MARCH 20228EDITORIAL EXCLUSIVENEW AND EXISTING TECH SET TO TAKE CENTRE-STAGE IN 2022 By team startupcityow will we remember 2021? The year almost gone by will always be known as the year peo-ple learnt how to survive amidst the pandemic while staying on course with their lives. From hyper-connectivity to smart homes, technology be-came a mainstay in all sectors as people continued their lives through the digital medium. In this regard, 2022 will be a landmark year in terms of disruptive technol-ogy and some of the major trends to look forward to will include seamless collaboration, environment and sus-tainability, edge computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning, disruptive connectivity, augmented reality and virtual reality, and of course, the all-perva-sive cloudSeamless Collaboration and Hybrid WorkWhile various organisations had already begun pivoting towards offering employees the option of working from home a couple of days each week, COVID-19 catalysed the workplace ecosystem and ushered in the era of hybrid work. Several surveys, including Barco's survey on future workplaces, reveal that employees are not really keen on full time remote work any longer ­ they are looking at working from office for a few days each week while enjoying the freedom to work from home when it suits their needs. And this trend is being enabled by seamless collaboration devices which ensure that hybrid work is as efficient as in-person collaboration, if not more. Environment and SustainabilityCOVID-19 has prompted people to relook at the way they treat nature. Not only are people more aware now, but organisations are also stepping up to do their part for environment and sustainability, keeping in mind the worrisome climate changes on a global scale. 2021 saw companies prioritise environmental social governance and there is no doubt that the movement will gather steam in 2022. Global companies are also pledging to lower their carbon footprint and we are also seeing the emergence of eco-scoring on products. This score tells customers how much their products are impacting the environment, making them a part of the environment sustainability journey. Edge computingAs with all disruptive technology, edge computing is playing a part in making data assimilation and processing faster and more seamless. Enabling data processing at a place proximal to where the data is being created, edge computing ensures that devices can function faster, given the quicker turnaround in data processing and transmission.And, with the influx of internet of things and artificial intelligence, the edge computing industry is gaining greater scope, with studies predicting that, by next year, the global edge computing market is expected to reach 6.72billion dollars. AI and MLThese are terms which have been doing the rounds since the last couple of years but it is only post-pandemic that they have really gained weight and prominence for the way they enable industries to achieve excellent performances. Indeed, if not for AI and ML, several of the companies which adapted to the hybrid new era would have gone out of business. Similarly, ML enabled companies to process copious amounts of data HWhile 2021 was the year of disruptive technology enabling all aspects of our lives, 2022 will be the year wherein all these technologies will be perfected
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