Tech Trends For 2017
Happy new year!
With a new year comes new technology, companies wish to push out for us all to use and enjoy. The coming 12 months provides organisations ample time to create and develop new digital products. To help you find a distinction between the dud and a diamond, read on and find out which tech trends you need to keep an eye on in 2017.
1- Analytics
While analytics is not new, 2017 can be seen as the year for its further integration in existing systems and protocols, companies and institutions have. For example police departments currently use analytics to pinpoint crime hotspots and use real-time data to locate areas in which to deploy police officers to help keep crime rates down.
This style of covert surveillance allows officers to act accordingly and promptly without needing to cover cities in waves of law enforcement personnel.
Coming back to companies, analytics can be used to spot trends in their industry and help improve customer experience, increase profits, measure success and come to important decisions on what to do in the next coming months.
2- Internet of Things (IoT)
While this may sound vague, this phrase has been making the rounds on various tech blogs and posts such as UX studio and Forbes.com and given the different outlets discussing this, perhaps 2017 may be the year for the IoT to finally kick off!
But what is it? Well, put simply, IoT refers to various appliances and applications being connected to the internet and having the ability to talk to each other and to you. A common example of a connected device that is often discussed is a smart fridge. Think how useful it would be for your fridge to inform of when you’ve run out of milk or your favorite juice drink has just expired during your weekly shop?
However, the IoT is not only just about fridges, as we have seen in the UK, there has also been the introduction of smart meters which enable homeowners to keep a more accurate eye on their energy usage. Some meters/boilers even allow users to remotely control the outputs through their smartphone and tablets. This also helps to keep costs down as users can turn off any lights left on while out and about. While these devices have already been rolled out, there are plenty of homes, at least in the UK which still don’t have these boilers, meters & thermostats. Perhaps 2017 will be the year for this to happen.
3- VR/AR
While VR and AR have made some waves in 2016, it felt as if they left our lives as quickly as they entered, with the AR inspired Pokemon Go craze dying quicker than an Onix against a Blastoise and Sony’s PlayStation VR device being an expensive novelty gift rather than an entertainment mainstay. However, developers have had more time to work with this technology so we should see more firms using VR and AR and produce more products with this technology. After all, with the release and positive reception of the Gear VR, HTC VIVE and AR apps such as Pokemon Go, especially with the introduction of the 2nd generation Pokemon, it is hard to see why there won’t be more VR/AR goodies to enjoy in 2017.
4- Voice Control & Bots
Bots are here and they are here to help! As 2016 wound down we saw the debut of Alexa, Amazon’s voice activated assistant and Google’s assistant in their Pixel smartphone range. In 2016 there has been a clear focus on creating virtual assistants for our lives and in 2017 there should be no signs of this type of technology slowing down. This will also undoubtedly work well with the IoT as while controlling your heating from your phone is impressive, controlling your house by speaking to it is definitely mind-boggling.
These tech devices help show the rapid rate of technological development companies wish to execute to bring us weird and wonderful tech products. Simply put, 2017 is already shaping up to be another fascinating tech-filled year.
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