The 2010s somehow fueled the fastest technological evolution by far. It is a leeway to the rise, and fall of some of the most ground-breaking technologies. We have witnessed the digital world cementing a whole new ground atop the one we had walked on in prior decades.
Despite its backlashes, we cannot deny that it phenomenally transitioned different lenses that we revolve around; social, political, economic, cultural, and etcetera. Buckle up as we take a recap on some of the most significant technological upgrades that occurred within the just concluded decade.
The previous decade kicked-off with promising innovations that were still at its infancy. These innovations took a little time but bloomed into the market around the 2010s, big time! Perhaps, most people can even say that it is almost unimaginable to take it away from the current lifestyle.
Smartphones
It is everywhere, right? People of all ages got one at hand acquiring it for different purposes. But for most, smartphones have been a necessity. The history of smartphones goes back to the ’90s with IBM’s Simon Personal Communicator. According to Textrequest.com, the touchscreen device was said to make its user “computer functional” as it offered functions like e-mail, fax, and predictive typing. Simon was indeed ahead of its time and inspired the rest of the technology world to adapt.
There have been more attempts to popularize smartphones. But it was not until Apple’s introduction of its first-ever iPhone when it finally made it happen. It sold millions of units within just one (1) year. From this point on, smartphone units by different companies came out one after another and kept on getting better every time. As of now, Apple and Samsung are leading the pack, but other brands are also coping up at a fast pace.
Social Media
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; these are just some of the platforms that became a huge part of our everyday lives. But how it made an impact on a personal level is just a portion of how it changed the world, holistically speaking. Even the biggest of big entities join the social matrix wherein they see to it that employees, customers, clients, partners, and other networks alike are reached out through different social media platforms. It also opened the door for business opportunities with the introduction of virtual market places and social media marketing.
Social media also forged the way to faster information dissemination. We see real-time updates and can promptly respond to it. The latest news is always out there, both fake and legit making it a double-edged sword for its users. On one end, it raises awareness, informs, and warns people, but it also spreads hoax like a wildfire.
Big Data
The term “big data” is nothing new to our world. It appeared in passages although used in a different context than what we know of today.
The world shifting into a digital one is the strongest booster of big data technology. Nowadays, almost everything involves data gathering. A nanosecond amounts to billions of data. However, big data is most effective with advanced analytics. Otherwise, it is just a pile of information that might or might not serve its value.
Internet of Things (IoT)
From businesses to households, smart devices have been conquering all possible corners. Where the internet is, smart devices go as well. IoT directly uploads bits of data to the net even in the absence of human interference. Imagine that. For some, it poses security threats. But regardless of what its original purpose is, we cannot deny that it aids in minimizing human effort.
With this at hand, we could say that the growth in the production of smart devices equates to bigger data. Therefore, big data tools are highly significant to IoT, whereas big data systems need volumes of structured or unstructured data for its analyses. These two are complementary; one works better with the other.
Artificial Intelligence
“Artificial intelligence” has been a long-buzzing area of interest. It is the creation of systems to replicate human activities. Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant are perhaps the most digestible examples of AI in action. The rise of voice assistants is one step towards the full employment of AI, as seen in the growing investments in the said field. After being one of the most anticipated technologies for a long while, we could finally say that AI is on its way to its prime.
Cloud-Native Technology
Here is another bummer tech in the 2010s. Cloud-native platforms have been working behind the curtains but are among the most important upgrades in this age of digitization.
Cloud-native applications mainly promote portability, reliability, and speed. Because of this, one can work off-site with no hassle; systems are running at maximum speed thus providing a faster process. It has been winning over on-premise business management and will most definitely impose dominance in no time.
Businesses most likely experience the benefits of moving to cloud-native applications. An IBM research published in 2018 shows that corporations plan to move 75 percent of its non-cloud applications to cloud within three (3) years. This only suggests that utilizing cloud-native technology is becoming a priority for enterprises.
Mobile Payment
The market welcomed this system with open arms. The soft cash has become more preferred than actual money. With mobile devices everywhere, it quickly earned its merits. It is a fast and convenient method of transaction, so why not?
Ride-Sharing/E-Hailing
A system that allows a person to earn extra from a personal vehicle and offering a ride to someone who needs one is a Win-Win scenario. The transportation industry had a huge progression with the rise of car-sharing. It did not solely provide convenience to its users but also aided in other automotive-related problems such as parking spaces and traffic.
There may be more innovations that earned names for themselves in the past decade. But the ones mentioned in this list had an immense impact on our everyday lives and still got some room to venture in for the coming years. In the second part of this series, we will be diving into how these technologies might grow even bigger in the coming years.