Did you know that by 2025, there will be over 38 billion smart devices in the world, processing and sharing data, and over 4.3 billion people using the internet?
These statistics show how the world is becoming more reliant on information technology, at a faster pace than most realize.
As technology shifts to address the need, most industries are not ready for it. Market demand, innovation, and agility go in lockstep with technology advancement.
Once companies adapt and adjust to the latest technology, many are already obsolete. The one constant that is true through the change is that the world is always trying to catch up.
How can companies keep track of what's coming and going? Keep reading to find out.
Leading-Edge Technology to Plan For
What doesn't change is the need to address the needs of the customer in a non-disruptive way, maximizes value, and minimizes cost.
Technology will continue to change. Knowing the trends will help guide both businesses and those looking for career opportunities.
Here is the top leading-edge technology that will lead the way in the next five years, as well as some of the key roles needed to support them.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) allows computers to continuously learn through the actions it takes. The computer mimics human behavior in the way the computer executes tasks. Experts use natural language processing to train a computer to assess large amounts of data. The computer then detects patterns so that it can take the actions a person would normally take.
AI never gets tired as it analyzes data through repetitive learning and discovery. The results are more intelligent products and services that enrich customer experience.
The prime example of an AI learning system is the intelligent assistants used today to carry out simple tasks.
As Artificial Intelligence plays a larger role in the future of IT, companies are looking for more targeted skilled staff. This includes data scientists, business intelligence engineers, and experts in natural language processing.
Internet of Things
The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the network of various products, objects, and devices that surround us. These "things" communicate with each other without human intervention. The concept of IoT goes beyond the idea of connecting through computers. It is about living in a connected world.
IoT has gained momentum as industries are looking for a real-time understanding of customer needs. IoT data provides insight to quickly adapt and improve products and services.
This can be done through:
- "listening" to customer behavior utilizing AI
- monitoring manufacturing outputs to determine supply and demand
- tracking biometrics through wearable technology
- tracking the speed and congestion of traffic to provide efficient routes
IoT deals with multiple data streams and a need to understand the data. Look for an emphasis on data analytics and Artificial Intelligence. This means a great demand for industrial engineers, data scientists, and solution architects.
Cloud
Cloud computing is the operating of applications remotely. There is no need to physically host any of the hardware or software. This includes files needed to run the application, the storing of data, and the infrastructure they sit on.
Hosting the environment over the internet allows the following service models:
- Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) providing access from machines (physical and virtual) and storage
- Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) providing the technical environment for development and deployment tools
- Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providing software products directly to customers and end-users
The entire technical environment is online. There is no need for local installations of software to manage the environment itself. Services can be on-demand, allowing service providers to scale to customer needs.
Adoption toward the cloud spiked by 25% in the past year, showing a greater push for remote hosting. This provides a greater opportunity for software and web developers. Data engineers and cybersecurity analysts will also be in great demand.
Containerization
Containers are self-contained units. They hold all the software needed to run applications anywhere. This includes the configuration files, libraries, and programs to operate a web application. Just like a shipping container at a dock, these units can be moved anywhere in any environment and still run.
The biggest benefit of containers is that it does not need a full server and hardware to start up. Containers include only the application. They can start and stop quickly with minimal downtime to users.
Being small, there are substantial savings in disk space, as containers can be run virtually. Being segmented from the operating system, containers are also highly secure. A lot of risks are removed when the dependency on a large technical environment goes away.
Containerization is a game-changer in how demand can be met. Web applications and services are deployed faster with greater security. Operational costs are reduced.
In the next five years, there will be a big push to find DevOps experts. Experts with skills in popular containerization platforms such as Dockers and Kubernetes will be in high demand.
Self-Healing Systems
Like people, systems get old and sometimes get hurt. Systems are modernized, sometimes get replaced, but often need to be fixed. Unlike people, systems don't know how to take care of themselves.
Self-healing systems have the ability to run and monitor themselves. They check for anomalies against the expected behavior. They take restore actions to bring the system back to an agreed-upon state without any human intervention.
Applications, systems, and hardware can be built to self-heal. This can take the form of:
- reactive healing (the system takes action when there is an error)
- preventative healing (the system monitors itself in real-time and takes an action before the error happens)
The benefits are in the higher availability of systems to customers. Also when teams don't need to spend their time focusing on fixing a problem, they are spending their time delivering value to the customer.
Look for network engineers, automation programmers, and network administrators in this area.
Staffing for the Future
In 2021, these are some of the leading-edge technology that will drive the Information Technology industry in the next five years. There is a common theme among them. They exist to support customers quickly, seamlessly, and with less need for human intervention.
Have surge positions to fill? Quadrant has the contract staffing services to provide immediate support to organizations while reducing cost and risk. Whatever your needs, Quadrant can meet the demands of today and the future of Technology
Looking for contract positions? Quadrant has that covered. Jump into the jobs portal to see what we're actively looking for. Be part of our growing number of professionals today.