Big technology changes are happening behind the scenes in many industries. While these developments may not yet be well-known to the public, they’ll soon be coming online—and when they do come, you’ll want to be ready for them.
As industry leaders, the members of Forbes Technology Council stay on top of the latest tech trends as well as how those trends will affect the world at large. Below, they share 16 major tech developments they believe will shake things up in the consumer market.
1. Digitization Of Healthcare
Digitization of healthcare is on a fast-track due to Covid-19 and is headed towards major disruption. Consumers will start seeing some of the following technologies become mainstream: virtual nurse consultations using chatbots; predictive analytics and preventative care using artificial intelligence; augmented reality for analyzing MRIs and CT scans; the storage of patient data using blockchain; etc. Low-cost, patient-centered healthcare could soon be a reality. - Beena Jacob, Donoma Software
2. Quantum Computing
Quantum computing is a major tech trend that has the potential to deliver solutions to some of the earth’s most complicated predicaments and solve complex problems across industries. Its utilization will affect consumers in a myriad of ways—the most immediate being its ability to completely upend data security, including cracking encryption, which would render current encryption methods obsolete. - Rodney Joffe, Neustar
3. Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is likely to receive an increase in implementation across all types of apps. As Covid-19 spread, the demand for cloud-based video conferencing and online teaching skyrocketed. Moving forward, businesses and educational institutions are likely to continue to make use of this technology, as student and employee behaviors change and the demand to access resources remotely grows. - Sanjay Malhotra, Clearbridge Mobile
4. Video Surveillance AI
Scaling video surveillance AI with the right card-reading technologies will severely disrupt the hypermarket business. We’ve already seen pilot projects for staffless shops. Once this technology is mature enough, the whole shopping experience will be redesigned as it will no longer need to be organized around cash desks. - Ivailo Nikolov, SiteGround
5. Digitization Of The Financial Industry
The relatively slow pace of the financial industry’s digital transformation to date has been sped up significantly by Covid-19. As more financial institutions begin turning into data companies, they move beyond mere transactions and acting as intermediaries to become true financial advocates for their customers, resulting in our society reaping the benefits of improved financial strength. - Brandon Dewitt, MX
6. Virtual Learning
Healthcare and education are two sectors that are headed towards major disruption. Healthcare is already an election conversation, but big tech like Amazon’s 24/7 medication delivery platform, Apple’s fitness monitoring and Alphabet’s entry into EHR are examples. Virtual learning during Covid-19 has proven that students from early education to college can thrive using online learning platforms. - Swathi Young, Integrity Management Systems Inc
7. 5G And 3D Printing On Demand
5G and 3D printing on demand will be the next big waves that will affect consumer purchasing behavior and the types of products they will put their disposable income into. 5G will open up a whole new world of more advanced tech products such as mobile phones and tablets, while 3D printing on demand will allow consumers to customize and buy products with limited lead time. - Abhinav Somani, Leverton, An MRI Software Company
8. Enhanced Data Privacy
I believe that we will start to see more industry adoption of solutions that are looking to improve the way enterprises are handling data and preserving the privacy of their customers. The General Data Protection Regulation, California Consumer Privacy Act and other local acts are driving this transformation; however, customers’ education and understanding will give this trend another major push. - Assaf Cohen, Anqlave
9. Digital Twins
Digital twins have already transformed predictive modeling capabilities in the industrial IoT, and soon they’ll begin to transform the customer experience in retail and hospitality. Advancements in AI and machine learning will continue to improve our capability to simulate and predict buyer behavior for truly one-to-one recommendations, offers and products. - Shiv Sundar, Esper
10. Autonomous Vehicles
I think that autonomous vehicles will greatly impact the lives of consumers. The self-driving revolution will diminish the need for an individual to purchase his or her own car because self-driving fleets will emerge as a more optimal method of transport. As a result, consumers will save the vast amounts of time and money that are required to own and maintain an automobile. - Ashwini Choudhary, Recogni
11. Safer Online Security
More and more security measures are going to be implemented as we move forward. Two-factor authentication is already a standard for giants like Google and Salesforce, which means that soon it is not going to be enough. Soon, storing your data online is not going to be such a big risk, which is what we have been striving for since the dawn of the internet. - Daria Leshchenko, SupportYourApp Inc.
12. Remote Condition Monitoring
Remote condition monitoring is a big trend for manufacturing companies looking to assess the health of their assets from afar. Using Industrial Internet of Things tech—such as temperature and vibration sensors connected to an app—an engineer can spot exactly when a problem is happening in real time and act quickly to make changes. - Ryan Chan, UpKeep Maintenance Management
13. Augmented Reality
Augmented reality is becoming more and more mainstream, from walking directions to furniture placement—and of course some amazing AR games. I think we will see consumers continuing to embrace its capabilities and demanding richer features. - Amy Czuchlewski, Bottle Rocket
14. Data Fabrics
Data fabrics are going to fundamentally change the way technology works. and consumers are going to see a massive increase in data privacy protections as a result. Imagine a world where a person can decide what data they want to share and whom they want to share it with and have those permissions persist universally—because that’s what data fabrics eventually will allow. - Dan Demers, Cinchy
15. E-Personalization For Remote Work
Working from home will be the new normal, and e-personalization will be the new revolution. Although one-on-one interactions are important, Covid-19 has taught not only employers but employees how to function in a virtual and e-adaptation environment. Technology around it will be at an all-time high. - Bhavna Juneja, Infinity, a Stamford Technology Company
16. Virtualization Of Cellular Networks
Cellular networks are being virtualized and moved to the cloud. What used to be an expensive hardware-based network core can now be software modules running on-demand on multiple cloud instances. This will make new generations of cellular networks less expensive to build and scale, and consumers will eventually see their mobile bills shrinking—starting with 5G. - Ahmad (Al) Fares, CeliTech Inc.
