Technology trends are emerging in 2021 that are affecting brick-and-mortar and eCommerce businesses alike. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the way work was done and how transactions were completed. In order to adapt to the times and ensure future flexibility, people started adopting behaviors in their work that led to some of the top tech trends of the year.

These trends will enable businesses to be resilient within the next few years to any catastrophes or crises – big or small.

Not only business but people looking out for a fruitful career can benefit by getting skilled in areas of rising tech trends.

Companies are looking desperately for skilled professionals that can work with emerging technologies. It’s time to be aware and upskill!

Let’s dive in.

Internet of Behaviors

IoB is the collection of behavioral data from workers and customers. This information is then used to drive specific behaviors. Data can be collected from both digital and physical worlds.

For example, organizations can observe the repetitive movements of line workers to determine if ergonomically designed workstations and training are necessary. Additionally, companies can collect data on how customers navigate their website and how is the customer experience & then use that data to implement more CTA buttons or add or remove pages to improve their customer service for high ROI.

A possible future for IoB includes having customers wear bracelets while they are in the grocery store to track their behaviors.

The technology that allows for this collection and use of data is evolving and making it more beneficial for business processes to use IoB.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is advancing and supports IoB.. Businesses are using AI to interpret human emotions and interactions to offer better products and services for customers.

Amazon is jumping on board with AI tech in many areas, one being their new Amazon Halo Band. This fitness tracking band creates 3D scans of a user’s body fat and listens to the emotions in their voice using AI to create a better fitness experience.

AI is definitely booming, with the industry predicted to grow to $190 billion by 2025.  It can be used in a variety of fields, including healthcare and retail. Business strategies are changing rapidly and the adoption of AI is at full pace.

With this demand for AI tech comes a need for jobs in development, programming, and support. Companies lookout for certified professionals as certification demonstrates a shared understanding of a platform, a shared terminology, and a certain level of expertise.


Additionally, verifiable credentials help you earn good salaries and demonstrates your ability to design and deploy effective solutions to AI technologies.

Microsoft Azure AI-900 – The Microsoft Azure AI-900 certification is an opportunity for people to learn the implementation of AI and ML workloads on Azure.

Learn the major components of building, testing, certifying, publishing Amazon Alexa Skills – AWS Specialty Alexa Skill Builder

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

Over the last few years, AR and VR technology has grown in popularity for both consumers and businesses. In 2021, it’s predicted that these technologies will evolve even more. By 2023, the AR market is projected to have 2.4 million users.

AR and VR have already helped build out the remote work model through communication and collaboration tools. By 2021, businesses can see more AR avatars, remote assistance, and indoor navigation systems. Eye-tracking and facial recognition capabilities will also increase throughout the year. Virtual and augmented realities will transform the way businesses conduct their marketing.

For eCommerce vendors, this means more customers can shop online and find satisfaction with their purchases because they can “try them out” without having to touch the product physically and one can satisfactorily buy things even from a remote location.

Cybersecurity

As new technologies emerge, such as quantum computers, there’s a greater need for cybersecurity measures. Companies need to act quickly in decrypting their data to protect it from hackers.

For flexible, scalable, and reliable cybersecurity, cybersecurity mesh is gaining traction in the tech world. It is a security perimeter that defines who can and cannot have access to the data and can detect the identity of the person or thing trying to gain entry. It’s a more responsive approach to enforcing policies.

And cybersecurity measures are only going to increase from here. Cybersecurity engineers are some of the highest-paid positions worldwide. Unfilled cybersecurity jobs worldwide are already over 4 million.

As businesses large and small struggle to counter the increasing cyber threats, jobs in the cybersecurity field are growing fast.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), information security analysts’ jobs will grow by 31% through 2029.

Start with Cybersecurity – The Beginners Guide 2021

Cybersecurity certifications

 “What are the popular Cybersecurity Certifications?”

5G

As our world becomes more digitalized with immersive technologies, it’s no surprise that there’s a trend towards higher-speed Internet. We need to make connections now between employees, co-workers, and customers. For this reason, 2021 will bring with it the development of the 5G infrastructure.

Back in 2020, large corporations, such as Verizon and Ericsson, had already made strides in the 5G space. Now, large and small businesses alike are making advancements in deploying 5G services.

It’s projected that around 30 countries will offer these services by the end of 2021.

This growth of 5G will support smart-city projects, scientific explorations, the autonomous sector, smart retail, advances business models, and more.

Cloud Computing 

Cloud is everywhere!  

The cloud has become an indispensable part of advancing business and is the key to unlocking organizational growth.COVID-19 has facilitated a focus on cloud capabilities as companies compete to flourish in this new remote work environment. 

According to Gartner, worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services is forecast to grow 18.4% in 2021 to total $304.9 billion, up from $257.5 billion in 2020.

Cloud computing is changing how businesses store and access data and changing how many such businesses operate. They no longer have to worry about scalability or performance during peak times.

Large businesses have an advantage in the cloud as they can save more in the long run by adopting a well-architected framework. Large corporations often go for a multi-cloud model to not depend on one cloud provider.

One of the great things about the cloud is that even small and medium-sized operations can benefit from it. Businesses no longer have to worry about IT infrastructures. If the system is architected correctly, it helps you reduce operational costs in the longer run.

To maintain and architect cloud solutions, there are many job profiles that one can prepare for.

AWS solutions architect certification is reported to be the highest-earning certification, at an average annual salary of $118,266.

For end-users, the cloud has become synonymous with storing all your photos and videos in everyday life. Next time you see a video streaming service, chances are it is hosted on the cloud. The cloud is more than an efficient storage solution—it’s a unique platform for generating data and innovative solutions to leverage that data. 

From Artificial Intelligence, Machine learning technologies to AR/VR to 5G – Cloud technology plays an important role in each tech area, and there is no doubt that one should not get skilled in Cloud if he/she is looking for a career that is both rewarded and respected.

It is necessary because it offers flexibility, data recovery, little to no maintenance, easy access, and a higher level of security.

Jobs in cloud computing are enormous and the leading cloud service providers are AWS, Azure & GCP (Google Cloud Platform).

Get started with Cloud computing :

Introduction to Cloud Computing

Cryptocurrency

A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange wherein individual coin ownership records are stored in a decentralized ledger existing in a form of a computerized database using strong cryptography to secure transaction records, to control the creation of additional coins, and to verify the transfer of coin ownership.

The most popular versions are, Bitcoin and Ethereum, but there are more than 5,000 different cryptocurrencies in circulation, according to CoinLore.

Cryptocurrency works on the backbone of Blockchain – a technology that is poised to revolutionize the way the digital world handles data and does business. Initially created as a platform for supporting Bitcoin, Blockchain is demonstrating a level of versatility and security that has made many sectors of business and government take notice and begin putting it to their use.

Blockchain developers are in great demand with more cryptocurrencies popping up every now and then. To develop innovative solutions to challenging problems, including complex analysis, design, development, testing, all using blockchain are some of the primary responsibilities of the Blockchain developer. Moreover, they operate on multiple systems and apply knowledge of one or more platforms and programming languages.

Stay On Top of These 7 Technology Trends

The top technology trends of 2021 are a continuation of the trends that emerged in 2020 due to the spread of COVID-19. This doesn’t mean everything here is old news. Instead, it highlights the importance of staying on top of these Promising technologies trends. Work-life and customer behaviors will never be the same as these technologies advance. Be ahead of the game by implementing strategies related to these trends today.

A job for life! There’s no such thing- a harsh reality!

It’s unquestionably true that one needs to be committed to lifelong learning and upskilling to stay in demand as a professional in the technology sector.