With the new year comes fresh perspectives and renewed drive for your business to remain on top of your industry. But as ever, businesses that don’t keep up with the changing pace of technology are at risk of being left behind.   

To help you understand the opportunities that can be harnessed using new technology and make sure your company’s priorities are aligned with technological advancements, here are our predictions for the top IT business trends for 2020.

Harnessing cloud technology 

Cloud computing will become even more of a staple for many industries in 2020. Twenty per cent of commercial leaders believe that in technology, the biggest benefits will come from cloud (1). This is because it has the potential to offer improved customer experience, makes collaboration more effective and allows data to be stored and accessed securely, as well as protecting against catastrophic failures or outages.

We have seen many more clients becoming confident in embracing cloud . There’s a building momentum toward zero footprint computing with no physical on premise servers. Businesses are pursuing a more simplified and agile working environment based upon cloud systems accessed by Laptops and Mobiles.

As a certified Microsoft provider we help companies get the full benefit of Microsoft Azure, matching the possibilities with your business challenges and objectives.

Democratization

Democratization of technology is the process of providing people with easy access to technical or business expertise without extensive, and potentially costly, training. It’s sometimes referred to as citizen access, because it allows developers to generate data models without having the skills of a data scientist. Instead, they would rely on artificial intelligence-driven development to generate code and automate testing.

Open-source software allows individual developers to benefit from and build on the work that’s been done by communities of fellow developers. They can access and embrace work that’s been done rather than starting from scratch. It’s valuable to companies and it’s cost-effective, which means it’s quickly changing the way technology is developed.

Democratization is happening in four key areas – application development, data and analytics, design and knowledge.  Blue Saffron provides open access to some data flows in areas such as support desk for customers that want to see, analyse and use the data to help their business to thrive.

5G data networks 

As we know, the 5^th generation of mobile internet launched in 2019, exclusively to a handful of confined areas and a few major cities. 2020 will see a real push and drive behind the accessibility of 5G, because technological advancements such as cloud technology require robust connectivity as their lifeblood to survive. 5G is an important crucial step in making cloud based eco-systems more readily accessible.

This leap in technology brings the positive implications of increased connectivity and stability of internet and will make strides with machines, robots and data.

The availability of high speed mobile data increases the expectations of your customers because they expect you to be switched on, accessible and fully functional wherever you are. That’s where we can step in to help make sure you’re set up for success.

Better employee enablement

Employee experience is an emerging trend and is becoming extremely important for businesses. This is expected to grow even further in 2020 and beyond. Employees have increasing expectations from their IT, and they’re most satisfied when they’re being productive, which is a win-win for everyone. We can take steps to make employee enablement happen by engaging remote workers and boosting collaboration, reinvigorating meetings with new technology, allowing and enabling learning on the go, allowing employees to use personal devices, and using interactive technology to increase engagement.

Enterprises need direct routing 

As remote working becomes more popular, increasing by 115% since 2010, over half of meetings now include colleagues who join remotely. So if remote collaboration is going to succeed, it has to be possible for people to interact in the same way as they would if they were together.

The retirement of Skype for Business in 2021 presents a problem for remote workers and companies operating nationally or internationally. This  means that another big trend to monitor in 2020 will be Direct Routing, to replace Skype for Business and allow people to make calls within their collaboration tools.

Direct Routing allows businesses to make and receive calls in Microsoft Teams. You can use Direct Routing to connect Microsoft Teams to your PSTN to connect telephone facilities. This means you can merge calling with collaboration to help you communicate more effectively.

Blue Saffron is one of the first companies to secure a test license for this and we’re already identifying best practice methods to help our clients achieve the best productivity gains through Direct Routing. Make sure you understand how to access the telephony facilities you rely on within Microsoft Teams.

The spread of artificial intelligence 

Artificial intelligence is being increasingly recognised as a growing trend. In 2020 there will be wider take-up, as more businesses become savvy to the benefits and scope for artificial intelligence and as opposed to the niche band of providers on offer now, more suppliers are likely to pop up offering tailored applications and specific and specialised services. This is where you need to be careful. According to the MIT Sloan Report, ‘Winning With AI’, 9 out of 10 respondents agree that AI represents a business opportunity for their company. 2020 will mean there are less excuses to not be harnessing AI, but you should always use it with proper consideration to how it can match with your objectives.

Find out more 

You can rely on the expertise of Blue Saffron to help you make the most of 2020’s upcoming IT trends. We can show you how the right technology can make your business productive, your employees perform better, solve operational challenges, stay safe and compete more successfully in your sector. 

Formed in 2004 and based in London, Blue Saffron has established a reputation for pragmatic thinking and an honest approach to IT. Our client satisfaction ratings average 98%. 

You can get in touch by emailing info@bluesaffron.com or calling 0844 560 0202. 

(1) Survey commissioned by Blue Saffron and performed by Larato,  September 2019. 

Further Information

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