We are just starting our 2022! but let's talk about our 2021, what a year it has been! Yes, the pandemic continues to be a concern more than a year later — impacting everything from employee shortages to new COVID variants affecting global citizens — but we’ve also seen tremendous growth and resiliency in keeping the world moving forward.
As people who live and breathe technology every day, we took some time to evaluate the last 12 months and how the pursuit of innovation continues to shape our world. As Maya Angelou famously said, “If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going.”
Below, as determined by our WillDom directors, please find our top 5 technology trends for 2022:
Remote Work Promotes Global Talent Pool
In late 2020, we developed a predictions piece that highlighted the top 10 trends regarding the future of work — and many of them came to fruition! In 2021, Pandora’s box was opened that shone a light on the many ways work could get done due to technological advancements.
Companies spent a good amount of 2021 developing workflows, processes, and strategies to effectively work with managers, colleagues, and direct reports in the most effective ways possible. Additionally, companies have been able to open up their talent pool to include a more global consideration — bringing in talent from all over the world!
While it seemed in the middle of the year that there would be a hybrid approach to work (half in the office, half remote), it’s clear that we aren’t passed COVID due to its many variants, so in 2022 technology trends, companies will continue to find new ways of working together in a remote fashion.
-Javier Ibanez-Padilla, Co-founder, Biz & Ops Director, WillDom
The Trickle-Down Effect of AI/ML
Over the last several years, AI/ML efforts were driven by tech companies with very deep pockets. However, like most new technology, we began to see a trickle-down effect where more mid-sized and smaller companies have been able to take advantage of these capabilities by incorporating these models into their business processes and workflows to achieve digital transformation and meet their goals.
In 2022 trends, we will see more off-the-shelf technology utilized by developers, making AI/ML models more realistic for more companies. As an AI-first approach has been a priority for many smaller organizations, companies will now have the ability to bring in more developers and technologists to build AI-based software capabilities such as converting speech to text, the automation of video and image analysis, application interoperability, and so much more.
Andres Perea, Co-founder and Strategy Director, WillDom
The Rise of Python
2021 has been a year ruled by the unexpected; while things look quite the same heading towards 2022, a handful of programming languages continue to show as the most demanded technology trends stacks for the new year.
On the basis of its versatility, scalability, and ease of use, Python has now surpassed Java and C as being the topmost demanded programming language in 2022. This relates directly to the rising trend of Data Science, AI, and Machine Learning fields and projects, for which in all cases Python is by far the most applied language. In addition to this, Python still continues to offer high versatility, is amiable to scale, and can be learned considerably faster than any other of the spine-core backend languages such as Java or C.
In parallel, we’re also expected to see JavaScript projects continue to top the charts, based on their ease of use and pixel perfect capabilities.
– Mauricio Portillo, Head of Talent.
Sustainability and Renewable Energy Gains Steam
In February of this year, we took a close look at sustainability and renewable energy efforts, their continued growth over the past several years, and how new policies and actions would translate to those working in technology.
In 2021, policies and legislation promoting sustainability efforts hit a barrier due to 2021. However, progress has been made at the Climate Summit in November, which set a final agreement to phase down coal-fired power, and called an end to some public subsidies for other fossil fuels. Additionally, companies are adopting modern and emerging technologies that support sustainability efforts (e.g. cloud computing streamlines agility and speed to digital transformation).
In 2022 technology trends, we hope to see further growth in policy and regulations towards sustainability and renewable energy efforts. Additionally, companies are becoming more transparent with their ESG (environmental, social, and governance) goals, led by consumers and stakeholders, so should see more transparency in the New Year.
-Martin Suarez-Viacava, Co-founder & Growth Director, WillDom
The Evolution of Web3
The rise of crypto adoption and the popularity of NFTs have further driven the idea of a decentralized system. With a decentralized system being the foundation of crypto and other digital currency, this idea has expanded to the internet itself — coined Web 3.0 (or just Web3).
In 2021, conversations started that Web 3.0 would be the next big thing — a new breed of the internet that aims to be a decentralized version of the virtual world. In this world, centralized systems would be a thing of the past — promoting a peer-to-peer internet with no single authority.
In 2022 technology trends, we’ll continue to see Web3 conversations trend, but in reality, this idea is still in its infancy. However, the rise in cryptocurrency will continue to provide momentum to these discussions. We’re already seeing technology leaders address the Web 3 trend, most recently with Elon Musk calling it ‘more marketing than reality,’ while Jack Dorsey believes this will be owned by VCs. Expect more vocalization by “A” list’s tech entrepreneurs and investors.
-Mariano Morales, Product & Technology Director, WillDom
We look forward to tracking these trends as the year moves along. Let us know what you think of these trends, we invite you to visit willdom.com or follow us on Linkedin.
*https://www.simplilearn.com/top-technology-trends-and-jobs-article
