Heading into 2018 my technology predictions…

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My predictions for Technologies that will be game changers in 2018

It is that time of the year again when Analysts peek past the year listed on their calendars and project what is coming in the next year. 2018 projections have begun to appear. Predictions are an interesting process because so many more predictions and predictors are involved now. Not just the number of possible solutions but the number of analysts projecting what could continue to increase. Every year I sit down and read all of the predictions. I agree with some, and I disagree with some. Then I sit down and write my predictions of what I think is going to happen next year. What comes next is my compiled list of what I think is going to impact the market in 2018.

1. Blockchain was the big buzzword at the beginning of 2015 and has continued to gain hype. But not the Blockchain of Bitcoin. While Bitcoin is an interesting Cryptocurrency, it is not the largest area where Blockchain will impact the market in 2018. The reality of secure smart contracts is the huge impact area. From financial institutions and real estate transactions smart contracts are going to explode in 2018. The impact of Blockchain will be significant in 2018.
2. Modular drones, the concept is just entering the market. By the end of 2018, I project the market for drones will have shifted to 25% modular drones from the less than 1% now. A modular drone (I wrote about them here on Cloudtweaks nearly a year ago) represents a drone that allows the user/owner the ability to replace the functioning capability of the drone. A laser mapping drone could return to its starting point and resume its scanning with a 3d camera instead of a laser measurement device. I have mentioned here on CloudTweaks the value that infrared cameras attached to a drone could provide to search and rescue missions. When searching for people at night, the infrared camera option allows the drone to see people when traditional camera drones would be blind or nearly blind.
3. Crowdfunding will move into the mainstream. The concept is simple; you have an idea. You don’t want to lose control of your idea. Instead of working on that idea while working for someone else, instead, you just want to work on that idea. You list your idea on a crowdfunding site. If other people agree with you, they fund the project. The success rate for crowdfunding projects isn’t perfect. There are many failures. What I am projecting, however, is the that the concept that to date remains on the sidelines will become mainstream. Crowdfunding is today a way to launch your dream. In 2018 more and more people will become backers!
4. Personal Digital Assistants will continue to expand. Today there are a number of the devices available. As we head into 2018, they will begin to move from home-based solutions to enterprise and government applications. International travelers will appreciate being able to ask Siri, Cortana or Google where the nearest embassy or consulate is. 2018 will continue the integration trend we’ve seen in 2017. I project that the technology of personal digital assistants will begin moving into the workplace or enterprise solution space. It is inevitable as there are so many applications in the enterprise space. Imagine a kiosk you can ask using natural language search questions when you enter the lobby of a building. The world of embedded help using a personal assistant is another area that is intriguing and will become viable in 2018.
5. Cloud Computing will continue its march. What has become a nearly weekly release by the large players in the space of new features and capabilities will continue throughout all of 2018. It is why Cloud makes my list for the tenth or so a year I’ve done this. The change from right now to this time next year in Cloud solutions will be incredible. It is incremental in that it is a small thing every week. But by the end of 2018, the changes will be incredible. In the best sense of fairness, I did post an article on Cloudtweaks about what I saw coming in Cloud Computing earlier this year.
6. The Internet of Things will continue its 2017 rise in 2018. The projections are that by 2020 we will see between 35-40 billion deployed IoT devices or more. The analysts projected that there were less than 15 billion deployed devices in 2016. The simple math means that we will see between 8-10 billion new IoT devices in 2018. The number is empowering and scary. There are already more devices connected today then there are people in the world; we will soon be deploying more devices per year than there are people on the planet now.
7. Something we don’t know about now. Yes, something is looming in 2018 that we don’t see now.

Five technologies and one platform that will grow rapidly in 2018. Plus that last item. The one thing we don’t see today. I wonder what that truly will be?