There has, without a doubt, been a massive shift in global tech affairs. The world has moved into the fourth industrial revolution. Many first-world countries have started to reform their operations and to digitise their processes, as a way to usher in the change and follow these new technology trends. Many exciting and innovative technology developments have been created and are trending. Self-driving cars, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence are three innovative tech trends to take note of in the 4IR.

Self-driving Cars

The South African-born billionaire, Elon Musk, is undoubtedly one of the leading innovators for autonomous vehicles, through his company called Tesla. Computational power has improved. Technology has advanced to such a point that we are now witnessing cars analyse their environment with the help of sensors, and perform actions without any human input. People can now relax in their car, enjoy a nice conversation with a friend, or even sleep while their car takes them to their set destination. Many car manufacturing companies are investing a lot of money towards the production of autonomous cars, as they believe that these will improve daily commute and reduce pollution.

Cloud Computing

Previously, traditional computer systems and applications were hosted locally, meaning that companies had to invest in physical servers to host and store their data. The drawback of this is that it cost a lot of money for the hardware to be run and maintained, and the safety of the data could be compromised if the hardware was damaged. Networking today has evolved to the point where server operations can be replicated and sold as a service for people that are in need of server support. Companies such as Amazon and Microsoft provide cloud computing services for people who do not have the hardware, such as a servers for hosting. This means that clients do not have to worry about the safety and security of their data. Cloud computing has given people and small businesses the power to have web-based applications to aid their growth.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is a growing and popular technology today. Much debate surrounds this technology, and concern surrounds the possibility of a dystopian reality forming, where computers and robots enslave the human race. AI is a practice in machine learning where computers process data through self-learning algorithms that will allow them to perform “intelligent” decisions, that are near-human. Artificial intelligence is being incorporated into technology, such as facial recognition and streaming services like Netflix, to improve their suggestion algorithms. The mediums for artificial intelligence continue to grow as the world  gets accustomed to the 4IR. There are growing opportunities for this technology to be used, and developed to make human tasks easier. 

Now is the time to capitalise on the new tech that is emerging with the fourth industrial revolution. These disruptive technologies can help people improve their lives and the operations of their businesses or their daily activities. Technology can in many ways be used to improve the state of humanity and our day-today tasks and processes.

About SovTech

SovTech is a leading custom software development company. If you’re looking to digitise aspects of your business, or to build your own custom software, contact us today for a free consultation and quotation. 

This article was first published at http://topclickblogs.co.za/innovative-tech-in-the-4ir/