Advancements in Information technology had been transforming the way the world does business for the last 30 years. Arguably, the last ten years have been a veritable tech renaissance, bringing change at a pace not seen since the Industrial Revolution. Technology used to be a utility function, but those days are long gone. Today, technology drives business forward and as technology continues to become cheaper and more accessible, we will continue to see rapid innovation and change. Here are some of the ways IT will influence business over the next decade.
“The future of IT continues to remain strong and Big Data is driving business decisions. Having a solid IT team internally will give you an edge. Many companies are blending their it teams with inhouse staff and IT contractors so they have enough diversity to get the best product. The IT voice is prioritized at the C-level table because innovation and technology are moving companies forward, fast!” says, Toni Law, Account Executive, CSS Tec.
From IoT to IoE
The Internet of Things (IoT) is currently poised to become the Internet of Everything. There are currently around 12 billion internet-connected devices in operation today and that number climbs as networks continue to expand and costs continue to fall.
People tend to think of IoT in terms of personal devices, but the Internet of Things is about much more than just “smart” refrigerator. IoT is changing the way business is done. Smart sensors are doing everything from tracking the ambient conditions in FedEx packages to instantly re-timing traffic lights based on current conditions to making autonomous decisions about business operations. Watch for even more advancements in IoT designed to make businesses run faster, smoother and with greater efficiency than ever before.
Knowledge Will Become More Automated
Automation has taken over many manual and transactional tasks over the last several decades but thanks to machine learning, artificial intelligence and rapid advancements in big data analytics, knowledge can now be automated.
Computer technology can “learn” and process faster than the human brain and can identify relevant and hidden patterns instantly. However, robots coming for knowledge-based jobs, just yet. For now, they are enhancing the way humans do their jobs. For example, computers are already being used to scan legal documents for trials, pinpointing those documents that are relevant for the proceedings. Manually scanning through these boxes and boxes of documents can take humans weeks, but it only takes a computer a few days. In another case of knowledge automation, IBM’s Watson is now working on curing cancer with Sloan Kettering researchers. Watson scanned millions of medical journals, clinical trial reports, patient records and medical evidence reports to help researchers identify patterns in the data they may never have otherwise identified on their own.
The Continuing Rise of the Global Economy
The mobile internet and the rapid advancement of technology have made the practice of buying and selling items extremely simple. With a few taps on a mobile device or clicks of a mouse, a person in one corner of the globe can buy an item from another corner of the globe. Thanks to the rise of the “sharing economy” anyone can use their cars to earn extra money driving for Lyft or Uber or can rent out rooms or their entire home on Airbnb. Payment systems and models of monetization will continue to advance, reducing barriers to entry and leveling the playing field in the global economy for small businesses, solopreneurs, especially for people in emerging markets.
There will continue to be rapid growth in income in emerging markets as more and more formerly “remote” areas of the globe become internet-enabled. Consider this: as of today, India’s digital penetration is only ten percent and China’s is only 40 percent. As connectivity continues to rise, we will see unprecedented growth and innovation coming from these areas of the world.
If you are looking for skilled tech talent and you want to improve your hiring strategies to keep up with the pace of change, the IT recruiting experts at CSS can help. Contact us today to learn how we can help you achieve your hiring goals.