Movers&Shakers: The hottest emerging tech trends in 2018

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The greatest sum of investments into new technology went into areas like machine learning, digitalization and Internet network upgrades this year.

Machine learning will give more intelligence and even actual insights to machines working as robotic assistants. The digital experience will be immersive and stimulating. And networks will become more secure and interconnected.

Artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to boom in 2018. Companies want computers to not only learn, analyze, but also to provide key insights for decision making. Gartner predicts that 30 percent of all chief investment officers around the world will include AI in their top five priority sectors by 2020.

The Internet of Things will be at the core of digital experience. Gartner also predicted that 95 percent of machines will be connected to the Internet of Things by 2020.

Such a level of connectivity will save companies 1 trillion US dollars a year in maintenance, service and consumable costs. That means machines can predict when they need to be fixed and which parts need to be replaced, as well as how many more years they can run before depreciation. This will allow companies to easily implement forward looking financial planning.

Chicago Board Options Exchange and Chicago Mercantile Exchange both launch Bitcoin futures, which is recognized as one step further towards legalization of cryptocurrencies in the US. /VCG Photo

However, the most cutting edge technology is MESH – a different network system powered by Blockchain technology making it de-centralized, non-hierarchical and extremely hard to hack.

Blockchain allows direct digital transactions between computers. It allows people to trade digital assets directly and anonymously with anyone in the world. The log of those transactions cannot be re-edited and it’s considered cheaper and safer for future exchange of information online.

Besides cryptocurrencies already embraced by financial industry, Blockchain also allows for easier and probably more secure peer-to-peer financing.