IT industry eight trends forecast in 2021

Under the impact of COVID-19, the IT industry has produced changes in the past year. Now, the year 2021 has passed. According to the data of some research institutions at home and abroad, this article integrates the following eight more suitable trend analyses for the domestic IT industry in 2021,hoping to provide a reference value for relevant decision-makers.

DevOps engineers are often confused with CI/CD pipelines because of the automation of various stages in CI/CD. While different tools can automate various complex stages in CI/CD, the entire software supply chain of CI/CD can still be broken due to human intervention. So, start by understanding the CI/CD process stages and why a CI/CD pipeline is critical for organizations to deliver code quickly and at scale.  

1. The speed of digital transformation is being accelerated

Many organizations began implementing their digital transformation a few years ago, but by 2020, it is moving faster than anyone's expectations. With the need to do more business online, industry organizations have had to adopt digital models and processes faster than initially planned.

Many companies have shifted their budgets from other plans to a digital transformation to keep up with this trend. IDC company analysts said: "now organizations around the world to accelerate the digital transformation, from 2020 to 2023, direct digital transformation (DX) investment will be 15.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) growth, the market size is expected to reach $6.8 trillion, as the organization based on the existing strategy and investment development, will become a larger digital organization in the future. By 2022,70% of organizations will accelerate the use of digital technology and transform existing business processes to drive customer engagement, employee productivity, and business resilience."

2. The rapid development of emerging technologies provides new expansion areas and development space

With the rapid development of cloud computing and big data, enterprises deploying data in the cloud can realize the full use of their data to improve business efficiency and reduce the cost by purchasing on demand under the background of big data. Therefore, more and more enterprises choose to use public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud.

At the same time, due to the epidemic's impact, the scale of cloud applications based on instant messaging, video conferencing, and collaborative office has been expanding rapidly, prompting enterprises in the industrial chain to increase their investment in the IT field to meet their operational needs. The rapid development of cloud computing, cloud application, and big data makes enterprises increase new IT needs, thus providing new expansion fields and development space.

3. Deep integration with emerging technologies provides an important engine for development

The promotion of Big data, cloud computing, the Internet of things, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies greatly enriched the IT service industry's technology and implementation. In the IT infrastructure, its scale continues to expand, complexity upgrades under the background of IT operations standardization, automation, intelligent level, all of which aim to provide technical support for the further development of the industry.

Take AIOps as an example, through big data and artificial intelligence technology to analyze log and operation and maintenance data, explore more potential system security and operation and maintenance problems that have not been detected by operation and maintenance personnel, to effectively improve the IT and intelligent IT operation and maintenance level. Thus, the deep integration with emerging technologies has become an essential engine for the company's development.

4. Hyper-automation combines AI to achieve human-machine collaboration

Today, automated software or hardware can be found for any department, many of which are built specifically for specific processes, tasks, and organizational purposes. In other words, automation is expected to reach new heights with machine learning, AI, and advanced engineering technology in 2021 and beyond.

Gartner defines hyper-automation as "automating everything that can be automated". And it predicts that hyper-automation will be the primary trend in 2021.

In addition, IDC analysts predict that 45% of repetitive tasks in large organizations will be automated or enhanced by 2022 by using "digital colleagues" (supported by AI, robotics, and IPA) to promote human-computer collaboration further.

Forrester also expects more collaboration between humans and robots. Company analysts said: "We predict that a quarter of remote workers will directly or indirectly receive automation support by the end of 2021."

5. Technological debt growth

Many of the changes caused by the epidemic are positive in technological progress, but the resulting innovation costs some price. In many cases, a rush to adopt new solutions has left some IT teams facing the consequences of choosing shortcuts.

Analysts at IDC predict that by 2023. 70% of CIOs will struggle to cope with the technical debt accumulated during the pandemic, which will also bring substantial financial pressure, the flexibility of organizational IT, and the forced organization to implement cloud migration.

Wise IT leaders must find ways to leverage this trend while removing the technical debt generated in 2020.

6. Super-fusion to migrate to the cloud

Cloud computing has revolutionized its IT departments in recent years, enabling companies to run a more efficient IT infrastructure without running on-site data centers.

Now, with the continuous development of cloud technology, it must be noted that hyper-integration will further promote the business sector in 2021 and beyond.

HCI is a comprehensive ultra-converged infrastructure solution that combines computing, storage, network, and management resources into a single cloud package, allowing you to expand the infrastructure quickly, add resources and applications, have leading network security features, and other benefits.

The entire infrastructure is managed from a centralized location and easy customization to meet business needs. This cloud innovation is rapidly changing how businesses provide services and experiences to the market.

7. New business possibilities for 5G connections

The launch of 5G technology has provided many opportunities for the global business sector and all industries. Given that we live in an interconnected digital world, faster connectivity enables businesses to be more seamless and deliver services and products to customers more efficiently.

Companies operating in AR or VR, medical institutions, gaming and streaming platforms, complex AI and machine learning applications, and others, can grow and evolve faster through the use of 5G.

5G technology can speed up overall operations in any industry and ensure overall business continuity and efficiency.

8. Under the new normal, AR and VR become the focus

Finally, it is important to note that augmented and VR technologies have finally reached levels of applicability, enabling these technologies to impact the entire industry.

In 2021 and beyond, these technologies will become more popular and appear in various industries, such as education, healthcare, building information models, and even interior design. They will always affect online urban planning and product and service experience.

If engaged in e-commerce, through AR or VR, customers can choose the right products. If VR can help create more efficient and comprehensive development projects in planning and development. Teachers can instill knowledge in the virtual classroom in the education industry, making their students’ learning more exciting and enabling them all involved. The application of these technologies is unlimited, and they will eventually be used for all industries worldwide.

Reference Data Source:

1. IT Industry Outlook 2021 by CompTIA.
2. Research Report on Market Prospects and Investment Opportunities of China's IT Service Industry released by China Business Industry Research Institute.
3. Gartner, IDC, Forrester and other companies survey data and analysis forecasts
4. https://dzone.com/articles/most-influential-it-trends-for-2021-on-ensuring-bu