We live in the age of rapid technological breakthroughs – we suppose it’s no news for you, and nor is how important it is to keep up with the latest advancements. 2018 was the year of GDPR, autonomous vehicles, the hype around data (from Big Data to predictive analytics and data security), blockchain, AI, and more. 2019 is not going to slow down: more advancements are on horizons, while what was once revolutionary becomes ‘business as usual’ for enterprises.
4 Enterprise Technology Trends that Deserve Your Attention
So, what has this year prepared for us in terms of enterprise technology trends? It was fairly hard to focus our attention on only four of them, but we managed to do this. Now, let’s take a closer at look at the opportunities they bring.
1. Data privacy remains the top priority
This one has been among the toughest enterprise technology challenges for some years in a row. We watched the emergence of GDPR and other regulations, and one thing became clear: customers want to be in charge of their personal data, and they care about its confidentiality. So, it is upon the enterprises to ensure they get what they demand.
It’s not just about the values and fines; introducing enhanced enterprise data privacy measures is also about ‘hooking’ this customer segment and improving their customer experience.
One more thing enterprises need to pay attention to is data protection. Cyber attacks are on the rise, and they are damaging: on average, the cost of a cyber attack amounts to $21.22 million per a US-based company. The most popular types of attacks are malware, phishing and social engineering, and web-based attacks.
How do enterprises manage to protect their data from hackers? The key measures here are thorough corporate security policies combined with penetration, vulnerability and other tests.
2. Cloud computing becomes usual
This might’ve been a sci-fi thing a decade ago, but now renting computing power and data storage from the likes of Amazon is a full-fledged reality.
The perks are obvious: minimizing the costs associated with the IT infrastructure. You can use the service on demand and pay as you go. Besides, it allows enterprises to launch their solutions faster while boosting their manageability and relieving them of any maintenance responsibilities.
While cloud computing is already ‘business as usual’, there is one particular trend that is going to be in demand in 2019: multi-cloud management solutions. They allow using two or more cloud computing services for distributing their resources.
This approach is all about not putting all your eggs in one basket. In case of a power outage or other issues with one service provider, your solution can still be up and running. Besides, this reduces the risk of losing vital data and encountering downtime.
3. Blockchain is now an enterprise tool
Blockchain is adapted not only by cryptocurrency geeks these days. In fact, 95% of enterprises across multiple industries stated they were investing into blockchain solutions in 2018. Besides, we’ve seen ready-to-use enterprise blockchain tools appear on the market (developed by Amazon, IBM, and Oracle, to name a few). This is a clear sign: blockchain has become a demanded technology among enterprises.
Blockchain can power data privacy and security, supply chain management, and secure transaction-making solutions among other things. Why? It’s immutable, it’s trustless, it eliminates the need to get any third parties involved, it’s transparent, it allows tracing the history of actions; ultimately, it reduces costs while increasing efficiency of the processes. This is why its perks are seen as the most beneficial for such industries as cybersecurity, healthcare, investing and finance, and agriculture.
4. AI is here for enterprise data analytics
To finish our enterprise tech trends 2019 list, we’ve chosen AI and its application in enterprise data analytics. First, let’s make something clear: data analytics is aimed at finding meaningful patterns based on past actions. There’s also predictive analytics – i.e., forecasting the future behavior based on history and patterns.
How does AI fit into all of this? The key difference is that AI algorithms can find patterns, build assumptions, test them, and learn from the results of such ‘tests’. In the case of non-AI predictive analytics, your employees would have to gather and determine whether your hypothesis was correct and your actions are effective. With AI, the algorithms pinpoint the success or failure without any human involvement and fine-tune further actions to be more efficient.
All in all, AI is here to power hyper-personalized interactions with the customer, especially when it comes to marketing campaigns.
Enterprise Tech Trends 2019: Conclusion
Perhaps, some of the items on our list haven’t surprised you that much. Well, it’s true that some trends remain trends for years, and there’s no escaping them. In this case, it’s a clear sign that they get adopted by more players in the industries and are becoming the new norm.
At the end of the day, the price of neglecting these trends may be your organization becoming a relic of the past. Keeping up with the latest advancements is vital, and we wish you good luck in your endeavors toward becoming a technological front-runner in your niche.
