Which industries are going to flourish in the new year? Here´s what the experts are saying.
In 2020, the tech industry rearranged itself to suit new requirements of business. ´Digital´ took center stage as enterprises scrambled to cut costs, engage with customers, and deliver results in the new world order with lockdowns and remote work summoned almost overnight.
Read more: Over to 2021: Tech Trend Predictions for the New Year from Industry Experts
As such, certain sectors showed exceptional changes and unprecedented progress, which experts are saying are here to stay in 2021. Let´s take a look at how different sectors are projected to go forward into the new year.
Remote Connectivity
2020 saw videoconferencing, remote collaboration, virtual events, secure accessibility, and virtual desktop management become top priorities for any CIO or CTO. The sentiment is that this development will continue flourishing.
Sudhir Kothari
I firmly believe that in the coming year, how people choose these new tools and technologies, is what will ultimately create and redefine the growth of businesses
“I firmly believe that in the coming year, how people choose these new tools and technologies, is what will ultimately create and redefine the growth of businesses,” says Sudhir Kothari, Founder and CEO, Embee Software.
“Companies will work with partners that can help them with Cloud-scale, innovation, and most importantly those who focus on data ethics and implement best in class data handling practices that mirror their own values as well as their customers’ values,” he adds.
E-meeting platforms like VideoMeet, Kestone, Airmeet, and JioMeet became mandatory integrations in every working professional’s life. These tools also became a big aid in facilitating social gatherings, informal meetings, online classes, etc.
“The upcoming year represents a vast number of opportunities for virtual meeting platforms,” says Dr. Ajay Data, Founder, Videomeet Pvt. Ltd.
Dr. Ajay Data
Even if the vaccination begins, this convenient and cost-effective option will continue to stay as a long-term practice
“Even if the vaccination begins, this convenient and cost-effective option will continue to stay as a long-term practice. Sectors such as healthcare, education, corporate, government affairs are likely to utilize the most of virtual meeting applications. Even the app upgrades and features will be dependent on the needs of the user base,” he says.
Edtech
Covid-19 has definitely benefitted the education industry’s digital adoption. The edtech space saw many advancements such as learners were provided with digital first academic support and accessibility, smart assessment, and innovative curriculum in specialized areas such as science, coding, and languages. This overall transformation has benefitted both investors and edtech startups.
Sumesh Nair, Founder and CEO, Board Infinity, says that in these times, the pandemic enhanced the learning process not just for students but also educators.
Sumesh Nair
The year 2020 has been a blessing in disguise for the edtech sector and has given us an opportunity to upskill and upgrade ourselves too to deliver the best product out there
“The year 2020 has been a blessing in disguise for the edtech sector and has given us an opportunity to upskill and upgrade ourselves too to deliver the best product out there” he says.
“We also saw that increasing number of people focused on upskilling, which increased the need for online courses (both synchronous and asynchronous). The trend of online learning is seeing an upward graph from here on,” he adds.
Rajat Singhania, the Founder of SocioRAC, also predicts that the sector of education will go on to show radical shifts because of tech adoption.
Rajat Singhania
Tech enablement has removed geographical boundaries and would see education outreach happening remotely
“Tech enablement has removed geographical boundaries and would see education outreach happening remotely with more robust platforms providing a single point solution to enable remote education seamlessly,” he says.
Automation
As automation becomes a key process that organizations across India have appreciated in the last few years, the pandemic has accelerated its adoption by imbibing faith in its usage. As such, processes like Robotic process automation (RPA) are expected to witness a vast adoption in India and across the globe.
Varun Goswami, Global Head – New Products COE, Newgen Software, says that the pandemic has made it imperative to reduce our dependency on human-driven processes and RPA has been a critical enabler for automating repetitive tasks. As such, he predicts a bright future for RPA.
Varun Goswami
In 2021, organizations will leverage RPA to build a stronger digital and human workforce, that will work together to build an agile, resilient, and scalable organization
“In 2021, organizations will leverage RPA to build a stronger digital and human workforce, that will work together to build an agile, resilient, and scalable organization,” he says.
“As we move toward a digital-only world, RPA will empower humans by eliminating redundancies, thereby driving a highly productive and resilient enterprise-wide digital transformation. Many sectors, including banking, insurance, government, healthcare, and shared services, are already leveraging RPA to increase process efficiency and accuracy,” he adds.
Further, he says, because of the accelerated need for digital transformation across sectors, hyper-automation has been among the buzzwords of 2020, and will continue to drive conversations in 2021.
“In the near future, hyper-automation will take centerstage by leveraging AI, data analytics, and end-to-end process orchestration to deliver experiential automation,” he says.
Read more: Newgen Software
The pandemic has highlighted some key areas in our lives where the need for technology had been lagging for years. Healthcare has benefitted in the form of technology such as telemedicine and even robots on the floor. Edtech has finally forced changes on a decades long system. And virtual communication technology has enabled offices worldwide.
These technologies are clearly here to stay and will progress even further as the year progresses.
