6 Tech Trends in Britain

inShare
RSS Feed

Email
Share
Six hottest technology trends set to explode in the UK
12 November 2015 | By Mark Middleton

PRINT EMAIL SAVE
Innovation tech lightbulbs
From fintech to wearables…

This article is sponsored by RBS.

Technology is the driving force of enterprise. In the last 10 years alone, advances in cloud services, flexible working and global communications have transformed the way we do business, opening opportunities that would previously have been impossible. Technological trends are constantly shaping businesses, with each innovation further propelling enterprise and changing the way we work.

That’s why we’re supporting Dynamic Enterprise Summit’s “The future of tech and using digital to drive growth” roundtable on 18 November 2015. We’ll be looking at the technological trends that are currently shaping businesses in the UK, finding out how business leaders across all sectors use these technologies, and what they are looking out for in the near future.

For now, here are the top six technology trends set to explode in Britain:

1. Internet of Things (IoT)
It’s anticipated that by 2020, the number of ‘things’ connected to the internet could exceed 50 billion. There are already more objects than people connected to the internet, from watches to water heaters, TVs to toothbrushes, and it’s a trend that shows no sign of slowing.

IoT connected tech is not only helping us at home but also transforming the way we manage our workspaces. Employees are able to connect directly with workplace devices, relieving strain on management, while facilities managers can control everything from security to temperature from a centrally connected hub. IoT could even put an end to the age old ‘too hot/too cold’ office space argument.

2. Fintech
The UK is ahead of the curve when it comes to Financial Technology or fintech. The UK’s fintech sector is estimated to be worth £20bn in annual revenues.

Entrepreneurs in the UK are continuing to set trends in the field of fintech,with companies such as PowaTag, Tento, and Vocalink supporting UK businesses with cutting edge eCommerce, payment and financial security solutions.

3. Wearables
The first wave of wearable tech was a bit, well, underwhelming. Not quite as efficient, chic or useful as we’d all hoped (but still an improvement on the Discovery Channel’s 1992 wearable tech predictions). Yet wearable tech is rapidly improving and, for some organisations, it’s already playing a central role in workplace wellbeing.

As part of its health and wellbeing programme Kronos, a workforce management solutions company, have started offering employees rewards for using wearable tech, such as walking challenges.

4. Virtual Reality
The potential for VR in the workplace is huge. Augmented reality has already been in use for some time, through applications rather than headsets; connecting global networks of employees, allowing businesses to test products and practices in a controlled environment and enabling safer, cheaper and more engaging employee training. With ongoing developments in VR, it could be playing a crucial role in British business in the very near future.

Admittedly, some of the clunky headsets released this year may look a bit like future technology as imagined in a 1980s TV show, but as with first generation wearables, this tech is still in its infancy: headsets are essentially the boomboxes of virtual reality.

Huge investment is currently being ploughed into VR. Perhaps most excitingly, Apple has patented a 3D display system that can be controlled by hand and doesn’t require VR glasses. A pretty nifty gadget for the boardrooms and factory floors of the near future.

5. Privacy
Increased connectivity unfortunately means more opportunities for cyber criminals. High profile corporates TalkTalk, Carphone Warehouse and Sony have all experienced massive data breaches in the last 12 months alone.

Over the next few years, companies will need to make cyber security a priority or face losing consumer trust. Smart firms are already addressing this by hiring in-house tech security personnel. Services consultant firm Procorre claims that 14% of IT jobs now advertised are for security specialists.

6. Connectivity
All of the above technology trends will come to nothing unless serious developments are made in network connectivity. Imagine a home or office with today’s technology running on the dial up connections of the early noughties? It would be impossible. Now imagine 50 billion objects fighting for bandwidth on our existing networks.

Luckily, initiatives like Google’s Fiber Everywhere and the development of fifth generation wireless technology, 5G, will soon change the way we access the internet again – but it won’t stop there. Earlier this year, the UK government announced it would be investing £15m into researching the next generation of wireless communications, 6G: quantum communications technology. How’s that for a futuristic technology trend?