Such a valuable forecast by Pegasus Tech Ventures General Partner and CEO, Anis Uzzaman, through this article on the top trends in technology and business in 2022. Here are the highlights we have compiled for you before ringing in the new year.
- AI, Big Data, and Cloud Computing will continue to grow
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of our lives. From improvements to personalization, ranking search results, recommending products, and understanding and controlling devices to build better models of the environment to automating industry, we see the application of artificial intelligence everywhere as we look toward 2022. Organizations are using big data predictive analytics to forecast future trends. According to a report published by Facts & Factors, the global predictive analytics the market is growing at a compound average growth rate of around 24.5 percent and is expected to reach $22.1 billion by the end of 2026.
We will also see massive growth in cloud computing. By 2022, the cloud will be more entrenched, and more computing workloads will run on the cloud. The internet of things will push this space in a bigger way, for sure. According to predictions from Gartner, global spending on cloud services is expected to reach over $482 billion in 2022, up from $314 billion in 2020.
2. The metaverse will shine
The metaverse is a digital reality combining social media, online gaming, augmented reality, virtual reality, and cryptocurrencies to allow virtual user interaction. The metaverse may refer to anything on the internet, including all of AR’s offerings. Virtual space of the future describes the metaverse, providing access to all kinds of entertainment and projects, including the opportunity to work.
We expect the metaverse to be immersive, ubiquitous, and free to access. It will be digitally focused, and potentially involves entertainment, social connection, work productivity, and behavior modification at scale. It will create an entire ecosystem for developers, apps, ads, and new digital innovations. The metaverse will facilitate convenience, consumption, and frictionless access to services.
Only a few companies today have a real stake in the metaverse, including ByteDance, Tencent, Facebook, Spotify, Zoom, Amazon (Twitch), Alibaba, Roblox, Bilibili, Snapchat, Kuaishou, and Huawei. Apple’s wearables also point to the metaverse with AR glasses coming soon. Microsoft with Microsoft Teams and gaming is perhaps the most advanced company in the world regarding the metaverse. WeChat’s ability to facilitate payments and access to a variety of services is the start of the metaverse super apps.
In 2022, metaverse will have a direct impact on the future of many technology sectors, including gaming, wearables, VR and AR, collaborative productivity (Canva, Slack), consumer tech products (including AR glasses or smart speakers), social networks, educational technology, health technology, communication technology (Zoom), digital currencies, and convenience mobilization and on-demand consumption (Amazon, Meituan, Alibaba, JD.com, Shopify).
3. High-performance computing will become mainstream
Given the recent growth of big data-based research and analysis and cloud-based computing, high-performance computing usage is expected to surge in 2022. From drug discovery to cancer research to space exploration, high-performance computing will become increasingly important, and quantum computing technology needs to keep up with business demand.
We’ve already seen massive development in quantum computing space by players including Google, IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alibaba. Startups such as Rigetti Computing, D-Wave Systems, ColdQuanta,1QBit, Zapata Computing and QC Ware have exceeded the industry expectations in their technology and their growth.
The high demand for larger machine power is going to accelerate development in this
sector, hence, rapid progress in quantum computing during 2022. Commercial quantum computing will soon be within our reach, and new breakthroughs will occur at an accelerated pace.
4. Life science industry will continue to boom
The life science industry comprises pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, environmental sciences, biomedicine, nutraceuticals, neuroscience, cell biology, and biophysics. The increased investments in mRNA vaccine technology and high-performance Covid-19 testing have concluded 2021 for its great innovation in life science technologies.
Examples of this innovation include the mRNA-based vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and by Moderna. Recent Covid drug developments by Merck have also pushed the life science industry forward rapidly.
We shall see a strong movement in the several life science sectors, including advanced research; application of robotics technology; artificial intelligence (AI) tools; use of cloud technology; the improvement of drug testing speed; integration of genetic information; and usage of gene technology.
5. Internet reliability will become more vital
The internet of things (IoT) makes the internet a more integral part of our lives especially with many more drives to work from home, and developments at all network levels will continue to drive research and push the internet economy forward.
According to Cisco’s Visual Networking Index forecast update for 2018, there will be 1.4 billion more people using the internet by 2022, compared with 3.4 billion users in 2017. This equates to almost 60 percent of the global population, assuming a population of eight billion by 2022. By then, internet users are expected to consume 4.8 zettabytes of data per year, 11 times the amount of IP traffic generated in 2012, with 437 exabytes.
The focus on 6G will increase in 2022 as China started research into 6G in 2018. By late 2020, the country had launched a satellite to test terahertz signal transmission involving Huawei and ZTE. The U.S. also started 6G research in 2018 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opening higher frequency spectrum for experimental use. Korea, Japan, and some European countries have started looking into 6G seriously so that we can expect to see more announcements in 2022.
6. The robotics sector will prevail
We expect to see an increased use of robotics in everyday life during 2022 with usage including the health care, agriculture, automotive, warehousing, and supply chain management sectors and we will see more robotics-based automation that will continue to progress. The covid-19 pandemic presents both problems and opportunities for robotics companies in the logistics and supermarket industries. Unexpected strains on supply systems and product shortages have highlighted the need for better supply chain efficiency. It’s also become obvious that robots and automation provide a safe means for manufacturers to keep employees socially separated yet allowing the business to continue operating.
The use of robotics process automation (RPA) helps automate activities that are performed repeatedly; we expect RPA to grow in 2022 and become a standard technology for business. CIO reports that chief information officers are using RPA frees workers from boring, repetitive tasks and allows them to do more fulfilling work. Finally, we’re seeing a rise in nanorobotics, tiny sensors with limited processing power. The first useful application of these nano-machines may be in nanomedicine. Biological machines, for example, are used to identify and destroy cancer cells or deliver drugs.
7. Renewable energy technology will grow rapidly
During the pandemic, this has been the only energy sector that has grown. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), 40 percent more green energy was generated and used in 2020; the agency expects continued growth in 2022. The falling cost of generating sustainable energy also helps ensure that mass adoption is likely. While newer energy technologies like nuclear fusion, biofuel, and liquid hydrogen might take longer to come full circle, we look forward to serious advancements in 2022.
Massive growth in the production and usage of solar and wind technology should also be expected. Storage (battery) technologies are playing a larger role since there will be an increased need to store renewable energy.