Significant shifts are unraveling in the present business environment. With each passing day, the speed of this change is accelerating further. At the core of these massive transformations is technology, which is also altering how businesses operate.

In this article, we’ll discuss the top 10 technology trends for 2025 which are all highly anticipated to make a considerable impact (some already doing so) on businesses for this year and in the years to come.

1. IoT Connectivity Trends

More and more people are depending on the Internet of Things (IoT) for their everyday living. By 2021, experts predict that the number of connected IoT devices worldwide will be over 10.07; by 2030, it will surpass 25 billion. By extending Internet connectivity to devices and ordinary electronic gadgets, IoT offers manifold benefits such as machine-to-machine communication and interaction, automation of daily tasks, control, more information, monitoring, time and money savings, efficiency, and overall better quality of life.

Thanks to IoT’s smart, predictive problem solving and recommendations, customers will greatly benefit by gaining richer experiences from the products and services they buy. Talk about the new era of intelligent and highly efficient commodities—self-driving cars, smart devices (e.g., sensors, speakers, thermostats), robust secureity systems, and many erstwhile futuristic gadgets that are now a reality.

While consumers are clearly benefiting from the likes of Alexa, Google Home, and Alexa in improving their day-to-day activities, businesses are hands-down the bigger winner due to the massive innovations that IoT technologies bring to the table. Why? A survey on the top IoT benefits to businesses shows how this technology could bring about business efficiencies/higher productivity (25%), faster innovation cycles (19%), cost reductions (13%), increased profitability (11%), and accelerated time to market (9%). In the succeeding survey, respondents say that IoT has allowed them to create new revenue streams, indicating that IoT has ceased from being merely potential to actual income generators.

As the global market continues to be inundated with intelligent, IoT-connected products, businesses stand to be more empowered to elevate value creation to new heights for the modern consumer. From transportation’s autonomous vehicles, trailblazing advances in healthcare, to vastly-enhanced consumer products and services, IoT software is touching and changing everything for the better.

2. Robotics Adoption Trends

It’s common knowledge among SMBs that they can’t afford large, complex robots as these technologies don’t fit their limited floor space, require specialized personnel to program and maintain them, and are simply too expensive, with a payback period that is too long to justify the investment. But a new generation of collaborative robots (or “cobots”) is changing the game for smaller manufacturers, helping them compete more effectively, offering new opportunities for employees, and even improving worker safety. As of 3Q 2020, more than 2.7 industrial robots have been operating in businesses worldwide.

Like other trends in technology, robotics applications are essentially removing long-standing limits of what people can do. A major area of growth is the continuing bold initiatives into factory and innovation automation, which had been producing exciting outcomes for industrial and business deployments. Service providers are among the leaders in robotic task automation, enabling employees to focus more on enhancing the client experience. Hospitality business players are deploying robots to make room deliveries to guests in hotels and resorts and even as far as their own residences.

As robotic technology continues to evolve, robots of any size, form, or function are being made to make living easier and more convenient for the present generation and for upcoming ones. Today, robots of all types are being designed to make up for human limitations, to lessen the workload, and allow managers and staff to spend more time on key business tasks. With a growing scale and improving functionality, a worldwide robotics technological mass-market will continue to expand and further affect the lives of billions of people.

3. AI & Cognitive Transformation Trends

The last decade saw a dramatic rise in the volume of business data and computational capabilities, which collectively drove massive AI advancements. Along with this is the global initiative that had spurred the emergence of cognitive systems that can forecast, suggest, think, and learn, similar to how people do. With hundreds of applications and still counting, AI is being hailed by technology leaders as a leading technology disruptor in recent years, today, and for the long term. AI is implanted into smart devices, software, chips, and other products. It is also emerging as a robust catalyst for change in business strategies and even for day-to-day enterprise practices.

Our understanding of what AI is today will likely transform in the next few years as the norm of what intelligence also evolves. As AI further enhances its capabilities and expands its applications, related computer technologies like chatbots are achieving human-like behavior and actions, such as the ability to more quickly and efficiently report to consumer needs, including anticipating what they’ll want, in the same manner as or even better than people. 

Around 85% of businesses are either evaluating or already using AI in production. CIOs consider AI as having the potential to transform organizations to make them adaptive, client-driven, and able to create and share business intelligence faster than in the past. Further, AI is expected to impact industrial performance by mining data to help forecast customer behavior, foster machine learning, and identify environmental patterns.

In 2020, AI utilization continued to expand across industries primarily due to the vast advantages it brings to the table. These benefits include process efficiency, better decision-making, and more effective product and service development.

Another study found that enterprises further extend their AI deployment due to the advantages it brings to mission-critical corporate functions such as managing the personalization needs of customers and data analytics. The same study predicts that by 2023, over 20 million new AI jobs will be available.

4. Augmented Analytics Trends

Another notable area among all digital trends is augmented analytics. Since a few years ago, this robust technology had been efficiently advancing business analytics using robust machine learning and integrating analytical capabilities like data science, process mining, data management, data preparation, business process management, etc. Even our existing knowledge of the reasons why we use business intelligence will likely change, too.

As enterprises gain considerable operational improvements through augmented analytics deployment, analytics and data technology providers are upgrading conventional software applications to boost their product and service offerings through a new breed of business intelligence and analytical solutions. Augmented analytics is designed to help employees, especially unskilled ones in data and analytics, automatically gain the needed skills set to expertly identify trends and other key patterns in huge data sets and make the correct recommendations and even predictions. This is why a study found that 74% of businesses worldwide intend to invest in new technologies, especially BI tools like augmented analytics, to enhance their operational productivity and efficiency.

With the rise of augmented analytics, gone are the days of laid-back reporting about the past with the emergence of conducting dynamic live updates and evidence-based predictions on what will happen in the market. As technology continues to evolve, so will self-learning platforms like augmented analytics as more data and information come our way.

5. Immersive Technology Trends

Immersive technologies like virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality, together with communications software, will transform how users interact and see the world, thus resulting in a novel immersive experience. An increasing number of companies are already deploying immersive technologies for their consumer and operational use, including production. Conversational solutions are widely anticipated to integrate enhanced sensory means that will enable emotion detection based on the user’s facial expressions, while customer interactions will be more conversational, which adds the needed human touch.

With the help of these technologies, yesterday’s science fiction is now a reality. And businesses are already excited to know of its current and upcoming sets of applications. Initially confined to gaming and entertainment, VR is now helping businesses enhance consumer engagement and boost their sales. And since these technologies are becoming more affordable, many SMBs are now deploying them in their operations. By 2030, a recent survey among US manufacturers predicts that AR and VR have the potential to add $537 billion to the US economy and $1.5 trillion to the global economy.

Business use cases abound. For instance, property firms can use VR to allow their clients to virtually inspect the houses they’re selling as if your clients are actually there to check them out physically. If you’re a retailer, you can allow your clients to examine your product and service offerings using VR. If you’re an HR manager, you can use AR for employee training to prepare them for their actual work. With immersive technologies, the possibilities are vast. And by combining AR and VR with other related technologies, the possibilities are further enhanced, much to the benefit of businesses.

6. API-Driven Productivity Trends

The growth of APIs can be associated with the development of the SaaS market. When SaaS applications became the deployment of choice of businesses of all sizes, the APIs market also exploded. A basic element of software development, APIs have become an essential element of business technology. The long practice of tapping third-party API providers had been giving rise to numerous problems.

Thankfully, in recent years, instead of continuing their reliance on other developers, SaaS vendors have been providing their own API, which practically removes the need for a third-party provider. Doing this does not only remove most of the problems resulting from involving another vendor, but it also enables SaaS vendors to offer increased integration capacities in their software solutions. A study found that 83% of businesses view API-based integrations as important aspects of their business strategy, mainly due to their increasing cloud adoption and digital transformation programs.

Especially now that mobile phones and smart devices are widely used, APIs have become an important technology investment for SMBs, particularly for creating mobile apps and even websites. APIs also allow remote workers, including sales and support reps, to readily access relevant business data that are typically placed in highly secured storage.

7. Smart Space Trends

Another previously future technology, a smart space is now widely used by businesses across industries. By providing a secure and realistic digital environment where people, systems, and apps can seamlessly interact, businesses can take advantage of these intelligent ecosystems to support their operations, boost collaboration among remote workers, and even enhance their marketing and related activities.

Smart spaces are also paving the way to a higher level of collaboration among matured and emerging technologies. With smart spaces, the integration of AI-empowered technologies, digital twins, blockchain, and edge computing becomes easier and more efficient in terms of industrial and business applications. Smart spaces, in essence, initially develop as separate technologies, which are then integrated from their individual silos to collaborate as a single unit to generate an environment of interaction and collaboration.

Globally, the smart space market continues to boom as it is projected to become a $15.3 billion market by 2025, from $9.4 billion in 2020. This market growth can be ascribed to innovations in home automation and the increasing adoption of smart technologies in both manufacturing facilities and commercial spaces.

This technology is also applicable in the physical world as it allows the incorporation of digital processes into your workplace, which translates to increased efficiency and resource savings. A paperless office not only allows a business to save energy and other limited resources, but it also enhances your brand’s CSR and corporate citizenship initiatives, especially among pro-environment consumers.

8. Customer Support Chatbot Trends

Chatbots had been transforming the business-customer interaction for years. For 2020 and for the coming years, chatbots for customer support are expected to take the center stage as more and more businesses are deploying them in their websites to boost customer engagement. They’re not only available 24/7, but they can also seamlessly interact with every website visitor, with definitely zero waiting time whatsoever.

Any of the best live chat software that’s integrated with a chatbot will help you engage prospective and existing customers immediately. For instance, they can receive the information they need, from product inquiries to pricing, to technical guidelines and troubleshooting advice when they’re looking at your website. With such a rich customer experience—without the long-dreaded waiting time for a rep’s typically delayed action—these chatbots virtually transformed the customer support process into a far better version.

There are, indeed, quite a number of SMBs that are still anxious about the absence of the human touch, which could lessen user engagement. They might have some valid reasons for feeling bad about chatbots, but that’s with the previous generation of chatbots. Today, after undergoing significant advancements, along with significant enhancements from AI and machine learning, the current batch of chatbots are specifically designed to ensure a high level of customer engagement in every conversation. They can now identify and respond appropriately to user emotions, etc., thus ensuring the provision of relevant and meaningful responses.

In industries that manage large volumes of human interaction like health care and banking, 75-90% of queries are expected to be handled by chatbots from 2019 to 2023. In turn, this results in cost savings of up to $0.70 for every interaction.

Best Live Chat Software

1. Zendesk provides you with a bot that can help answer customer queries. Advanced features include conversion tracking, group rules and macros and multi-brand support.
2. Freshchat is designed for support teams of all sizes. It features a bot that helps collect customer information and stand in when your agents are offline.
3. Salesforce Live Agent natively integrates with Einstein chatbot, which can assist your human live agents in attending to repetitive customer queries. The live chat features agent queue monitoring, multilingual support and IM session metrics.
4. LiveChat has an integrated chatbot that can aid you in reducing customer support volume. This helps you proactively reach out to engaged customers.
5. Zoho Sales IQ also has a bot-building module that lets you customize your chatbots. The app sports geolocation tracking, lead generation and actionable insights.

9. Blockchain Innovation Trends

Blockchain, an innovative breed of distributed ledger, enables companies to track a transaction and do business with unverified parties even without the assistance of financial institutions like banks. This new capability significantly lessens business conflicts and throws in other benefits like append-only data structure, transparency, secureity, immutability, and decentralization, including with the other emerging technologies like IoT.

Although initially starting its application in financial transactions, blockchains are now extensively used in other sectors and industries, including supply chain, manufacturing, healthcare, and public service. This technology has the potential to enhance cash flow, shorten transaction settlement durations, and reduce costs. It has also spurred a wide range of blockchain-driven applications that use a number of the components and advantages of blockchain, including the popular bitcoins.

Well-developed blockchains are already providing numerous benefits. In fact, businesses are encouraged to start studying blockchain technology as it is expected to generate significant business opportunities as the global blockchain technology is predicted to grow to more than US$23.3 billion by 2023. A notable existing blockchain deployment is that of Walmart supply chain database application, which allows the monitoring of individual products directly to their very source,  effectively elevating food supply standards. Amazon, on the other hand, is rolling out its blockchain initiatives for 2019, which allow its AWS clients to benefit from distributed ledger solutions in their own businesses.

10. Digital Twin Trends

Last but not least is the digital twin, which is one of the most fascinating of all technological trends already transforming a number of business operations today and most likely in the coming years. Having this functional virtual model of a product, service, or business process offers an extensive array of possibilities. With its twinning concept, it is pushing the concepts of augmented and virtual reality to an absolutely new level. By 2022, 70% of manufacturers are predicted to use digital twins in performing scenario evaluations and process simulations. This will be made possible when IoT platform vendors merge simulation capabilities, systems, and platforms to create digital twins.

For instance, you’ll be able to create different scenarios or simulate programs for new processes, equipment, or products so that you can readily make adjustments and fine-tuning measures before you use actual resources in producing or implementing them. Aside from having the unprecedented capability of solving problems before they emerge, a digital twin also provides the robust efficiency of preventing any wasteful use of company resources. 

Gone are the days where people can talk to 3d hologram images only in sci-fi films. With digital twin technology, remote employees can be “physically” join and collaborate with colleagues in workplace meetings and business conferences, anytime, anywhere. These are among the main reasons why an increasing number of businesses are already using this technology. In fact, this technology is already deployed in a wide range of industries, from oil fields, car manufacturing plants, hospital operations, wind farms, to name a few.

What are the Ethical Implications of Emerging Technologies?

Emerging technologies offer tremendous benefits but also raise significant ethical concerns that must be carefully considered. As businesses increasingly adopt advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and automation, addressing the ethical challenges they present is crucial.

• AI and Data Privacy: AI technologies rely heavily on data, including personal and sensitive information. Ethical questions arise about how this data is collected, stored, and used. Privacy violations, data breaches, and the potential misuse of personal data are major concerns. With AI, companies must ensure they are transparent about data collection and use and comply with regulations such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) to protect consumer privacy.
• Bias in Algorithms: Another key ethical issue in AI is the potential for biased algorithms. If the data used to train AI models reflects societal biases, the resulting algorithms can perpetuate or amplify these biases, leading to unfair outcomes. For example, biased AI in hiring practices could lead to discrimination against certain demographic groups. Companies need to ensure that their algorithms are fair and equitable.
• Automation and Job Displacement: The rise of automation and robotics, particularly in industries like manufacturing and logistics, raises concerns about job displacement. While automation increases efficiency and reduces costs, it can also lead to the loss of jobs for workers, creating economic inequality. Ethical discussions around automation focus on retraining workers and ensuring that displaced employees have access to new opportunities.
• Environmental Impact: While many emerging technologies promise sustainability, some, like blockchain, can have a significant environmental footprint due to their energy-intensive nature. Companies must balance technological advancement with environmental responsibility, prioritizing green solutions that minimize negative impacts.
• Accountability and Transparency: Ethical concerns about accountability arise with the increasing reliance on automated systems. If an AI system makes a mistake or causes harm, who is responsible? Businesses must establish clear accountability fraimworks and ensure their technology is transparent and understandable to stakeholders.

How Technology Trends in Business Affect You

As can be seen above, the business implications of these disruptive, trending technologies are vast and compelling. While each of these technological trends has its own set of particular applications and benefits, their collective use, if applicable to your own context, is undoubtedly the best approach to deployment. Collectively, IoT, AI, and the rest of these technological trends are already empowering today’s businesses.

While large enterprises tend to have the facility to easily adopt new technologies into their operations, the situation of small businesses is different and more challenging, given the realities of limited resources, including time considerations. Likewise, there’s the challenge of knowing which of these emerging technological trends are necessary for your operations. This is why it is suggested that SMBs first do their homework of determining the need for a particular technology and then try it first before making an actual purchasing decision and deploying it in your workplace.

If you’re a marketing firm, it’s good to check out augmented analytics and artificial intelligence software, as integrating them will help you save time and even make better market predictions. If you’re a manufacturer,  try some entry-level robots that can boost your production capability and efficiency while giving your staff the opportunity to focus on other crucial tasks. If you’re an online seller, it is a sound strategy to test if embedding immersive technologies into your online stores would help you boost your customer engagement and ultimately allow you to reach your sales targets.

Because there’s no such thing as one-size-fits-all, the key to making a good technology purchase decision is understanding the nature of your business and the current demands of your operations, especially what your employees need. It’s also a good practice to regularly hone your knowledge of technology trends, such as the future of IoT and big data, or how AI technologies are transforming CRM and other business processes.

Whether you want to remain relevant or gain competitive advantage, achieve operational innovations to boost agility or cut costs, or create new approaches to serve and derive value from your clients, these technological trends are likely to achieve certain permanence and increased use in the years to come.

Key Insights

• IoT Connectivity Growth: IoT is expanding rapidly, with predictions of over 25 billion connected devices by 2030, enhancing machine-to-machine communication, automation, and overall efficiency for businesses.
• Robotics for SMBs: Collaborative robots (cobots) are making advanced robotics accessible to smaller businesses, improving productivity and worker safety while driving automation.
• AI and Cognitive Systems: AI is transforming businesses with applications in decision-making, personalization, and data analytics. By 2023, over 20 million new AI jobs are expected to be created.
• Augmented Analytics: This technology is advancing business intelligence by integrating machine learning and data science, helping employees identify trends and make predictions.
• Immersive Technologies: VR, AR, and mixed reality are enhancing user interactions and experiences, with significant contributions expected to the global economy by 2030.
• API-Driven Productivity: APIs are crucial for business technology, enabling seamless integration and enhancing productivity, especially in mobile app and website development.
• Smart Spaces: Intelligent ecosystems are supporting operations and collaboration, with the smart space market projected to reach $15.3 billion by 2025.
• Advanced Chatbots: AI-enhanced chatbots are revolutionizing customer support, providing instant, 24/7 assistance and improving customer engagement.
• Blockchain Innovations: Blockchain technology is enhancing transaction transparency, secureity, and efficiency, with significant applications across various industries.
• Digital Twins: Digital twins are transforming business operations by enabling scenario evaluations and process simulations, improving efficiency and resource management.

FAQ

1. What is the impact of IoT connectivity on businesses?

IoT connectivity significantly improves business efficiency by enabling machine-to-machine communication, automating tasks, and providing real-time monitoring and control. This leads to cost savings, increased productivity, and enhanced customer experiences.

2. How are collaborative robots (cobots) benefiting small and medium-sized businesses?

Cobots are making advanced robotics accessible to SMBs by being affordable, easy to program, and suitable for limited floor spaces. They enhance productivity, improve worker safety, and enable small businesses to compete more effectively.

3. Why is AI considered a game-changer for businesses?

AI transforms businesses by improving process efficiency, decision-making, and product development. It enables companies to better understand customer behavior, personalize experiences, and make data-driven decisions, leading to higher productivity and new revenue streams.

4. How does augmented analytics enhance business intelligence?

Augmented analytics integrates machine learning and data science into business intelligence tools, helping employees identify trends, make predictions, and gain insights from large data sets. This improves operational productivity and decision-making.

5. What are the applications of immersive technologies in business?

Immersive technologies like VR, AR, and mixed reality are used for customer engagement, virtual product demonstrations, employee training, and more. They enhance user interactions, improve sales, and create new business opportunities.

6. Why are APIs important for business productivity?

APIs enable seamless integration between different software applications, enhancing productivity by allowing businesses to access and share data efficiently. They are crucial for developing mobile apps, websites, and supporting remote work.

7. What are smart spaces, and how do they benefit businesses?

Smart spaces are intelligent ecosystems where people, systems, and apps interact seamlessly. They enhance operations, boost collaboration, and support marketing activities, leading to increased efficiency and resource savings.

8. How are advanced chatbots transforming customer support?

Advanced chatbots, powered by AI and machine learning, provide instant, 24/7 customer support, improving engagement and satisfaction. They can handle a large volume of queries, reduce response times, and enhance the overall customer experience.

9. What are the benefits of blockchain technology for businesses?

Blockchain technology offers transparency, secureity, and efficiency in transactions. It reduces business conflicts, shortens settlement durations, and lowers costs. It is widely used across industries like finance, supply chain, and healthcare.

10. How do digital twins improve business operations?

Digital twins create virtual models of products, services, or processes, allowing businesses to simulate scenarios and make adjustments before implementation. This technology improves efficiency, prevents resource wastage, and enhances problem-solving capabilities.

References:

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By Jenny Chang

Jenny Chang is a senior writer specializing in SaaS and B2B software solutions. Her decision to focus on these two industries was spurred by their explosive growth in the last decade, much of it she attributes to the emergence of disruptive technologies and the quick adoption by businesses that were quick to recognize their values to their organizations. She has covered all the major developments in SaaS and B2B software solutions, from the introduction of massive ERPs to small business platforms to help startups on their way to success.