Technology is always changing.

Just when you thought we’d gone as far as we can go, something else pops out of the woodwork (figuratively speaking).

In this post we’ve rounded up a few of the big things on the horizon in tech and IT. Although actually most of this stuff is already here.

We’re not so much predicting the future as letting you know what is currently being developed and what is inevitably going to become a bigger part of our daily lives.

You may already use some of these things but in the next year or so, they’ll become more commonplace, as our work and home lives begin to rely on this technology.

Resist it all you like (and in some cases you may want to!) but this stuff is the future.

CHATBOTS

You’ve probably seen one of these popping up when you land on a business website.

In fact, you definitely will have, because we’ve got one! It’s down there in the corner.

They’re becoming increasingly popular as they afford companies of all sizes a number of big benefits. They also allow customers to get their questions answered quickly and easily, all without having to pick up a phone.

Whether the answers are based on FAQ’s or a member of the team is actually helping on the other end, there’s no denying problems get solved a lot quicker and with lower cost.

They also act as a lead generation tool and this is probably one of the main incentives for businesses using them. As a business you want people to stay on your website for as long as possible and if they’re interested, you’ll want to keep in touch.

A well augmented chatbot is a great way of starting a conversation and picking up leads that would otherwise click off your website, never to be seen again.

INTERNET OF THINGS

This one may sound a bit silly but as time goes on it will seep into every aspect of our lives. For now though, it needs a not-so-technical name so we know what it is.

Internet of Things or IoT is used to describe objects that interact with the internet, in order to deliver a better service.

Sometimes it’s to collect data about the world we live in, in order to improve the performance of an object or service. This will help us to have more economical and efficient systems.

One of the most popular uses for the consumer is already happening. Products like Amazon Alexa or Google Home are part of the Internet of Things in that they interact with the internet whilst they are being used.

Whether it’s playing music or telling us the weather, objects like this are increasingly becoming integral to our day to day life. Soon more of the devices you use will interact with each other just as much as you interact with them.

DISTRIBUTED CLOUD

We’ve talked about the cloud a lot recently. Indeed, it’s central to how we use the internet today and will only become more so.

In its simplest form, the cloud involves accessing software or storage, over the internet using a server in another location, usually a long way away.

Distributed cloud is like this except the data used is shared across a number of different physical locations. The main benefits of using this are lower latency and network congestion because you aren’t accessing the internet from one centralised location.

Users also have greater sovereignty over their data due to the more localised data centres.

FACIAL RECOGNITION

Already used extensively on the newer iPhone models and other high-end smartphones, facial recognition will soon be working its way into other areas of our lives.

It certainly has the benefit of providing the user of a device with extra security and a seamless user experience.

One area it may be used more is in retail and more specifically on the Highstreet. By identifying a shopper as they walk into a brick and mortar shop, the shop can potentially provide them with a more personalised shopping experience, as they would get online. They could be directed to commonly browsed items and even hold a ‘shopping cart’ in the shop. It’s almost coming full circle to when shopkeepers would know their customers well!

IT DOESN’T END THERE!

We don’t have space to go through every little bit of tech that’s out there or being developed but here’s a quick list of a few other things you can expect to see more of.

–   Augmented Reality (AR) – Used in e-commerce and online shopping, maps and navigation and even architecture.

–   3D Metal Printing – Construction and Manufacturing.

–   Drones – Retail.

–   5G – Everywhere.

–   Nanorobotics – Medicine and the environment.

SCARED YET?

Of course, many of the above developments may have you a little concerned. There are legitimate questions to be asked about ethics and privacy.

A lot of these things involve handing over more of our data and our lives to the big tech corporations who control the infrastructure behind the cloud, the objects we buy and the services we use.

In their defence, they are making our world faster and more efficient than ever before and a lot of this technology could potentially open doors to increased safety and advances in medicine.

These firms are also just businesses who want us to buy their stuff and if we want the benefits they afford and that we enjoy, we’ll have to go along for the ride.

Hopefully the above list is more exciting than it is unnerving!

If you have any questions about cloud storage, chatbots or a few of the other things we’ve mentioned, do get in touch.