Blog

1. Digital Health
Let’s start with what has been a top priority for everyone: health. In the past, the healthcare industry has been slow to adapt, but the pandemic has transformed innovation from a choice to a necessity. From contact tracing and robotics to telehealth and groundbreaking vaccine technology, digital health has enabled medical practitioners to continue treating their patients and for individuals to take charge of their own health and wellbeing.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the five-year global strategy on digital health should utilize these new technologies to “improve health for everyone, everywhere by accelerating the development and adoption of appropriate, affordable, scalable, and sustainable digital health solutions.”

The healthcare data analytics market size is projected to reach nearly USD 41 billion by 2025. Trends influencing the growth of healthcare analytics include the shift from paper charts to real-time monitoring systems, electronic health records (EHR), and industry players investing heavily in the research and development of digital health technologies.

2. Wearable technology
What began with Fitbit has evolved into smartwatches, smart glasses, and smart clothing. With wearables, users can now measure heart rate and ECGs, track sleep, monitor blood oxygen levels, and aid in disease management.

The global wearable computing devices market is projected to reach 520.1 million units by 2025. Research and advisory firm Gartner predicts that by 2023, “miniaturizing capabilities will advance so that one tenth of all wearables will be unobtrusive to the user.” If you need further proof, Apple plans to release its first augmented reality headset in 2022.

3. Esports
When stadiums around the world stood empty and silent as the pandemic called a timeout on sports events, aficionados turned to esports for their fix. According to professional services firm Deloitte, “During the crisis, a third of consumers have, for the first time, subscribed to a video gaming service, used a cloud gaming service, or watched esports or a virtual sporting event.” Interactive, social, and often star-studded, esports has captured the interest of younger generations, with around 40% of millennials and Gen Z consumers ranking playing video games in their top three.

4. Artificial intelligence (AI) and creativity
In 2016, the first AI-created movie trailer was produced. In 2018, the first AI-generated painting was sold by British auction house Christie’s for USD 432,500. In 2019, Philippe Starck designed the world’s “first production chair created by artificial intelligence (AI) in collaboration with human.”

In Sweden, sports journalists “look at the robot as your new colleague.” Reputable publications such as the BBC, the Washington Post, the Financial Times, and Bloomberg are using automated journalism to publish articles.

In the world of visual arts, literature, design, and music, AI has the potential to unlock human creativity. It can shoulder more mundane tasks, shift through data for trends, and propose permutations or solutions based on existing parameters or the human creative’s vision.

5. Cloud-based technology
The pandemic has forced businesses all over the world to implement work-from-home (WFH) policies, with cloud-based technology making a huge bulk of remote work possible. With the growth of e-commerce, cloud-based platforms will continue to drive digital transformation. American market research company Forrester predicts that “the global public cloud infrastructure market will grow 35% to USD120 billion in 2021.”

6. Cryptocurrencies
To stay safe while shopping, consumers around the world turned to cashless, contactless payments. The pandemic has accelerated the cashless economy, ushering in growth in blockchain technology. Bitcoin has doubled in less than a month, hitting $40,000 for the first time in early January. According to Douglas Borthwick, chief marketing officer at digital-asset trading platform INX, PayPal's adoption and the influx of institutional funds lend bitcoin new legitimacy and interest among retail investors.

In the United States, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released a guidance letter allowing national banks and federal savings associations to “use new technologies, including independent node verification networks also known as blockchain networks and related stablecoins, to perform bank-permissible functions.”

“Our letter removes any legal uncertainty about the authority of banks to connect to blockchains as validator nodes and thereby transact stablecoin payments on behalf of customers who are increasingly demanding the speed, efficiency, interoperability, and low cost associated with these products,” said Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian P. Brooks.

From health and finance to work and leisure, digital transformation has enabled us to continue doing what we need and love to do—despite the pandemic. As we usher in a new year, technology will continue to improve lives and spark creativity and productivity.