5 Technology Trends to Pay Attention to in 2021
Matt Archer
April 13, 2021
Cloud Solutions at the Heart of Technology Trends
Technology trends in the past year have shifted (in some ways quite dramatically) from the norm, as the Covid-19 Pandemic continues to keep many people isolated and drives technology expansion around the areas of remote work. Businesses have adapted in many ways through the adoption of cloud solutions to solve for gaps in their business process caused by the pandemic. This has been at the heart of some trends developing in 2021 and beyond.
Below are 5 key technology trends in 2021 that we feel are important to pay attention to, as they have the potential to shape how technology will be used for the rest of the decade and beyond.
Technology Trend #1 - Remote Work Here to Stay
Unsurprisingly, virtual work continues to grow as it’s all but required for many industries to continue functioning optimally. But the interesting shift is that there’s a push to continue down this “work from anywhere” path even after the pandemic subsides.
As workers got a taste of being able to work from home and businesses saw that productivity actually increased[1], the work from anywhere (WFA) methodology is continuing to build up steam and become a popular long-term trend.
Technology Trend #2 - E-Learning and Online Education Become Mainstream
Another area hard hit by the isolation protocols enacted due to the pandemic is education. Sitting in close proximity to each other in small, poorly ventilated rooms was the norm across many schools, which made it a particularly important area to clamp down on.
This has led to the increase of online education options such as eLearning or live webinar classes for children and adults alike. Although there is a learning curve to optimally using some of the tools involved, we see this trend continuing to expand for many of the same reasons that WFA is growing – people want to be able to learn where and when it’s safest and most convenient for them.
Technology Trend #3 - Distributed Cloud Makes the Best Solution even Better
Distributed Cloud is defined as the process “where cloud services are distributed to different physical locations, but the operation, governance and evolution remain the responsibility of the public cloud provider.”[2] It is being touted as “The future of cloud”[3] because it takes all of the good things about cloud (mobility, accessibility, decentralization) and improves upon them by spreading the functions out across multiple server sites instead of just one.
The power of distributed cloud is that it can potentially allow your cloud services to be able to handle more requests, be less susceptible to outages, and be located physically within a certain geographic area to comply with data protection laws. Another benefit is that companies are able to receive these benefits without needing to create their own private cloud service, which can be costly to maintain.
Technology Trend #4 - Cybersecurity Improvements Become Essential
A myriad of security issues arose as many companies tried to quickly shift to remote working practices. As people were no longer working only on secure private networks, and also had to learn new technology, it opened up the door for hackers and scammers to find their way in to take advantage of the chaos.
This is why improvements in Cybersecurity will be an essential trend in order to keep pace with threats being generated through the WFA movement. No longer can everything be contained and managed within a small security perimeter, but instead security needs to be thought of as scalable, flexible and adaptable to any situations that present themselves.
One example of this trend in action is the migration from Local Area Network (LAN) to Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) technology. As Gartner mentions, “Cloud-delivered security services are growing increasingly popular with the evolution of remote office technology. Secure access service edge (SASE) technology allows organizations to better protect mobile workers and cloud applications by routing traffic through a cloud-based security stack, versus backhauling the traffic so it flows through a physical security system in a data center.”[4]
Technology Trend #5 - Adaptability and Scalability are Front and Center
Intelligent Composable Business is a term used by Gartner[5] to describe companies that have the agility to scale and adapt themselves to the rapid shifts and changes of the current business landscape as a whole, but especially in the area of technology. This trend is particularly important in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact it has had on everyday business operations.
In order to be able to adapt quickly, many companies will need to get better data faster through intelligent analytics, as well as evaluate and improve their existing business processes. This should improve decision-making and follow-through across the organization. In many cases, it requires a lot of work to accomplish, but the benefits of doing so mean that when the next big shake-up occurs, businesses that followed this trend will be better prepared to quickly pivot to a more effective strategy.
Final Thoughts
Positive Results™ is a training development and cloud solutions company that helps organizations analyze their business processes and implement solutions to solve for any gaps we find. We keep track of the latest technology trends because they influence how we can best support our clients.
As trends continue to evolve in the areas of remote work, eLearning, cloud computing, data security, and business agility, we work with our partners to utilize these improvements and help empower your business to be in the best possible position moving forward.
If you have additional questions or need support, contact us at:
Positive Results™ Custom Business Solutions
440.499.4944
[1] https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/drawbacks-to-working-at-home-.aspx
[2] https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/gartner-top-strategic-technology-trends-for-2021/
[3] https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/the-cios-guide-to-distributed-cloud/
[4] https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/gartner-top-9-security-and-risk-trends-for-2020/
[5] https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/gartner-top-strategic-technology-trends-for-2021/
