Happy new year!
We are off to a cracking start already at Bandicoot and hope you’ve all had a wonderful Christmas holiday? For our first blog of 2018 we are getting out our very low-tech crystal ball to make some predictions for the year ahead.
We know there are literally thousands of these articles floating about the internet at the moment, but here’s another from your friendly local IT business support people! They’re not necessarily computer related, but we can occasionally talk about things other than IT, so we have narrowed our list down to five of what we believe are the most interesting or relevant predictions for the coming year. Enjoy!
1. Drones Will Enter a Golden Era
2017 was a huge year for the drone industry, with unprecedented growth, new uses, and progress made in regulations. Many of the uses for drones has been pretty novel so far – one of the biggest stories last year was Amazon’s promise to make ‘drone delivery’ a reality, they even carried out tests! However, with drones ready to break into the mainstream, there are lots of things to consider, such as air traffic and privacy concerns. Nesta bring up some important issues in this article, and states that drones must “deliver public benefit, not just parcels”.
The market will continue to grow in 2018 as more uses become apparent, but at what cost? And are we ready to see the sky full of drones? It’s hard to imagine just yet, but think of the noise and sight of hundreds of drones carrying out their duties, zipping across our towns and cities!
2. Many Will Experience GDPR Headaches
GDPR is all anyone seems to have talked about this year, yet it’s estimated that only 10% of companies will be ready for May 25th when the legislation officially comes into force. If that number turns out to be correct, then some pretty hefty fines are on the horizon. Makes us wonder if an extension is possible?
Why are so many companies unprepared? Is it ignorance or a genuine lack of IT support or knowledge within the business? Whatever it is, don’t put your business in the firing line – sort out your data procedures as soon as possible.
Just to add to your GDPR shaped headache, both Trend Micro and FireEye are predicting that cyber criminals will run digital extortion campaigns and use ransomware to threaten non-GDPR compliant companies. Not what you need. As experts in this field, we understand what you need to do in order be 100% compliant with the new GDPR regulations – don’t leave it too late, if you need help get in touch.
3. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Will See Advances
We have already seen leaps and bounds in AI, but when you sit back and think about it, we aren’t anywhere near the point where computers can perform any meaningful tasks. Computers aren’t ‘intelligent’ – they do what we tell them to do. Voice command and response in particular is still in it’s infancy, although the future of AI will see these functions able to interact with us in a more meaningful way and 2018 will see the beginning of this.
At least this is what TECHnalysis Research founder and president, Bob O’Donnell believes. In his article for Seeking Alpha, he predicts that in 2018 we will should “start to see more human-like responses to our queries and requests”, when using AI on our smartphones and smart speakers. He says:
“Multi-part conversations, more comprehensive answers, as well as appropriate and even insightful suggestions based on what it is we’re doing (or trying to do), will start to give us the sense that our devices are getting smart.”
4. Yet Augmented Reality (AR) Will Continue to Flounder
AR was all anybody was talking about not so long ago, but it turned out to be a bit of a flop really. Party due to smartphones turning out to be a rubbish medium for the technology and there being no evidence that developers can use AR to create anything innovative or useful as of yet. Companies like Apple and Snapchat laid the groundwork for turning AR devices and experiences into the next big thing after smartphones and smartphone apps but it didn’t live up to their hype and the bubble is set to burst in 2018.
We are years away from consumer-ready AR devices that people will actually want to buy yet. Have you seen the Magic Leap headset? We can’t see people walking around wearing one of those just yet!
5. Cloud Uptake Will Continue
Ok, this might be a bit of a boring one, but cloud computing has revolutionised the way we work, store data and the way we view documents. Cloud storage predictions have featured on many an IT experts’ lists for years, but 2018 will really be the year even the most resistant of businesses start to realise the numerous benefits of going paperless.
Safe document storage for SME’s is a priority but space has always been a concern too. Cisco estimate though that data storage space will massively grow this year to meet demand and that service providers will bring more data centres online. A Cisco survey estimates that in 2018 global storage capacity could reach 1.1 ZB, which is twice the space available in 2017.
Bandicoot offer a range of IT services and solutions, including designing and implementing cloud storage solutions for SME’s. So, if going paperless is one of your objectives for the year ahead, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Get in Touch
Now we’ve talked about a few predictions for this year, let’s talk about your plans! Whether you plan on launching a new website, going paperless, or just need to get grips with GDPR – we are here to help.
We pride ourselves on our excellent services and full IT support for businesses in Burnley, Lancashire and across the North West, so why not call us on 01282 506 616 or drop us an email at info@bandicoot.co.uk? We promise we’ll quickly get back to you.
