What's next in Tech? Be in the know!

All of us working in the tech industry, whether you are a consultant or a production employer producing the tech that consumers use, should stay on top of the "what's next" in the tech industry. As we evaluate key topics for 2022 and plan for our clients, we wanted to share a few topics that we believe are not only trending but are next-generation technologies and topics that will impact the tech industry, disrupt the way we do business, and provide new innovation for traditional ways of computing and producing.

​The short list we are sharing include the following:

• Non-fungible Tokens (NFT)
• Hyperscalers
• Crypto (anything)
• Vertical Farming
• Cyber Modeling
• Zero Trust Computing
• Cobots (Collaborative Robots)
• Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI)
• Metaverse
• Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS)

The industry is currently all buzzing around the term NFTs or non-fungible tokens and more importantly, artists and creators are selling digital art, creations, graphics, videos, memorabilia, collectibles, and so much more. NFTs are basically a digital asset that uses blockchain technology to record the ownership of items. "When an NFT by Beeple that was stored on the Ethereum blockchain sold for $69m at Christie’s early in 2021, the wider world took notice." The Verge does a great job at explaining the basics, you can read more here.

Cobots (Collaborative Robots) work alongside humans or industrial or manufacturing workers and are essentially a robot that performs the most mundane physical tasks in an assembly line, in production, in moving or delivering an asset or other industrial tasks. Here are a few real live companies using Cobots today:

• Cambridgeshire manufacturer leverages cobots to boost productivity
• Acme transforms e-commerce fulfillment with cobots
• At Dutch company Marlan, employees work next to sanding ‘cobot’​

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is another topic expected to grow as corporate America seeks to decarbonize operations and production, which is a heightened trend companies have been pushing as part of their sustainability and greener corporate strategies. Carbon capture is the process of capturing carbon dioxide before it enters the atmosphere and storing it. Carbon storage includes moving the liquid carbon to locations deep under the earth's surface. Ericsson's Åsa Tamsons wrote a blog this week sharing details around how industries can utilize 5G and other technologies to support zer emissions goals, titled "​How smarter industries can help decarbonize our planet."