3 Enterprise Technology Trends to Watch in 2020

Perhaps the only constant in business is changing. Since every company wants to be the best, each enterprise needs to tirelessly strive to do things better — complacency is not an option. Technology is one of the best tools for achieving innovation. Here are three important enterprise technology trends to watch now and over the coming years.

1. Need for Greater Network Security

The fact enterprises need network security isn’t some kind of new revelation. Just taking a look at some of the biggest data breaches over the past few years, which have delivered major blows to big organizations, is evidence enough of the need for heightened enterprise network security. These events led to hundreds of millions of people having their sensitive information stolen.

This isn’t a bygone threat. Cybersecurity continues to become a more and more important consideration for enterprises as more data goes online and to the cloud. Make no mistake, there are going to be more major data breaches. The question is what enterprises have the foresight to correctly plan and invest in infrastructures that mitigate this risk — like SD-WAN technology and endpoint security.

2. More Artificial Intelligence Applications

Corporate leaders have been talking about the many ways in which artificial intelligence is going to continue to make waves in the business world. It’s already starting with things like highly capable chatbots. Today, it’s often difficult to distinguish whether you’re messaging a bot or a real person.

But AI doesn’t stop there. In fact, there’s hardly a place where AI can’t make an impact on businesses. Data analytics stands out as another field where AI is already playing a starring role. Enterprise analytics platform providers like ThoughtSpot are using AI to bring next-gen analytics to businesses.

Self-service analytics is one of the areas where AI is making the biggest splash in this realm. This tech allows more people within an organization to access data insights. The concept behind self-service analytics carries some contention with it. Some business leaders are afraid of granting more people access to data. The thinking is that this could lead to information getting into the wrong hands, or even poorly run analysis due to lack of data experience.

But most agree that the benefits behind data democratization and self-service analytics outweigh the risks. For starters, self-service analytics makes it possible for actionable insights to come from any level of an enterprise, at any time. Think of all the great innovative ideas out there that simply haven’t come to light because of lack of access. Enterprises that harness self-service analytics have the potential to leapfrog those that remain entrenched in older practices.

Due to the nature of our economic progress, data—and specifically its analysis—is going to keep becoming more important to enterprises. Capturing the power of AI in order to make data analytics more effective is going to be essential for forward-thinking businesses looking to gain the competitive edge.

3. Environmental Technology

The concept of environmental, or ambient, technology doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the natural world. More so, it’s a way to think about how technology is changing the environment around us—specifically in the workplace.

Many people know the luxury of having an assistant like Alexa or Siri. Being able to seamlessly interact with these virtual assistants doesn’t just make things more convenient; many people find it exciting. This is how we should go about conceptualizing the future of enterprise workplace environments. Technology can be strategically used to enhance the workplace in a way that both boosts user experience and efficiency.

No one can predict the future with exact precision. The things happening today, however, can provide us with some solid intel about what to expect tomorrow. The current state of the business world makes it clear we can expect these technology trends to grow in the enterprise space.