Top Technology Business Trends in 2021

Covid-19 has changed the world game rules. Airbnb CEO Chesky said “It took us 12 years to build, and we lost almost everything in 6 weeks.” Airbnb spending decades to build a dream and be destroyed in just a few months. Covid-19 also forced to put Muji U.S. Stores into bankruptcy and closed its US stores. The company said it was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In a moment defined by isolation and distancing, technology business is growing rapidly and will continue growing in 2021.

A rapid change in technology business industry during the COVID-19. Here are a few technology business trends in 2021.

1. Digital transformation will continue growing

Video conferencing and remote working has seen rapid growth during the pandemic, and it will continue growing in 2021. According to JobDb Hiring, Compensation and Benefits Report 2021, 69% of large companies with 50+ employees depend on IT employees to manage them, with nothing outsourced to freelancers. For small companies with 1-9 employees, outsourcing to service providers (35%) or freelancers (16%) are more common.

Management of Digital Transformation Solutions  

Zoom started its business in 2011 and to going public in 2019, became a household name during the pandemic. Under this critical situation, Zoom Video Communications will expand its presence in Singapore and will immediately hire hundreds of engineering staff for the new operations.

Other existing large corporate tools such as Cisco’s Webex, Microsoft’s Teams, Google Hangouts, GoToMeeting, and Verizon’s BlueJeans are also providing state-of-the-art videoconferencing systems, facilitating remote work across the globe.

2. Increased Cybersecurity

COVID-19 wake-up for the world on cyber security. PwC’s latest survey finds that: 
– 96% of executives have shifted their cybersecurity strategy
– 40% of executives say they are accelerating digitization
– 55% of enterprise plan to increase their cybersecurity budgets in 2021
– 51% are adding full-time cyber staff in 2021

Cybercrime

US intelligence agencies warn large-scale cyber attack is ongoing. Cybercrime is going to cost the world $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. Cybersecurity Ventures expects global cybercrime costs to grow by 15 percent per year over the next five years, reaching $10.5 trillion USD annually by 2025, up from $3 trillion USD in 2015.

3. Increased development of 5G, new applications, and utilities

– 66% 5G Subscriber Growth Quarter over Quarter
– 143 5G Commercial Networks Now Live Worldwide

The 5G networks operate within the higher frequencies of the wireless spectrum and rely on millimeter waves to transmit data. Development of 5G and 6G technology will drive smart-city projects globally and will support the autonomous mobility sector in 2021. In China, 5G deployment has been happening rapidly. But Ericsson is leading the charge globally. There are more than 380 operators currently investing in 5G. More than 35 countries have already launched commercial 5G services. 

The 5G infrastructure market is estimated to be valued at USD 784 million in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 47,775 million by 2027. In 2021, new infrastructure and utility or application development updates both from the large corporations and startups. 

According to Omdia, the world added 225 million 5G subscribers between Q3 2019 to Q3 2020, a feat which required 4G LTE four years to attain. As of December 2020, there were 229 million 5G subscriptions globally, which represents 66 percent increase over last quarter – and is expected to reach 236 million globally by the end of 2020.

4. Continued growth of Micromobility market

Micromobility refers to a range of small, lightweight vehicles operating at speeds typically below 25 km/h (15 mph) and driven by users personally. As public transit is not considered safe and not everybody has access to a private vehicle. Micromobility market has recovered to the pre-Covid growth level. E-bikes and e-scooters usage is growing in popularity, since they are viewed as convenient transportation alternatives that also meet social distancing norms. 

Compared to the pre-Covid days, the micromobility market is expected to grow by 9% for private micromobility and by 12% for shared micromobility.

5.Rapid growth of robotics and industrial automation

In 2021, we expect to see huge demand and rapid growth of artificial intelligence (A.I.) and industrial automation technology. 

According to The Chief Executive’s 2020 Policy Address, Striving Ahead with Renewed Perseverance, announced this year. The Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) will develop innovative facilities on the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (HKBCF) Island of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB), including automated car parks, the Intermodal Transfer Terminal, the Airport City Link connecting the airport, the SKYCITY and the HKBCF Island via the autonomous transportation system and extend it to the Tung Chung Town Centre later

6. Rise of Virtual reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies Usage

In a moment defined by isolation and distancing, AR/VR technologies give us a connection to one another. Virtual reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have grown significantly in 2020. The arrival of Covid-19 has prompted this technology adoption because businesses turned to the remote work model. We communicate and collaborate through AR and VR.

People do not all have to work in an office or meet people by face-to-face, and that it is easier to remotely collaborate and interact with people than they thought possible.

Social distancing has refined our working model. We expect different kind of technology usage will growing in the near future. May Planning will be pleased to provide guidance for your company in Hong Kong or overseas, feel free to contact us at May Planning. We will be happy to assist you.

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