In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic changed the world as we know it. This is especially true
in the business world. Never before have we seen Darwin’s Survival of the Fittest Theory,
that species that best adjust to their environment are the ones most likely to survive, being
proved in such an exemplary way. Only Companies that evolved to be better suited to their
new environment were bound to survive.

Many businesses, to ensure they meet the changing needs of consumers, users,
suppliers, etc., are turning to the use of IT (Information Technology). This change also
affected the software outsourcing of many companies. They had to act quickly and retool
their teams toward a new direction to meet their new on-line demands.

The question is will this trend continue into next year or will things go back to “ business
as usual”? Will things go back to normal or will there be a new twist in conducting business?
There are no guarantees, but based on their significant growth over the past years, there are
four trends that will probably continue in 2021. Let’s take a closer look at all four.

WFH Employees

Obviously, the pandemic has forced more people to work from home. According to the
Global Workplace Analytics, 2021 at least 25-30% of the global workforce will continue to
work from home multiple days a week. That’s a significant amount of the workforce, so your
company’s IT team needs to make some changes.

Since home networks are not as safe as company LAN , WFH employees need to go to
greater lengths to protect company data and information. Most likely, businesses will need
to turn to third parties to ensure cybersecurity. They will probably shift toward hybrid clouds
that strongly focus on security. Perhaps WFHs can work with on-premise cloud solutions
that link them to the company network and each other through a secure connection. If your
IT team is not capable of such an ecosystem, you might consider outsourcing.

Edge Computing

Edge computing is one of the technologies that should continue to rise in 2021 and branch
out to even more sectors of business. In Edge computing, the data processing is
decentralized so that data is processed by mobile devices such as iOS phones and
Internet of Things (IoT) instead of being transmitted to a data center. This gives
workers the ability to work at any remote location and have the ability to use data in
real-time.

For example, with edge computing, images caught on your company’s cameras
are sent to the centralized server for use. With traditional technology, these images
are sent to the centralized server but must be processed before use. This delay may
cause you not to act promptly enough to stop certain actions.
By 2021, edge computing should be everywhere so make sure your workers are
properly trained. If needed you might need to turn to a third party for help.

AI

The use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) is also an upcoming trend. AI will make your
business more efficient and yes, intelligent. Their use is endless, they can help with
security through facial recognition, make use of robots and voice recognition, make
market predictions, organize data and stats, add support bots to your website. The
list is endless.

The downside however is that it is difficult to integrate into your system. Your IT
team must be expert on TensorFlow, Java, C++, Python and LISP. The longer you
wait to integrate AI into your system, the harder it will be for your team to adapt . Add
the use of AI to your company’s technology in 2021 because it will explode in the
year to come.

Mobile and Web Apps

In 2021, more and more people will turn their backs on desktops and laptops and
turn to their mobiles. According to Stat Counter, mobiles currently hold 50.88% of
the market share. Since most people are always on the go, the numbers are
expected to rise significantly.

With that in mind, your company’s website should be mobile friendly and offer a
mobile app to ensure you retain your business. Again, if you think you are not capable
of such technology, it’s a wise choice to turn to an expert.
If you want to be a survivor in the new business world, these four trends are obvious steps
you need to take. No more delays, the future is here and if you want your company to be a
part of it, hurry up and catch up.