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You know it, we know it… a substantial digital revolution is taking place all over the world. Innovation, agility, and market development are all accelerated by technological advancements.

The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated digitization and automation, allowing companies to remain resilient even in adversity. Many businesses adopted disruptive technologies and modified their business models.

The pandemic's effect will be felt for a long time, and the digital transition will continue. Advanced technology will continue to change our lives and the way we operate, opening up enormous opportunities for businesses worldwide.

The following trends will become a key feature of up and coming IT jobs, especially here in Belfast where IT jobs are now thriving.

Let's now look at these technology developments so that everyone knows what to look for, adopt, and take with them. It may even inspire you to explore some IT jobs working with a different technology…

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1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)  

Artificial Intelligence has made a lot of hype over the last decade and can be found within many trending IT jobs. Still, it remains one of the leading emerging technology developments because its significant impacts on how we live, work, and play are still in their inception.

AI is now well-known for its presence in image and speech recognition, ride-sharing apps, mobile personal assistants, navigation apps, and various other applications.

Besides that, Artificial Intelligence is to investigate interactions to discover previously undetected connections and assess facility demand in real-time to allocate resources and identify dynamic patterns among consumers.

Machine Learning, a subset of AI, is used in a wide range of industries, resulting in a surge in the market for skilled workers.

We’ve seen a huge rise in this technology within the IT job market in Northern Ireland, with many of the leading software houses here utilising AI.

2. 5G and enhanced connectivity  

Pretty obvious right? Yes, you’ll use the internet in any IT job, and in most jobs in general in some shape or fashion. But, faster and more stable internet means more than only loading webpages faster and spending less time waiting for YouTube videos to load. From 3G onwards, each advancement of mobile connectivity has opened up new internet use cases.

As bandwidths expanded, 3G enabled online access and data-driven services on mobile devices; 4G enabled the increase of streaming video and music platforms; and 5G, likewise, would expand what is possible.

5G refers to networks that use cutting-edge technology, including augmented reality and virtual reality.

They also threaten to render cable and fiber-based networks obsolete by requiring us to be tethered to a specific location.

In a nutshell, 5G and other advanced, high-speed networks allow all of the other trends we've discussed to be accessed anywhere, at any time.

Complex machine learning applications that require real-time access to Big Data sources can be automated and run in the field.

If you are interested in this field, there are many IT jobs in the Northern Ireland market that will allow you to contribute to such invaluable technology advancements.

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3. Edge computing 

Edge computing is a new technology that ensures low latency and high-speed data processing. Edge computing allows computations to be carried out closer to data storage systems, improving application performance.

Cloud platforms' high bandwidth costs can act as a motivator for edge computing adoption.

The technology aims to run fewer processes in the cloud and transfer them to places like the user's computer or an edge server.

Bridging the gap between data and computation eliminates long-distance communication between the server and the client, resulting in increased process speed.

Therefore, edge computing is used to handle time-sensitive data stored in remote areas with minimal access to the central location. Cloud computing and IoT applications would benefit from the technology.

Though a new technology, it is becoming more popular within IT jobs that work with Cloud Computing and IoT. Getting yourself an IT job with exposure to this technology could uniquely benefit your future IT career.

4. Internet of behaviours (IoB) 

If you've heard of the Internet of Things (IoT), you should know that the IoT extends to the Internet of behaviour as well.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is concerned with using data and insights to influence behaviour. IoT devices are possible as massive databases for Internet of behaviour (IoB) paradigms.

Businesses will be able to follow customer behaviour and use IoB to benefit their respective channels with the aid of IoB. For example, a health-tracking app may collect information about your physical activity routine, diet, sleep, and other habits.

This information can be used to encourage more behavioural improvement, such as by creating personalized health plans.

IT jobs within tech for good, health tech, and green tech companies will particularly seek to utilise IoB to aid and drive key business decisions.

5. Quantum computing 

Quantum computing, a form of computing that uses the power of quantum phenomena such as superposition and quantum entanglement, is the next noteworthy technology trend.

Because of its capability to instantly question, track, interpret, and act on data, regardless of source, this incredible technology trend also includes preventing the spread of the coronavirus and developing potential vaccines.

Quantum computing is now being used in banking and finance to monitor credit risk, perform high-frequency trading, and detect fraud. Quantum computers are now several times faster than traditional computers, including those from well-known companies.

6. Blockchain 

Blockchain is another recent mainstream technology trend. Many people believe that Blockchain is just about Cryptocurrency, which is not the case.

Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies are just a part of Blockchain technology as a whole. Apart from Cryptocurrencies, it uses various other fields such as healthcare, supply chain and logistics, advertising, etc.

It's a decentralized digital ledger that keeps track of any transaction through a global network of computers.

Various businesses are searching for Blockchain platforms to build top-level business strategies, driving up the market for blockchain technology. There are great IT job opportunities to be part of this market within Belfast if it's of interest to you.

Blockchain's amount of protection and transparency is the primary explanation for its tremendous rise in popularity.

7. Cybersecurity 

Cybersecurity does not seem to be cutting-edge technology, but it progresses at the same rate as other technologies. This is partly due to the constant emergence of new threats.

Malicious hackers attempting to gain unauthorized access to data would not give up quickly, and they will continue to find ways to avoid even the most stringent protection measures. It's partly due to the adoption of modern technologies to improve defense.

Since Cybersecurity will extend to guard against hackers as long as we have them, Cybersecurity will remain a popular technology.

It’s worth noting that a growing number of VANRATH IT Jobs are within Cybersecurity as it increases in popularity. We have had huge success placing candidates within IT jobs in this industry in recent months.

8. Human augmentation 

Human augmentation is a broad term that encompasses innovations that seek to improve human abilities and productivity.

Physical augmentation, such as prosthetics, AR lenses, and RFID tags infused inside humans, are all part of the field of human augmentation.

This can aid in the enhancement of human cognition, perception, and action abilities. This is accomplished by sensing and actuation technology, information fusion and fission, and artificial intelligence.

9. Distributed cloud 

The Distributed Cloud technology trend is poised to take Cloud Computing to new heights. It is concerned with distributing public cloud resources to various geographical locations, processes, updates, delivery, and other relevant activities being handled centrally by the original public cloud provider.

Instead of offering a centralized solution, it would assist in meeting the service needs of individual cloud locations separately.

Meanwhile, companies would undoubtedly benefit from this technological trend by decreasing latency, reducing the risk of data loss, and lowering costs.

Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and others that involve processing large amounts of data in real-time will benefit from the introduction of Distributed Cloud technology.

10. Augmented reality and virtual reality 

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are two popular tech trends that have exploded in popularity in recent years and are expected to continue to do so in the coming years.

When it comes to these two technologies, Virtual Reality (VR) is concerned with creating a realistic environment of the physical world using computer technologies, while Augmented Reality (AR) is concerned with enhancing the environment using computer-generated elements.

They operate in various fields, including gaming, transportation, education, healthcare, and many others. For example, Ed-Tech platforms are increasingly favoring Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality to improve students' learning experiences.

There has been an influx of exciting IT jobs within this industry in Belfast over the last year, with some huge US-based platforms setting up in the local market.

Conclusion

This year these are the top technology developments you should all be aware of. You've already figured out that all of these tech trends connect in some way.

The arrival of the 5G tech trend, for example, would have a positive effect on IoT, AR, and VR, among other things.

As a result, you won't have to think about which tech trend is right for you because learning about these advancements would broaden your awareness and give you an advantage over the competition.

Understanding these technological developments would undoubtedly provide you with more excellent career and business prospects!

An abundance of technologies and new IT companies have exploded within the Northern Ireland market, making way for a host of new IT jobs for you to explore. We’re currently working with the top dogs of IT here in Northern Ireland, AND new and exciting FDI’s to Belfast. It’s us you’ll want to talk to when it comes to IT jobs…