How many technologies do you depend on to do your job today that didn’t exist when you started your career? For instance, instead of traditional desk phones, many of us now have a unified communications app like Microsoft Teams installed on our smartphones, allowing us to chat with colleagues and attend meetings from anywhere.
If there’s one factor you can depend on in the world of IT, it’s that the technologies that influence how we live and work will continue to evolve at warp speed. Just as cloud-delivered products like Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) have revolutionized how businesses operate in recent years, new and emerging technology will continue to alter what we view as normal in 2022 and beyond.
What are emerging technologies?
An emerging technology is either a brand new tool that’s still in development and starting to become popular or an already established type of technology that’s continuing to advance in new directions, according to the international academic publisher IGI Global.
A 2015 paper by researchers from the University of Sussex, Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Cambridge proposed that emerging technologies possess these five defining attributes:
- Rapid growth
- Radical novelty
- Ambiguity and uncertainty
- Prominent impact
- Coherence
Overall, it’s vital for business leaders to maintain awareness of new developments in the technological space, as staying up to speed on and adopting cutting-edge IT solutions lays the groundwork for competitiveness in the modern marketplace. Implementing novel technologies is an essential part of the digital transformation process.
Emerging technologies that could change the world in 2022 and beyond
If you’re wondering which novel technologies should be on your radar for the rest of 2022, here are a few solutions industry experts have highlighted as up-and-coming tech to keep an eye on this year.
1. The metaverse
The idea of a virtual shared space where we can connect with others gained traction when Facebook rebranded as Meta last year and shipped out millions of virtual reality headsets, according to The New York Times. Other major tech companies like Apple, Microsoft and Google either have plans to launch virtual reality products or already offer them.
Rolf Illenberger, CEO of VRdirect, has predicted that this year will involve “a race into the metaverse,” according to The Washington Post. As virtual reality tech continues to develop, we could find ourselves attending meetings and seminars hosted in the metaverse – although tech companies still have a considerable amount of work to do before this virtual world takes off.
“The metaverse is the next evolutionary stage of the internet, but it is still in the early stage of its development,” Tuong Nguyen, a senior principal analyst for Gartner, wrote in a December 2021 article. “We expect the transition toward the metaverse to be as significant as the one from analog to digital.”
2. Smart spaces
The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart devices (including thermostats, door locks and other items connected to the internet) has made it possible for us to establish smart spaces, which Nguyen defines as “a physical or digital environment in which humans and technology-enabled systems interact in increasingly open, connected, coordinated and intelligent ecosystems.”
During the pandemic, the need for social distancing and greater safety precautions led to the development of more smart buildings, and Nguyen predicts that this type of tech will continue to grow in popularity. At the same time, organizations that rely on smart buildings will need to deploy additional cybersecurity measures to protect internet-connected systems (e.g., elevators and heating and cooling) from hackers. Check out this case study for further information: Preventive Smart Building Security for Real Estate Firm
3. IT solutions designed specifically to enhance CX
In response to the skyrocketing significance of customer experience (CX) in the business world, suppliers have begun offering solutions designed expressly to improve client experiences. For instance, there’s software available for analyzing customer intent and preventing support ticket escalations.
With how quickly the IT landscape changes, staying up to date on emerging technologies can be incredibly challenging. If you’d like expert guidance, our trusted advisors can help you make sense of the chaos and identify advanced solutions that align with your business goals.
To learn more and connect with our advisors, please call 877-599-3999 or email sales@stratospherenetworks.com.
