Maybe the speed of light is the fastest thing in the universe. But the technology and IT industries are probably the fastest arising thing on earth these days. Being familiar with its newest trends, we move toward incredible achievements in the future, and who knows, maybe we will succeed in bypassing the light one day? 

For now, let’s be more realistic. From many technologies and IT tendencies that are already on their way, the Sigli team highlighted TOP6, which shines exceptionally bright, and asked our colleague Roman Rimsha, an IT consulting expert, to share his insights.  

Roman, is artificial intelligence a possibility or a challenge for the IT sector?  

Well, let’s be objective - AI is like a fire for humanity and will change the everyday life of companies, not only in the IT sector. The most challenging point to predict is whether AI will become the assistant or a universal workforce. 

The introduction of technologies in all economic sectors is at its peak right now. Borrowing DevOps, ModelOps, and DataOps in AI will lead to better decision-making, a faster transition from testing to production, and more transparent management. 

I think tech companies won’t rejoice for long. OpenAI has released a language model for artificial intelligence, GPT-3. And the next version is about to be ready for release. It means businesses will eventually receive a universal AI programming tool later or sooner, so IT assistance may no longer be required tomorrow. It’s gloomy but expected. Companies must choose to win the jackpot or reorient themselves. And, hopefully, things are not so critical! 

What’s the current situation with the cyberattacks issue in general? What role does another trend – cybersecurity – play in it?  

Last June, a new record of over 78.4 million cyberattacks was registered. One cybersecurity company records an average of 9.7 attempts to penetrate malware or attacks per client daily. Daily!  

We’ve already talked about the boom AI will have this year. And it is a boom in cybersecurity too, or rather a time bomb. Indeed, AI can create passwords and security shields and successfully crack them. Therefore, according to analysts, we will experience the introduction of passwordless authentication in the next three years. It will save enormous budgets for IT businesses, and not only them. 

But the problem may offer a simple solution. For example, creating data banks of threats to research them, notifications of all users and participants about such risks, or taking comprehensive protection measures. Investments in organizations that manage such data banks will give almost a 3-fold return on investment. 

Roman, what about the extended reality – an umbrella term for all the immersive techs? How will this trend affect the everyday life of ordinary people? 

Facebook’s transition to the Web 3.0 format transformed the world of both entertainment and business. Yes, society is gradually moving away from the usual experience of 2D games, shopping, and communication. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Virtual fitting rooms (like Amazon’s or Apple’s) lift the retail world from its knees, and expectations for the launch of Meta Horizon from Zuckerberg kick off the development of gadgets for XR.  

Wearable devices immersing into a whole XR experience are getting smaller, smarter, and far from the only accessory. In the post-pandemic world, a two-dimensional workspace is the #1 necessity allowing for a hybrid work format. This will make working at home the same as in the office and practical due to the synergy of distant employees when generating ideas, brainstorming, and coordinating documentation. Since the new reality is unlikely to change, it’s probably just a matter of time before handy XR technologies become mainstream.  

Sustainability in tech is one of the intensification trends you await the most. Why is it so valuable? 

Probably we all should admit – it’s tiring to count which iPhone model is a new “technical breakthrough” and how many more of them we will get. The world needs a shift towards technology reuse, recovery, and modernization of existing devices. 100 Burj Khalifa towers of laptops, gadgets, and home appliances are thrown away annually! We are drowning in this problem. 

Therefore, we must adopt green technologies and infrastructure to follow the APCW 2021 emission reduction requirements by 2050. It will provide the IT market with new opportunities related to IoT technologies and give hope for a better future for our planet. For example, eco-friendly lighting technologies in cities, renewable energy sources, and large-scale changes in urban transport systems with digital control systems.  

Low-Code and No-Code software – a trend that is close to the whole Sigli team. Roman, why does it require great cohesion among IT experts? 

Have you noticed a shortage of DevOps specialists on the market? Only 4 out of 10 DevOps professionals meet the qualification requirement. And this anti-trend significantly affects the tech world. 

Innovators and startups will now learn to build their products independently. Yes, on their own! More than 65% of apps are expected to run on Low/No-code platforms in 2024. 2 out of 3 projects will be built not by technical specialists but by business experts. It will significantly shorten the path and time to market for valuable and exciting projects. Kind of cool, right? But how will this affect outsourcing and IT markets? 

Firstly, the market will fill the shortage of competent personnel (but, of course, the competencies will be different here). Secondly, the IT sector will create its own products, not products for the client. The only difference is that they will develop the same Low-Code and No-Code platforms used by customers who previously worked with these IT companies. But what’s cool is that the market will be smoothed out a little, and the location of developers or contractors will no longer be so essential. 

Roman, let’s end the conversation with CTV as a new interaction channel with customers. Why can this “quiet” trend not be ignored? 

Just for reference, 60% of marketers invested impressive shares of their ad budgets to  CTV broadcasts in 2021. It is worth considering how the recipients of funds will spend these budgets. Today, advanced data-driven targeting and program analytics exceed expectations and offer more features than standard content generation platforms. Just remember some data collection technologies. 

VR announcements for CTV have been overwhelmed by rumors of the Metaverse but in vain. Combining VR and CTV trends will completely change the familiar world, repeatedly bringing new devices, gadgets, and household appliances to the market. 

I want to expect that the advertising market in CTV will overlap the familiar YouTube market. Just look at the upcoming hype around T-Commerce, which entails a massive spread of new shopping formats during steaming, including using QR technologies. Yes, everything new is well overlooked old. 

Thanks to Roman, the chat was damn exciting and engaging! Well, we probably couldn’t have expected anything else when we came up with the idea of chatting about such an ever-evolving field as technology and IT. As we mentioned at the beginning, we move towards outstanding achievements in the future as each day passes. 

But maybe we shouldn’t try to get faster than light yet? Instead, we can use digital technologies and AI to track sustainability progress and optimize production processes to ensure our planet’s future. In the new post-pandemic reality, let’s find out how XR can help learn, train, work, or just have fun. And let’s employ the possibility of low-code and no-code software, which addresses the shortage of IT sector experts and allows individuals to design apps, not just whole teams of developers.