The Tech Rumble Roars On: 7 Trends to Watch Out for in 2020

7 May 2020

The tech revolution is set to soar on in 2020. Even though it’s already one of the biggest industries, with people spending $3.36 trillion on technology in 2019, both consumers and businesses will invest even more in tech devices and solutions in 2020.

Stylish Female Industrial Robotics Engineer Uses Laptop Computer with Graphs and Diagrams in Trend Analytics Software. Technology Research Facility for Machine Learning and Cloud Computing

Adobe, for instance, expects global e-commerce sales to rise 19% to $4.2 billion and 94% of businesses to increase their spending on voice searches. Chatbots, mixed reality apps, programmatic advertising, and augmented analytics are the other trends predicted to dominate in 2020.

To maintain your bottom line and boost your growth, it would help to keep a close eye on these trends. We especially recommend that you closely monitor the following trends throughout the rest of the year;

  • Growth in Mobile Commerce 

Angela Strange, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, who recently spoke to Fast Company, says that digital commerce is braced for significant growth once again, with mobile technology at the center of it all.

Strange didn’t give any data, but, according to Orbelo, mobile commerce will grow 25.4% in 2020 to reach $2.91 trillion. By 2021, mobile sales will be generating at least $3.56 trillion per year. Factors predicted to propel the growth include the high number of mobile users (5.1 billion) and the increase in time spent on mobile.

The share of mobile sales, relative to total eCommerce sales, should ultimately rise to 72.9% by early 2021, compared to 52.4% in 2016 and 67.2% in 2019.

  • Expansion of the Distributed Cloud

Cloud computing is arguably the most prominent tech breakthrough in the past decade. Today, 90% of companies are on the cloud. In total, 60% of workloads now run as hosted cloud services.

Expect even greater impact of the technology in 2020 as distributed cloud finally comes of age. Distributed cloud computing refers to the interconnection of data and applications served from geographic locations

As opposed to central cloud computing, the distributed cloud brings resources much closer to the end-user, which would ultimately boost speeds. Other advantages of a distributed cloud include location transparency, high mobility, and location detachability. Experts predict that the distribution of cloud services should result in more than 94% of all workloads running from the cloud by 2021.

  • The proliferation of the 5G Network

There’s been palpable excitement around the 5G network technology and for a good reason. 5G promises the fastest network speeds the world has ever seen – and that’s something that could impact pretty much every sector of the economy, from education to cinema and construction to commerce.

iQMetrics predicts several advances in the rollout of the technology in 2020. Among other things, there will be more 5G-enabled phones in 2020. Android will be the first in line. Indeed, there are already a few 5-G enabled Android devices. Apple will follow up later on.

However, 3G and 4G will still dominate in 2020. Currently, less than 1% of US users are connected to the 5G network, and that won’t change much until 2121 at the earliest.

  • AI as a Service Becomes a Thing

Anyone could have predicted this. However, how many would have expected it to happen so soon? Not many, right? Yet, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will now set to be available as a centrally-hosted software-as-a-service offer.

AIaaS, as it is known, actually already exists. In 2018, Hackernoon reported that a few companies were selling AIaaS to small businesses. In fact, in 2019, providers made at least $9.5 billion from AIaaS.

2020, however, will be the year AIaaS goes mainstream, thanks in part to the wide-scale adoption of cloud. Already, we’ve seen a sharp spike in AIaaS funding. In Q2 of 2019 alone, AIaaS startups generated $7.4 billion in funding – a 592% growth in only four years. This money is currently being used to develop new AIaaS applications.

  • The Age of Prescriptive Analytics Begins

Up to now, data analysts have focused on descriptive and predictive analytics. Descriptive analytics is when you interpret existing data to better understand changes that have happened. Predictive analytics, meanwhile, involves analyzing historical data to predict future trends. Prescriptive analytics is the next logical step.

This type of analytics is significantly different from the first two. It is the first form of data analytics that tells you what to do, given the data at hand and trends you’ve uncovered. Remember that descriptive and predictive analytics are all about revealing patterns hidden in heaps of data. The two won’t tell you what to do with the trends. Prescriptive analytics tells you how to take advantage of the trends.

Orian Research predicts massive growth in prescriptive analytics in 2020. Spending on the technology will pass $1.1 billion, with agriculture, retail, education, healthcare, and transportation/logistics set to lead the way.

  • The Beginning of the End for Mobile Apps?

This may come as a surprise to many people and terrible news to app-dependent brands as well as developers. But, recent studies show that the mobile app hasn’t been on a healthy trajectory for the past few years and could be on a downward spiral.

In the iOS app store, for instance, installs in Europe fell by 38% between 2014 and 2019, with app opens declining 28% in the same period. In the US, two-thirds of smartphone users now go a whole month without downloading a new app. Even worse, 23% of apps are now used only once before being ignored.

Though apps, in general, still post good revenue numbers, the stats make for grim reading and should be a major cause for worry in the app industry. It could be the beginning of the end for the app-hype.

  • Bitcoin Rises as Alternatives Cryptos Collapse 

Finally, you cannot discuss future tech trends without mentioning blockchain, especially cryptocurrencies. Blockchain is regarded as the next big thing, after all, and cryptocurrencies widely considered the fuel behind the predicted, widespread blockchain adoption. This is particularly evident in the rise of online casino’s voor Nederlandse spelers, which leverage blockchain technology to enhance security, transparency, and efficiency in transactions, making them increasingly popular among users.

Multiple experts see the crypto wave gaining more prominence in 2020 – but not for all players. Bitcoin is expected to remain strong and shake off any early fears. However, the other cryptos may not be as lucky, with the majority of them predicted to perform very poorly or even collapse, starting in 2020.

Bitcoin’s predicted success is founded on two factors – its market dominance and the ability of the crypto to maintain very high prices even in shaky moments. As a result, as more practical applications for blockchain emerge, we’re likely to see Bitcoin gain even more ground at the expense of the other cryptos.

Stay on Top of These and More Tech Trends

NIX Solutions is a market leader in digital solutions and emerging technologies. If you’re serious about gaining an edge on your competition, partner with us today so we can help you stay on the frontline for these and other new technologies in your industry.