If you own a business or operate one, then you’re probably thinking about how you can make it as profitable as possible in 2020. The new year is almost upon us, and company owners and investors are enthusiastic about expanding their profit margins.
But how best to do so? It seems clear that you should be focused on technological trends as a way of growing your brand and inspiring loyalty from your customers. In this article, we’re going to talk about the six areas of tech that we feel are going to help your business the most in 2020. Maybe you have heard of some of them before, while others might be new to you.
1. Mobile is Still a Trend
When it comes to new business technology, 2020 is going to be a thrilling year, and the first tech that’s going to make a difference is related to various mobile applications. Mobile commerce has been edging its way into our lives for several years now. Many individuals have become used to shopping on their phones via intuitive apps and mobile-friendly websites. Hence, you need to keep in mind that mobile shopping is hiking and if you are going to grow your business you need to think about developing mobile shop apps. Though it might seem simple, technologies for mobile apps are developing samely incrementally and to stand out with the mobile shop you need to use them too.
One of the examples of them is mobile payment technology. For example, the use of Alipay and WeChat to pay for almost everything has made life simpler for many, and the humble QR code is back in vogue.
Mobile payments online are already popular, but that will only increase in 2020. One-click online checkouts using mobile wallets have gained popularity and led to better conversion rates. Solutions including Apple Pay, PayPal, One-Touch, and Visa Checkout abound.
Then there is mobile marketing. Companies increasingly leverage it to meet consumer demands, and with good reason. According to Invesp, 32% of shoppers changed their minds about purchasing items after checking out the product information on their mobiles within brick-and-mortar stores.
2. 5G Networks
Perhaps you have started to use 5G Wi-Fi. It’s lightning-fast internet straight from our cellular networks. You can expect more of this very soon. There have been some seemingly unfounded concerns over what 5G could be doing to our bodies, but this has not dampened enthusiasm for it.
The increased bandwidth provides faster internet speeds with a simpler setup process. In addition, 5G networks will facilitate the use of drones and driverless cars. They’ll be able to communicate rapidly with any other smart vehicles in their vicinity, an essential component for all futuristic cities.
3. Extended Reality
Any list of disruptive technologies of the future has to include extended reality or XR. This is a catch-all term that covers several new and emerging technologies being used to create more immersive digital experiences. More specifically, it refers to virtual, augmented, and mixed realities.
Virtual reality, or VR, provides a fully digitally-immersive experience. You can enter a computer-generated world using headsets. Augmented reality, or AR, overlays digital objects onto the real world via smartphone screens or displays (think Snapchat filters). It shows lots of potential of using AR/VR in the healthcare industry for example for creating a virtual environment for doctors’ work.
Mixed reality, also referred to as MR, is an extension of AR. With it, users can interact with digital objects situated in the real world. For example, you could play a holographic piano that you have placed within your room via an AR headset.
These technologies have been around for a few years, but have largely been confined to the world of entertainment. Oculus Rift and Vive headsets represent the current state-of-the-art in video games. Meanwhile, smartphone features like camera filters and Pokémon Go-style games provide the most
4. AI and Analytics
The combining of the SaaS business model with AI services could soon help bring AI to the masses without a heavy price tag. While advances in AI are racing ahead in some areas and lagging in others, such as speech recognition, there are already some AI provider platforms offering a variety of services. Those include processing-intensive GPU workloads. In addition, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and other heavyweights are offering machine-learning solutions and training materials infused with AI. Proliferation in this area, and a move to more specific AI tasks being offered on subscription, is a likely development for 2020.
Still, a few tasks are going to require human intervention to work as they should. For example:
- Facial Recognition
- Effective Computing
- Speech Commands, etc.
- Chatbots
Soon, AI advancement will get to the point where machines will take over many human tasks. Several reputable brands, like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have invested heavily in resources to incorporate and promote AI capabilities. AMAZON GO is a prime example. It is a self-checkout station that relies on AI to speed the purchase process along. visible examples of AR.
5. Internet of Things (IoT)
Internet of Things has been one of the most captivating technologies around for a while now, and that should continue into the new year. Currently, almost 9 billion devices connect to the Internet. It would not be unreasonable to expect this number to rise to as much as 20 billion in 2020.
In 2020, this technology will only expand. A vast integration of IoT in real estate will only increase with different aspects of smart homes that seem inevitable. Alexa and Google Home are only the first examples.
Well-known companies like Apple and Samsung are also coming up with products featuring this technology to give Alexa and Google Home some competition. For example, Bixby Technology of Samsung and Homepad of Apple are all set to be launched in the next couple of years.
If your company deals in any way with the industries we mentioned, then you should consider what IoT can do for you in the immediate future.
6. Voice Technology
The latest technology in engineering quite often has to do with advancements in voice capabilities. Past developments in this area have been impressive, to put it mildly. Great strides have already occurred through tech like Alexa and Siri hitting the market. Still, though, we can expect the use of these sorts of devices to increase exponentially as time passes.
Voice is something that cannot be easily translated into digital technology. It is a medium that tends to be free-flowing and organic. New programming languages will soon lead to computers having a superior understanding of what exists today. They will be able to pick up on human tone, puns, sarcasm, and even more profound concepts, such as double meanings.
Together with machine learning, AI, and language processing, the possibilities are limitless.
For disruptive technology, 2020 is going to be a banner year. Is your business utilizing any of the ones we mentioned yet? If not, you should think about it. You’re going to have to start using some of them sooner or later, and you might as well get a head start on it now to keep up with your competition.
Companies disrupted by technology don’t have to be afraid of progress. Instead, you just need to adjust your business model to it. Most industries should still be able to remain viable if you take some time and get creative.
Bio:
Slava Vaniukov, Co-Founder and CEO at Softermii, has over 9-years of experience in the web and mobile development industry. After getting extensive experience in the MVP development and UX/UI design field, Slava joined forces with like-minded professionals to start his own mobile and web development company.