Today’s technology is advancing at such a rapid pace, allowing faster development and progress. As such, individuals and businesses looking to differentiate themselves in this digital world must stay on top of the latest innovations in the market.

In this article, we discuss the four biggest tech trends set to change the world in 2021 and beyond.

Artificial intelligence 

Research shows that the artificial intelligence market is likely to reach USD 190.61 billion by 2025. With the increased demand for smarter virtual assistants, big data, and cloud-based applications, AI programs continue to dominate the market.

To date, AI is best known for its superiority in navigation, facial analysis, and image and speech recognition as seen in ride-sharing apps and smartphone personal assistants. Its ability to collect and handle big data is propelling its growth in autonomous or semiautonomous applications in various industries, such as automotive and manufacturing.

In the new decade, AI will be used to better analyze interactions, predict demand for services, improve decision-making about resource utilization. It will also be used to detect changing patterns of customer behavior by reviewing data in real-time and improving personalized experiences.

Edge computing 

Edge computing is a network infrastructure that brings information processing and data storage closer to the source of data. The result is greater bandwidth savings and improved response times.

Instead of sending data for processing in central locations in the cloud, computing occurs right where it is needed. This accelerates the generation of insights, reduces latency issues, and minimizes the usage and cost of cloud services. Thanks to these benefits, experts predict that by 2022, the global edge computing market is expected to reach $6.72 billion.

Since data processing and AI are run locally, cellular data usage and connectivity costs also drop. This can be particularly beneficial for plants and facilities in remote areas with poor communication infrastructure. Edge computing minimizes the risk of connectivity losses that can affect time-sensitive projects and decision-making.

Virtual and augmented reality 

Virtual Reality and augmented reality have received a lot of buzz in the past decade, but they’re only going to get bigger in the next few years as AR-ready smartphones become more accessible.

Virtual reality immerses the user in simulated experience that can be similar to or completely different from the real world. Unlike passive user interfaces, virtual reality enables interaction with 3D worlds. It stimulates vision, hearing, touch and even smell to further enhance the experience.

Virtual reality has been widely used in the video games industry. But in recent years, it has also been instrumental to aviation, medicine, and the military, acting as an alternative to live training with dangerous situations or expensive equipment.

Augmented reality, on the other hand, takes the virtual reality to the next level by stimulating artificial objects in the real world. It has been used in Snapchat lenses, apps that help the user locate their car in a crowded parking lot, and shopping apps that let the user try on clothes in the comfort of their home.

Virtual and augmented reality are set to have a huge impact on entertainment, education, automotive, training, medicine, and marketing. Neurosurgeons have begun using AR projections of a 3-D brain to improve surgical outcomes. Similarly, automotive engineers take advantage of virtual reality to visualize the car they’re building without having to use any physical materials.

5G 

Almost every telecom company from Apple and Verizon to Tmobile and QualComm is now working on building 5G applications. Compared to 4G, emerging 5G networks feature lower latency and increased bandwidth.

5G offers predicted speeds of up to 10 Gbps which is almost a 100x increase compared to 4G. In addition, 5G is set to deliver up to 1,000x more capacity than 4G. Enhanced speed partnered with huge network capacity enables larger amounts of data to be transmitted in less time.

5G is expected to improve smart city infrastructure and traffic management through connected vehicle technology. It also offers massive opportunities for industrial automation and IoT technologies. In addition, 5G is predicted to push the limits of drones in terms of range and interactivity.

Digital trends create tremendous opportunities for growth, but it also brings enormous expectations. Companies need to keep their eyes on the future to stay competitive and ensure their long-term success.