But it’s also important to choose a promising area of focus right from the start. Here’s a list of the most important technology trends for those who want to keep their eyes on the future. Learning more about these trends will help you understand what skills you need to learn in order to land a job in one of these future-proof sectors.

1. Cybersecurity

According to recent forecasts, the losses coming from cybercrime will cost organizations all over the world $6 trillion each year by 2021. This amounts to more than the damage caused by natural disasters. Experts in every sector are noting the rise in cyberattacks and threats. That’s why establishing strong safeguards is so important today for organizations across all industries. It doesn’t matter if it’s a small- and medium-sized business, a large corporation or a government entity – security solutions are a must-have.

The cybersecurity market is going to reach $248.26 billion by 2023. In 2024, it will be worth $300 billion. According to IDC, global spending on security will grow to $133.8 billion by 2022. To prevent threats such as malware, fraud, information leaks, or phishing, organizations around the world are going to invest more than ever into cybersecurity. Moreover, we’re going to witness the emergence of new protection methods that will require expertise in areas such as machine learning, block train, and many other innovative fields. That’s why cybersecurity is going to become such a fruitful area for a future career in IT.

2. Internet of Things (IoT)

IoT is another promising area of the current technology landscape. By connecting devices, sensors, vehicles, and machines, the Internet of Things is going to make a great impact on our world in the near future. Some of the example use cases of IoT involve telematics, connected cars, remote inventory tracking, remote patient health management, supply chain traceability, and energy consumption monitoring. The IoT market revenue will reach a smashing $1.6 billion by 2025. Sectors such as healthcare, construction, transportation, and telecommunication are going to see the fastest compound annual growth rates in this area. IoT offers companies a wide range of advantages, allowing them to collect massive amounts of data, accelerate processes, and reduce operating costs. If you’re looking to enter the tech industry and the Internet of Things looks interesting to you, jump right into it – it’s a very promising field!

3. Progressive Web Apps (PWA)

Progressive Web Apps are a powerful trend in web development everyone is talking about right now. PWA combines web and mobile application functionalities and acts like a native solution. It offers users an immersive, full-screen experience which they can install directly from a website and have it on their smartphone’s home screen. By investing in PWA, companies avoid all the costs that come with native mobile development. This is, for example, hiring in two development teams to create apps for the Android and iOS operating systems. Moreover, with PWA it’s no longer necessary to go through the strict process of publishing the app on an app store. Greater UX, enhanced performance, fast loading time, and lower data usage are the critical advantages of PWA that make it such a powerful technology today. The most forward-looking companies are already integrating PWA solutions. The popular e-commerce website AliExpress decided to build a Progressive Web App and saw a 104% increase in conversions for its new users, twice more pages seen per one session, a 74% increase in session duration, and 82% increase of the conversion rate for its users. If you’re looking to become a web developer, make Progressive Web Apps technology your priority.

4. Blockchain

Before the emergence of Bitcoin, not many people knew what blockchain actually was. A decentralized digital data record offers unprecedented security for information storage and enables secure transactions without involving any third parties.

Even if it seems that blockchain may only be used in banking and finance, the applications of this technology are spreading across various sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, real estate, automotive, healthcare, and logistics. Blockchain also introduced smart contracts, which include agreement terms between two parties and written directly into the code. Organizations can use blockchain to automatically monitor their completion and remove intermediaries to save the costs and streamline the process. The worldwide blockchain market will amount to $60.7 billion in 2024. If you’d like to work in a cutting-edge field, learning the technologies standing behind blockchain is a smart move.

5. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

One of the most exciting areas of technology today is artificial intelligence and its subsets, such as machine learning or deep learning. Forecasts show that the global artificial intelligence market will reach $119.61 billion by 2025. This estimation is probably correct given the amount of attention AI applications have attracted from organizations across all industries during the past few years. The growing cloud usage, an increasing amount of data, and the need for workflow automation are all key drivers behind this powerful trend.

Businesses are now using all kinds of AI applications such as chatbots, robots, machine learning algorithms, data filtering, data analytics, sales forecasting, predictive analytics, and image or text recognition software. AI brings businesses many benefits, allowing them to streamline operations, boost productivity, automate repetitive tasks, and increase their performance. If you’d like to be at the forefront of innovation in the near future, learning the technologies that allow AI to thrive today is a smart move. Be sure to also keep an eye on the development of this field as it’s rapidly changing.

6. Data science and Big Data

Companies are generating more data than ever today. But how can they make sense of it and use it to amplify their business processes? This is where data scientists can help. By capturing, storing, analyzing, and visualizing massive amounts of data, organizations can transform it into valuable information. That’s why they will need qualified people who can work with data such as data scientists, machine learning engineers, and data analysts. Advanced data processing tools bring advantages like risk management, insight into customer behavior, predictive analytics, and accurate credit scoring. Data will become the currency of the future. If you develop the skills to deal with it today, you won’t have any problems finding a rewarding job tomorrow.

7. Mixed Reality (MR)

Mixed Reality merges the real and virtual worlds, including both Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). It allows creating immersive environments where physical or digital objects interact with each other in real time.

The mobile Mixed Reality market value will reach more than $43 billion by 2024. That’s right, mobile technologies are going to be at the center of the Mixed Reality revolution. 75% of MR applications are going to be delivered via mobile devices by 2024. And 40% of them will be used on social media!

By combining AR and VR, Mixed Reality will be transforming many industries, ranging from entertainment and healthcare to retail and simulation-based learning. This is going to be one of the most promising areas for the new generation of technology experts.

Conclusion

By keeping an eye on the current tech trends, you can prepare yourself for the future and choose to specialize in an area that has very promising growth potential. Naturally, these trends are only the tip of the iceberg as every year brings us new technologies and approaches that make the tech scene so exciting. Are you looking for more insights about launching a career in the tech industry? Be sure to follow our blog; we share plenty of materials for people who want to become part of this innovative sector.