Technology now advances at such a fast pace, that most organizations are happy to just keep up with it!
Staying on top of technology trends in 2021 can be quite a challenge, even when the economy is doing well and business is booming. Be ahead of your peers when you read through our top 3 trends. See the future of technology, and adapt your business planning to successfully include the most popular and current technology.
The world became fundamentally upended by a global pandemic and the containment measures deployed by governments to slow down its spread, now the adoption of new technology in organizations has suddenly become a matter of survival.
The aftershocks of 2020 will have a major impact on organizations of all sizes in 2021 and beyond. Those who haven’t done so already, will have to embrace modern technology, and learn to overcome the obstacles that pave the way to its adoption, or be lost in the past.
In this article, we explore the technology trends for 2021 that will have the biggest influence on organizations to help you embrace them and turn them into a competitive advantage.
1. Increased Focus on Cybersecurity
With organizations forced to transition their workforce to remote working arrangements without having enough time to prepare for the transition, the COVID-19 pandemic created a huge opportunity for cybercriminals to target rapidly deployed remote systems and staff working from home.
According to an INTERPOL assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on cybercrime, some 907,000 spam messages, 737 incidents related to malware, and 48,000 malicious URLs related to COVID-19 were detected in just one four-month period (January to April).
Cybercriminals were especially quick to take advantage of the surge in demand for information related to COVID-19, impersonating government and health authorities to launch targeted phishing campaigns intended to lure victims into providing their personal data and downloading malicious content.
In 2021, organizations can expect to face more of the same threats, including vaccination-themed phishing scams, new forms of ransomware, and attacks on cloud services. As such, they must continue strengthening their cyber defenses by implementing effective cyber programs. Read more about our cybersecurity services.
Cybersecurity
eBook
6 Critical Cybersecurity Policies Every Organization Must Have
2. Wider Adoption of Cloud Computing
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that organizations must become agile and flexible to successfully meet their business goals. One important technology trend that’s been enabling organizations to do just that, is cloud computing, and its adoption will only increase in 2021.
Research and markets forecasts the global cloud computing market size to grow from $371.4 billion in 2020 to $832.1 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17.5% during the forecast period.
Organizations of all sizes will accelerate their cloud adoption strategies to enjoy greater flexibility of work practices, increase collaboration efficiency, reduce IT costs, improve business continuity, and more.
Software as a service (SaaS) is expected to remain the largest market segment for end-user cloud IT spending, but application infrastructure services (PaaS) will grow at a higher percentage rate as more and more organizations begin to utilize it to facilitate their remote work environments.
3. Continued Expansion of Remote Working
Remote working as a trend wasn’t started by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. but it did grow 44% over the last five years and 91% over the previous 10 years, according to a special analysis done by FlexJobs and Global Workplace Analytics. The pandemic has accelerated it significantly, because it left organizations with no other way to operate.
According to a recent survey conducted by freelancing platform Upwork, 1 in 4 Americans will be working remotely in 2021. Upwork expects the total number of Americans in remote working arrangements to reach 36.2 million by 2025, an 87% increase from pre-pandemic levels, the study revealed.
Already, several remote working tools have become household names, including Zoom, Microsoft’s Teams, and Cisco’s Webex. Organizations have started using these tools, in addition to a myriad of cloud services, to improve the collaboration of remote employees by creating a virtual office environment.
While remote working certainly isn’t the right choice for everyone, there are multiple studies that highlight its positive effect on productivity. For example, one study found that 65% of employees report that they feel more productive when not in the office. For these and other reasons, remote working will continue its expansion in 2021 and beyond.
Conclusion – 2021 Technology Trends
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced organizations across all industries to adopt digital technologies at an unprecedented rate, and it will continue to affect how business is done even after the last containment measure has been reverted, and the economy has started to recover, but the trends will remain the same.
From an increased focus on cybersecurity, to the wider adoption of cloud computing, to the continued expansion of remote working, there are many technological challenges organizations must overcome to successfully operate in the post-COVID-19 world.
Just like your organization relies on technology, you can rely on us at OSIbeyond to provide you with comprehensive Managed IT Services backed by world-class customer service in the Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area. Get in touch with us today, and we’ll help you make 2021 count!