FRIDAY: READING

Top 5 tech trends

The breakneck pace of technological change has only been accelerated by the pandemic,
meaning it’s vital for tech and engineering professionals to stay up to date with trends to increase
employability. Here are five we think you should watch out for in 2021:

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning

The first item on our list should be no surprise. Global spending on AI and cognitive systems is
set to top $57 billion in 2021, with many AI professionals earning over £70,000+ a year. In the US,
Forrester predicts 9% of new jobs will be in AI, machine learning, and automation by 2025, and
figures are likely to be similar here.

AI makes it possible for us to unlock our smartphones with our faces, ask virtual assistants
questions and streamline business processes as big data can now be analysed promptly.

Roles in AI include data scientists, machine learning engineers, business intelligence developers,
robot monitoring professionals, content curators, and automation specialists.

2. Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

RPA, the sibling of AI and Machine Learning, is also automating back-office tasks. Many CIOs are
turning to RPA to automate mundane rules-based business processes, enabling users to devote
more time to serving customers or other high-value tasks. RPA in alignment with business goals
can mean automating processes such as interpreting applications, dealing with data, processing
transactions, and even answering emails. It handles repetitive tasks instead of humans. e.g. A
bank redesigned its claim process by deploying 85 bots to run 13 processes, handling 1.5 million
requests per year. The bank added the capacity of approximately 200 full-time staff.

Forrester estimates this will threaten around 9% of jobs worldwide but will also create new jobs
and change existing ones; according to McKinsey, under 5% of roles can be fully automated, but
60% can be partly automated.

RPA roles include project manager, developer, business analyst, consultant, and solution
architect.

3. Edge Computing

Edge computing is computing that’s performed at or near the source of the data, instead of relying
on the cloud at one of the data centres. Edge computing helps to bypass the latency (speed), or
bandwidth issues associated with cloud computing and get data into a data centre to be
processed. It can even act as a mini data centre in areas with low or no connectivity. As the
Internet of Things (IoT) expands, so will edge computing, reaching around $6.72 billion by 2022
and creating new roles for software engineers.

4. Quantum Computing

Quantum computing uses quantum phenomena like quantum entanglement and superposition,
not just ones and zeros, to analyse data, and has helped prevent the spread of COVID-19 and
develop vaccines. Quantum computers are, well, quantum leaps faster than normal computers,
they are designed to solve complex problems that today’s most powerful supercomputers cannot
solve, and the sector should be worth $2.5 billion by 2029. To win a role in this area, you’ll need
experience in quantum mechanics, physics, probability, linear algebra, machine learning, and
information theory.

5. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

Virtual Reality (VR) creates an immersive environment; Augmented Reality (AR) enhances the
real environment. This tech trend is moving beyond gaming to military, commercial, and
educational applications. Starting a VR career doesn’t call for much specialised experience, just a
forward-thinking mindset and solid programming skills in JAVA, C, or C++. Most AR apps run
on mobile platforms, so knowledge of iOS or Android SDK is beneficial.
COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING TABLE FROM THE READING:

Trend A Trend B
Which two TECH TRENDS from the
reading interest you the most?

WHY?

What did you know about these

TWO trends before the reading?

What did you learn about these

TWO trends from the reading?

What did you learn about these

TWO trends from the group
discussion?

What are five new words /

phrases you learned from the
reading?