Tech Trends to Watch and Consider in 2021
This past year saw a lot of changes in the tech industry for consumers and businesses. Many people had to adjust to working at home, and many businesses likewise had to shift while in gear to a new operating model that adapted to the global lockdown. The challenges presented in 2020 definitely have impacted life and the way businesses operate which will show in the tech trends in 2021.
This article will go over four highly anticipated tech trends for 2021: the virtual workspace, working from anywhere with 5G, cybersecurity investment, and moving to the Cloud, and will give information about how each of these trends will affect businesses for the year.
The Virtual Workspace
Working at home in a virtual workspace was the topic du jour for 2020. This was because people had to work from home or else business would not get done. In order to meet this demand, many businesses found the optimum solution by using conferencing software, smart cybersecurity practices, and the Cloud to create a virtual workspace for their employees.
What is a virtual workspace?
It is generally software program or suite of programs available over the Cloud or a standalone application that allows coworkers to operate and communicate with each other over the internet securely. These programs incorporate video conferencing with file sharing and maybe some proprietary services in a unified package so everything works smoothly without hassle.
This is why businesses moved to virtual workspaces like Zoom in 2020 and why they will be even bigger in 2021. The reasoning for this is simply because these businesses have invested into the infrastructure of handling and maintaining video conferencing. They may have invested in a virtual private network or even a managed internet provider to handle the huge increase in data bandwidth and consumption that these virtual workspaces required. Productivity was also affected by work at home models.
According to Prodoscore, productivity for those working at home increased 47% in the months of March and April when compared to 2019. With almost a double in output, it is no wonder that 2021 will see businesses attach working at home to their jobs and operating processes where they can.
Work from Anywhere
With the 5G rollout set to take up speed in 2021, you could say that this will be the year of work from anywhere. Building on the growth of working from home in 2020 and using the infrastructure to support this work model, 5G will allow anyone with a connected device to work and collaborate when they need where they need.
5G is substantially faster than 4G, and telecoms have poised 5G as the new model connection to the internet because of this speed. Since its bandwidth can handle more data and connections, 5G is perfect for transmitting and conducting video conferences. This gives businesses and employees a way to stay ahead on IT issues like outages or monitoring updates.
Investment in Cybersecurity
With businesses opening their operating models to include virtual workspaces, cybersecurity has never been more critical. Businesses can expect to spend more money protecting their infrastructure from cyberattacks in 2021 than they have in the past. This is not only smart for business but also has proved to be productive.
According to E. Doug Grindstaff II in an ISACA report, “87 percent of all surveyed organizations believe that strengthening their cybersecurity culture would increase profitability or viability.” He also states that instilling a smart cybersecurity culture requires educating all employees from the key positions to the support positions.
For businesses, the time is ripe to research IT firms including IT consulting. These organizations provide businesses with the expertise through experience for building a smart cybersecurity culture around the business IT processes. This means securing the workflow for your business with smart employee IT practices when adopting the virtual workspace and also giving your customers peace of mind knowing their information is safe.
Moving More to the Cloud
The Cloud is the perfect companion to the virtual workspace. It provides an easy and secure solution for hosting and transmitting files. Deciding on a self-hosted cloud server or a managed cloud service depends on what industry your business is in. An IT consulting firm can help decide which is the better choice and also help set it up.
Why the Cloud will be so important in 2021 is that so many businesses have begun to use it for their data hosting and processing needs. In an article by Nick Galov of HostingTribunal, he quotes Cisco reporting that Cloud data centers process 94% of business workloads. The Cloud past $200 billion in 2019 and was projected to pass $250 billion for 2020. Businesses are moving to the Cloud, and the trend will keep growing in 2021.
What is great for businesses about the Cloud is that everything is managed: the security, the hosting, the data pipeline, the maintenance. Everything is neatly packaged so your business only focuses on immediate concerns to normal operating processes and not something tangential. This is what creates a smart cybersecurity culture for businesses and helps by smoothing out their IT processes from bumps and pitfalls.
This year was historical for how much business changed over the whole world. Many businesses adapted by adjusting their IT processes to accommodate the demands of the global lockdown. Moving to a virtual workspace greatly influenced businesses this year, and with those visible changes, it is one of the biggest tech trends you will see in 2021. With the virtual workspace, the 5G rollout in 2021 will allow employees to conduct conferences and collaborate wherever they are. However, with the move to a virtual workspace, cybersecurity culture and its investment are vital for the success of business and will be notable tech trends in 2021.
These trends all build upon the challenges and solutions of 2020. Finding an IT firm that understands how 2020 was a monumental year and that businesses need to build upon what was learned will put you ahead of the competition. 4it provides IT services in the Southern Florida area. If you would like more information about 4it, please visit 4it here to contact us.
