Technology Trends to Watch for in 2022

The world continues to see the impact of the global pandemic in several different ways. Several technologies have been crucial in assisting various industries to allow remote work. Improving and applying certain technologies that weren’t always a part of a company’s traditional operations became a priority for some businesses. In the past two years, automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning technologies became a focus for many companies to stay in business. The improvement of cybersecurity became even more significant as more companies were forced to increase their online presence. Networking and connectivity technologies also became vital as teams worked from various locations. The world will continue to see the impacts of this in the upcoming year. This article aims to predict some of the technology trends to watch for in 2022. 

The World Will Become Even More Digital

Most of the American workforce experienced some sort of digitized form of their office during the pandemic. Teams would meet remotely in one form or another. Whether it/s messaging applications like Slack or Software-as-a-Service work environments like Asana. Even seeing friends and family were done using video conferencing applications like Zoom and FaceTime.

2022, will be more digitized and virtualized even more than we have seen in the past several years. The recent news of the Facebook company changing its name to “Meta” furthers this idea of the world incorporating more digitization and virtualization. Meta is a direct reference to “Metaverse”. The concept of the Metaverse is a combination of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality (Extended Reality or XR), social media, gaming, the future of connected devices, and a new form of the internet, all combined into one making what will be known as The Metaverse. Metaverse will make the world even more digitized and virtualized than ever before. An online world combining all of these various aspects will bring in a new way of communicating with everyone around you.

The Ericsson company gave all of its employees VR headsets during the pandemic. They are also developing what they call the “Internet of Senses”, which aims to give an experience of all the senses including touch, smell, and taste. The company forecasts that by the year 2030, consumers will not be able to tell the difference between the virtual world and reality.

Autonomous Systems Will Continue to Modernize and Grow 

Next to communication technology, one of the most essential technologies in the past several years has been autonomic systems. Automation will continue to be implemented by many companies in various industries in 2022. Autonomous systems can change their algorithm as it learns the best procedures for specific tasks. This will continue to be a significant innovation for many different industries especially in terms of security systems.

One of the latest buzzwords within the realm of autonomous systems is “Hyperautomation”, which is a more deliberate and calculated approach to automation. It also combines artificial intelligence and machine learning technology, packaged software, and additional automation tools. Its aim is a more focused approach to improving a business’s quality of work, expediting a business’ process, and enhancing decision-making capabilities. Hyperautomation will be one of the technology trends to look out for in the coming year(s).

Sustained Emphasis on Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence has been a consistent part of technology news for quite some time now, but there will be a continued emphasis on the importance of AI especially because the need for automation is more apparent. For automation, and even more so, hyperautomation, innovation of artificial intelligence technology will be essential.

One aspect of AI that will be significant is Generative Artificial Intelligence. This refers to specific programs that make it achievable for machines to apply aspects such as text, audio, and images. These AI algorithms let computers take a fundamental pattern associated with the input and use that to produce similar output. Because of the world’s necessity for automation, digitization, and other technologies needed for remote work—the advancement of artificial intelligence will be an emphasis in 2022.

This also means that artificial intelligence engineers and experts will be even more in demand. LinkedIn reported that artificial intelligence engineers were one of the top emerging jobs in 2020 with an annual growth of 74% in the past four years. Gartner also stated that by the end of 2021, 80% of merging technologies will incorporate foundations in artificial intelligence. The way technology is going, the innovations that are happening, and how businesses have moved toward remote work have made artificial intelligence and AI engineers even more vital.

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) Will Resume to Rising in Popularity

The ascent of Non-Fungible Tokens or NFTs was undeniable in 2021. Certain NFTs sold upwards of $500 million. An NFT is a cryptocurrency, but unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum, every NFT is unique. A “fungible” currency like Bitcoin will have a specific value that will fluctuate. NFTs are non-fungible which means there is no set amount, and because these tokens or pieces of art are one-of-a-kinds, both art collectors and investors have become interested in this cryptocurrency.

Because of this popularity, NFTs will have a major impact on several different industries including the data center industry.  NFTs use blockchain technology so it will have an impact on data, data centers, and energy usage. We will see more companies get involved Non-Fungible Tokens. As NFTs are digital representations of physical artwork on a blockchain, as it continues to rise in popularity, we will see companies offer NFT creation services for a fee. Non-Fungible Tokens rose in demand this past year and will continue to be one of the technology trends for 2022.

Conclusion

Technology trends of this current year will bleed into the year 2022. Remote workplace environments will increase the demand for digitization and virtualization. As Facebook transitions into becoming the first metaverse company, ideas of a fully virtual workplace may become a reality sooner than later. Along with these two trends, advancements and innovations in autonomous systems and artificial intelligence will be an emphasis for many companies as well. All of these technology trends may bring the world into a new era of virtual living. Lastly, the way the world shares, owns, and experiences art and other goods may be more so data than physical objects. 2022 will be more digitized and data-filled than ever before.