Top IT Trends for 2020 and Beyond

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Here at TBT Marketing, we’re excited to be entering a new decade and these are some of the key IT topics we expect to be helping our clients with in 2020 and beyond.

Cloud mix

There is no doubting that cloud computing is being increasingly deployed by companies and this trend is certainly set to continue.

The key here is what mix’ of cloud is appropriate, from private, public and hybrid cloud.”

Usually, it is a combination of these, perhaps keeping critical data and systems on-premise utilising private cloud capabilities whilst more general systems can be a good fit for public cloud. Hybrid cloud can bridge the gap and for example, enabling on-premise systems to burst into the cloud when extra capacity is needed. Confirming these trends we see key public cloud players providing on-premise solutions as well, examples include Outposts from AWS and Azure Stack from Microsoft. Interestingly traditional hardware providers are making their offerings more cloud-like’ by providing flexible consumption solutions, examples include HPE GreenLake everything-as-a-service’, Dell Flex on Demand and Lenovo TruScale to name but a few.

Other technologies on the horizon include; 5G, whilst this is a telco play it will certainly be an enabler of IoT, Edge as well as AI and, of course, Security is an all-important issue across the board.

5G

The next-generation mobile internet connectivity is designed to deliver faster speeds and more reliable connections. Its UK rollout started in 2019 and will gain much more traction in 2020. 5G Smartphones will have additional capabilities, amongst other things, this could provide a boost in the capabilities of immersive video advertising on social newsfeeds. With anything from location-based tools, AR filters and 4k videos moving to the core of social ad offerings, social media companies will be hoping to grab a bigger slice of digital ad spend in 5G-enabled markets. Also, one of the main beneficiaries of 5G will be IoT (Internet of Things).

IoT

In laymen’s terms, IOT means things’ are connected to the internet rather than people or regular computing devices such as PCs, Servers, Smartphones etc. Things’ could be manufacturing equipment, vehicles, agricultural equipment etc as well as domestic items such as kettles and smoke alarms. Gartner estimates that over 26 billion things’ will be connected to the internet this year! This presents a huge opportunity for new products and services in addition to the hardware, software and services required to manage these devices securely.

Despite the continued growth of cloud computing the cloud is not necessarily the best place for every workload.

Some workloads are better executed closer to the point of use, at the so-called Edge, this could be for reasons of performance, latency, resilience, security etc.”

In fact Thomas Bittman, a Gartner analyst, famously wrote an article entitled The Edge Will Eat The Cloud’, forecasting that investment in Edge computing will be larger than cloud computing.

AI

Artificial Intelligence in many cases is progressing from proof of concept into entry-level production systems but it is still true to say that we are in the early stages of AI deployment with much more to come. The journey to AI will take some time with much learning along the way.

Security

Security is a topic that becomes ever more important with the growth and distribution of data increasing apace. Hackers are continually evolving and developing ever more sophisticated attacks requiring correspondingly comprehensive responses.

Sustainability

It would be remiss of us not to mention Sustainability as a key trend for 2020, particularly in the technology sector. With increasing awareness and demand for greener alternatives, there are concerns around the potential demand for cloud computing and increased energy consumption will outstrip the pace of renewable energy sources. However, technology can still be the solution with more positive signs and announcements from large corporations which will continue this year. For example, Amazon planning to be net carbon neutral by 2040 and HPE’s circular economy initiative encouraging their clients and customers to minimise their energy use and maximise the lifecycle of their IT assets.


Here at TBT Marketing, we’re looking forward to what 2020 holds in the technology sector and making sure sustainability is baked into everything we do.

Need ideas and strategies to take your products forward? Then talk to us: hello@​tbtmarketing.​com or call on +44 (0)1373 469270.

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