Tech predictions for 2021

Tech predictions are not always accurate. Who could have predicted 2020? And the knock-on effects to businesses and organisations? With the events of 2020 in mind, what are the tech predictions now for 2021?

Recovery and empathy

The coming year has already been named the ‘year of optimism’; predicted to be the ‘roaring 20s’. Certainly, with us being on the brink of a new vaccine, many businesses are set to start their recovery, and correspondingly, global expenditure on IT for 2021 is projected at $3.8 trillion, a rise of of 4% on 2020.

Within the predicted recovery is also a new focus on empathy. COVID-19 has caused stress and hardship for so many people; empathy has become the new watchword in how we deal with others, including employees and colleagues. Homeworking has been difficult for many, suffering isolation and worries about achieving work and career goals, as well as caring for family members and children at the same time.

Technology to the rescue!

Businesses will be very busy in 2021 trying to figure out how digital can help them deal with the onslaught of demand that has been pent-up for so long, and safeguard their survival in the long-term.

Here are the predictions for 2021:

The rise of work from anywhere

Now workers know how to work from home, and businesses know how to operate, working from home is predicted to become synonymous with work from anywhere. Remote and digital first will be the default position with a knock-on effect on centralisation and security of customer data and operating systems.

Healthcare data vulnerabilities

With the increase in being asked to register personal details, not just with medical organisations, but in gyms, restaurants and other businesses, there is greater spread of personal and healthcare detail in the hands of organisation that don’t necessarily have the level of security in place they should. Personal and healthcare data businesses collect is predicted to be a focus for cybercriminals.

Development of automated processes

Contactless, or touchless, technologies adopted in 2020 to limit human-to-human contact will continue to be developed. Opportunities to further automate, and make human-less, will be looked for by businesses, as well as use of bots and automated processes to actually escalate contact to human, if it is required.

Use of bots to facilitate contact with customers will be used not just to take care of the processes that can be automated, but also to encourage customers to have real contact with an adviser.

Companies don’t lose sight of the fact that brand engagement and loyalty only come about through real human interaction. Bots will be used more intelligently to assess need and answer questions, but will be part of the customer journey on the way to speaking to a real person.

Risk of over-automation

With the rise of automation and use of bots, comes the predicted risk of companies reducing the individuality of their brand personalities. Since the opportunity for real human engagement reduces, so does the opportunity to demonstrate difference from competitors.

Successful companies will balance the need for automation and customer convenience with the opportunities to engage with customers on a personal level.

Taking care of employees

Back to empathy when it comes to employees. With all the changes businesses and organisations are set to make, and the steep curves of recovery and growth expected, the changes to working are predicted to impact significantly on employees. Employers are warned to not lose sight of the customer, but also carefully consider how changes will affect employees and implement in measured considered ways.

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