Word From Our Editor: Five Key Tech Trends For 2017

Well, that’s 2016 done. And what a crazy year it was! But we’re putting political upheaval and the seeming death of every celebrity we loved to one side, to focus on the year to come. More specifically, we’re looking ahead at the five key tech trends for 2017 – and we can’t wait!

1. IoT and Smart Homes

   With big-hitters such as Amazon, Apple and Google investing heavily in making smart homes a reality, 2017 will see a huge rise in smart home tech and the much talked about IoT (Internet of Things). Expect to new entrants to the market too, most likely in the peripheries sector, such as WiFi LED lights, home heating, and alarms and sensors. This new tech is great, but of course can be vulnerable to attack. So always consider beefing up your security software and hardware.

2. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

   From Oculus Rift to Pokémon GO, consumer interest and update of both VR and AR took a massive leap forward in 2016 and shows no signs of slowing. In fact, with some forecasts predicting its growth into a $120 billion market as early as 2020, expect VR and AR to become MASSIVE. It’s a far cry from its somewhat shaky beginning back in the day!

3. On-demand everything

   Love it or hate it, thanks to the likes of Uber, our thirst for instant gratification and having everything when we want it, how we want it, will only increase in 2017. Whether it’s for transport, food deliveries, or even a massage, the services and the apps supporting them look set to evolve into areas we hadn’t even considered.

4. Autonomous driving

   With the dream of self-drive cars going as far back as the 1920s, it’s little wonder that billions of dollars are being ploughed into making the dream of autonomous driving a reality. Naturally car-makers such as Ford and new boys Tesla are in the game, but so are Google, Uber, and quite possibly Apple; which means things are about to get VERY interesting/scary and like a Sci-Fi movie, really soon!

5. Cybercrime, Privacy and the rise VPNs

   Human nature being what it is, means instead of a utopian future of connected devices working in harmony to improve the lives of all, we’re seeing a massive rise in snooping hacking, DDoS attacks, and general cyber-skulduggery. In fact, according to The Guardian “cyberwar has already begun”! The good news of course, is that you can take steps to increase your security and privacy. Whether its antivirus or anti-malware software, or the use of a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to aid online anonymity, the tools are available, and we expect a big increase in both demand and supply throughout 2017.

As ever we’d love to know what you think. Let us know what your tech (and software) predictions are for the year ahead.