Businesses are always on the lookout for technologies that will give them a competitive edge, whether they offer operational capabilities, data and insight tools, or means of collaboration. In 2020, however, there is a much more pressing need: enabling remote productivity. Since the early part of the year, the entire country has been under social distancing measures to combat the spread of COVID-19.
That’s why in the list of the top 10 emerging technologies of 2020, information sharing and collaboration technologies take the lion’s share of the space. After all, as our IT support in Oakville reports, that’s the need of the hour as small and mid-sized businesses transform operations for ‘work from home’.
“Microsoft 365 and Virtual Desktop on Azure are a good example of tools that allow secure access to files, apps and resources without having to invest in expensive infrastructure.
Emerging Technologies in 2020
As always, the emerging technologies on this list are at different stages of maturity. While some like the Internet of Things are reaching maturity, others like robotics are only just starting to make waves in information technology. Not all SMBs will be able to reap the benefits of each, but that does not mean they will be immune from their impact. Businesses that can incorporate new technologies and derive productivity benefits will find themselves with a strong competitive advantage. Here are 10 emerging technologies for 2020 according to CompTIA, a global non-profit IT consulting services think-tank:
- Artificial Intelligence
- 5G
- Internet of Things
- Serverless Computing
- Biometrics
- Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality
- Blockchain
- Robotics
- Natural Language Processing
- Quantum Computing
Forbes magazine says, “[Robotic Process Automation] bots free up resources to conduct human-centric tasks that improve the office’s productivity and effectively deliver more strategic initiatives.”
Organizations are exploring technologies across industry lines to find value. The disruption from COVID-19 means business owners are turning increasingly to IT consulting services for the unique needs of their own business. Now more than ever, emerging technologies are helping businesses differentiate themselves and cater to their requirements.
Potential impact on SMBs
The key takeaway from this list is that only a few of these technologies are standalone; most will deliver their full value when implemented together, such as IoT and 5G connectivity. As such there are tremendous opportunities for business owners to differentiate their business and leverage unique capabilities.
- Task automation for repetitive tasks and lead generation
- Empowering sales and marketing teams with rich customer insight
- Insight and business intelligence through Natural Language Processing and AI
- Affordable remote computing and complete virtualization of operations
Every one of these brings revenue potential and SMBs will find a lot of value when they are implemented under the guidance of expert IT support in Oakville.
IT Professional Services in Oakville
At NUMENTIS, we empower small and mid-sized businesses in Oakville with cutting-edge solutions and affordable access. Our IT professional services team works with you to deploy solutions that will show real world value. Speak to a representative about how you can integrate new capabilities in your infrastructure.