuristic Automation which is yet to be accepted globally, is an intelligent concept that will define a new acme in the world of automation.

Big Data
Although 2016 witnessed an exciting trend in terms of big data, it also happened to be the year which observed an unexpected decline in percentage use of Hadoop, a core platform for structuring Big Data. As per the 2017 forecasts released by Infogix (a leadership software solutions company), more and more organizations will continue to adopt Hadoop. With Hadoop in place, data structuring will be simplified and organizations will be able to crunch large volumes of data with advanced analytics. Restructuring the data handling platforms by incorporating them with artificial intelligence and technical smartness will further contribute in understanding customer behavior and providing valuable insights for customer acquisition.

Internet of intelligent Things
Since the dawn of 21st century, the world has witnessed evolving innovations and challenges in the business arena. 2015 was recorded as one of the most technically evolved year in which many remotely controlled devices came into existence. These innovations and inventions are expected to continue and gain more prominence in 2017.

2017 is expected to revolutionize the way devices have been interacting till date. According to a report published by Business Insider, 34 billion devices are expected to be connected by internet by 2020, up from 10 billion in 2015. With health sectors along with others to be more digitized, 2017 will also see a rise in machine-to-machine interaction, pertaining to automated smart vehicles, home automation systems and smart factories, reducing human efforts to the minimal.

AI and Machine Learning
The hottest trend in 2017 will majorly be Artificial Intelligence. Artificial intelligence and machine learning is an umbrella term, comprising of many technologies and techniques e.g.; deep learning, neutral networks, natural language processing and more. All such trends which are likely to follow in the approaching year will be expected to be highly deployed with AI. Most of the devices and applications designed and embedded with artificial intelligence will be proficient enough to adapt, learn, predict and potentially operate autonomously.

Since AI and machine learning can completely transform the way consumers interact with businesses, it will be on the radar of each IT organisation.

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
With Pokemon Go attracting eyeballs and taking the centre stage in 2016, virtual and augmented reality was introduced to the world and started building grounds to further spread to different verticals. Its prospective nature of engaging consumers by keeping them closer to the natural scenario opened doors to new growth opportunities in the arena as it continues to add value to the entertainment and gaming industry via Smartphone.

AR and VR technology is expected to revolutionize, innovate and bring more personalized experiences in diverse sectors such as consumer products, packaging, healthcare, architecture and events, alongside media and entertainment.

This novelty in technology is expected to find fame and usefulness in the retailer and consumer markets in the coming year.

On Demand Everything

2016 witnessed a massive rise in the use of mobile based applications which were able to cater to almost everything on demand. Thanks to the ever expanding network and improved connectivity that has enhanced lifestyles beyond expectations. Technological innovation has continuously made things easier such as booking cabs, getting food delivered, making reservations, getting service professionals and many more by just a single click. Although, the sector is still in the development stage but is expected to take a flight in 2017 with the use of an improved and efficient technological system which would have the competency to offer more human like experience.

As experts predict, this technology will be seen growing, making operations more intelligent and streamlined.