Top 5 IT Trends

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Information technology, or IT, is often considered one of the most challenging, dynamic and rewarding fields because its focus is constantly changing. With the speed of technological updates today, IT professionals are indispensable to growing businesses — learning and educating themselves about the latest products, systems, software, hardware, and methods of use. What follows is a sampling of some of the most recent changes in technology shaping the IT industry.

Shift to smart phones and tablets

The initial growth of the IT industry came out of a focus for employees to utilize personal desktop computers (PCs) for working at their desks. Today, the number of people who do their work on mobile devices — like smart phones and tablets — is nearly equal to that of PCs. In fact, mobile device users could outnumber PCs by 2016. As technology has become increasingly more mobile, IT professionals are adopting strategies like developing specialized apps for a company’s needs to allow their professionals to use personal smart devices safely and effectively while on the go.

The cloud

Today, many companies are making the switch to cloud computing by storing huge amounts of information and data in the cloud — a non-physical, remote data storage system. The cloud has become one of the most popular ways for a company’s technology to function smoothly, quickly and seamlessly. Many companies are investing in building private clouds.

Social media

Social media is the trending way for people to get their information and to interact with one another (and businesses!). As a result, IT professionals have had to learn how to safely allow for the use of social media within a business context. IT teams are also learning how to take advantage of social media to grow their business through growth hacking and digital marketing, teaching marketing professionals and other business professionals how to use social media for marketing as well.

Increased need for cyber security

As more people are connecting with one another via the Internet and more processes are being handled digitally, there is an increased threat of malware and viruses. Cyber security breaches are a very real threat to today’s businesses, so IT professionals have an ever-increasing focus on security that keeps company technologies, devices and information safe.

Changes in data presentation

Whether for proposal, budgeting, training or simply informative purposes, IT professionals are finding new ways to communicate complicated data. Noting a trend in interactive information delivery systems, IT professionals are moving beyond PowerPoint presentations and YouTube videos toward info graphics, screen sharing, advanced display devices like 3D goggles, and dynamic visualization techniques like virtual reality.