Top Business and Technology Trends in 2021 | Inc.com – Inc.

Let’s imagine customer experience in a post-Covid world. We should anticipate that the changes in consumer preferences plus business models will outlast the immediate crisis. Once consumers acclimate to new digital or remote versions, I expect some of them to change people’s expectations permanently — accelerating shifts already under way before the crisis.
Digital nomadism, philanthropy, and sustainable development goals (SDG) will be popular keywords in 2021, and we will also see rapid changes in top technological and business innovation — all based on people’s experience during the pandemic. Here are a few technology and company trends we will see in 2021.
Trend 1: Drug development revolution with advanced Covid-19 testing and vaccine advancement
Covid caused a major shakeup within the drug industry, making it quicker and easier to trial drugs. Researchers have put many traditional clinical trials on hold, or even they have shifted to a virtual structure by performing consultations online and collecting data remotely. Remote medical trials plus other modifications may permanently alter pharmaceutical development.
We’ve seen speedy Covid-19 test kit developments all over the globe, as well as remarkably fast growth of vaccines by U. S. and U. K. -based pharmaceutic companies: Pfizer , Moderna , and AstraZeneca .
Both Pfizer plus Moderna have developed mRNA vaccines, the first in human history and huge technological innovations. We will see more innovations throughout 2021 in both Covid-19 check kits plus new vaccine candidates.
Trend 2: Continued expansion of remote working and videoconferencing
This area has seen quick growth during the pandemic, and it will likely continue growing in 2021.
Zoom , which grew from a startup in 2011 to going public within 2019, became a household name during the pandemic. Other existing large corporate tools such as Cisco’s Webex , Microsoft’s Teams , Google Hangouts , GoToMeeting , plus Verizon’s BlueJeans are furthermore providing state-of-the-art videoconferencing systems, facilitating remote control work across the globe.
Many new ventures are emerging in the remote working sector. Startups Bluescape , Eloops , Figma , Slab , and Tandem possess all provided visual collaboration platforms enabling teams to create and share content, interact, track projects, train employees, run virtual team-building activities, and more.
These tools also help distributed teams keep track associated with shared learning and documentation. Users can create the virtual office that replicates working together in person simply by letting colleagues communicate plus collaborate with one another easily.
Trend 3: Contactless delivery and shipping remain as the new normal
The Oughout. S. offers seen a 20 percent increase within preference for contactless operations, with various industries implementing alternative processes.
No-contact delivery is the brand new normal. DoorDash , Postmates , and Instacart all offer drop-off delivery options, reportedly borne from client desires in order to minimize physical contact. Grubhub and Uber Eats furthermore grew their contactless shipping options plus will continue to do so in 2021.
China-based delivery apps like Meituan , which was the first company in China to implement contactless delivery within Wuhan, began using autonomous vehicles to help fulfill grocery orders in order to customers. While Meituan tested this technologies last year, the company recently launched this service publicly.
China is not the only country looking to push robotic deliveries into its next phase. U. S. -based startups Manna , Starship Technologies , and Nuro are tackling this particular problem using robotics plus artificial intelligence-based applications.
Trend 4: Telehealth and telemedicine flourish
Institutions, especially in health care, are usually working to lower the exposure of Covid-19 to patients and workers. Many private and public practices have got started applying more telehealth offerings like doctor-patient video chats, A. I. avatar-based diagnostics, and no-contact-based medication delivery.
Telehealth visits have surged by 50 percent compared along with pre-pandemic levels. IHS Technology predicted that will 70 million Americans would use telehealth by 2020. Since then, Forrester Research predicted the number of U. S. digital care appointments will reach almost the billion early in 2021.
Teladoc Health , Amwell , Livongo Health , One Medical , plus Humana are some of the particular public companies offering telehealth services to meet the current needs.
Startups are not far behind. Startups like MDLive , MeMD , iCliniq , K Wellness , 98point6 , Sense. ly , and Eden Health have also contributed toward meeting the growing needs in 2020, and will carry on offering creative solutions within 2021. Beyond telehealth, in 2021 all of us can expect to see healthcare advancements within biotech and A. I., and also machine studying opportunities (example: Suki AI ) to support diagnosis, admin work, and robotic health care.
Pattern 5: Online education and e-learning as part of the particular educational system
Covid-19 fast-tracked the e-learning and online education industry. During this pandemic, 190 countries have enforced nationwide school closures at some point, affecting almost one. 6 billion people globally.
There is a major opportunity with schools, colleges, plus even coaching centers conducting classes via videoconferencing. Many institutions have actually been recommended in order to pursue a portion of their own curriculum on the internet even after everything returns to normal.
17zuoye , Yuanfudao , iTutorGroup , and Hujiang in China, Udacity , Coursera , Age of Learning , and Outschool within the U. H., and Byju’s in India are some of the top online understanding platforms that have served the global community throughout the outbreak and will certainly always do so within 2021 and beyond.
Tendency 6: Increased development of 5G infrastructure, new applications, and utilities
There is no doubt that demand for higher-speed internet plus a shift toward well-connected homes, smart cities, and autonomous mobility have pushed the advancement of 5G-6G internet technology. In 2021, we may see new infrastructure plus utility or application development updates both from the large corporations and online companies.
Many telcos are on track to deliver 5G, with Australia having rolled it out before Covid-19. Verizon announced the huge expansion of the 5G network in October 2020, which usually will achieve more than 200 mil people. In China, 5G deployment provides been happening rapidly. But Ericsson will be leading the particular charge internationally. There are more than 380 operators currently investing in 5G. More than 35 countries possess already launched commercial 5G services.
Startups like Movandi are working to assist 5G transfer data at greater distances; startups including Novalume help municipalities manage their general public lighting system and smart-city data through sensors. Nido Robotics is using drones to explore the sea floor.
Through 5G networks, these drones help navigate better and use IoT to assist communicate with devices on board. Startups like Seadronix from South Korea use 5G to help power autonomous ships. The 5G networks enable devices in order to work together in real time plus help allow vessels to travel unmanned.
Development of 5G and 6G technologies will drive smart-city tasks globally and can support the particular autonomous flexibility sector in 2021.
Trend 7: A. I., robotics, internet of things, and industrial automation grow rapidly
Within 2021, we all expect to see huge demand plus rapid growth of artificial intelligence (A. I. ) and commercial automation technology. As manufacturing and supply chains are returning to full operation, manpower shortages will become a serious issue. Automation, with the help of The. I., robotics, and the web of points, will be a key alternative solution to operate manufacturing.
Some associated with the best technology-providing businesses enabling business automation with A. I. and robotics integration include:
UBTech Robotics (China), CloudMinds (U. S. ), Bright Machines (U. T. ), Roobo (China), Vicarious (U. S i9000. ), Preferred Networks (Japan), Fetch Robotics (U. Ersus. ), Covariant (U. S. ), Locus Robotics (U. S. ), Built Robotics (U. H. ), Kindred Systems (Canada), and XYZ Robotics (China).
Craze 8: Virtual reality (VR) plus augmented reality (AR) technologies usage rises
Augmented reality and virtual reality have grown significantly within 2020. These immersive technologies are now component of everyday life, from entertainment to business. The arrival of Covid-19 has prompted this technologies adoption as businesses turned to the remote control work model, with communication and cooperation extending over to AR and VR.
The immersive systems from AR and VR innovations enable an incredible source of transformation across almost all sectors. AR avatars, AR indoor navigation, remote assistance, integration of A. We. with AR and VR, mobility AR, AR cloud, virtual sports events, eye tracking, plus facial expression recognition will see major traction in 2021. Adoption associated with AR and VR can accelerate with the growth from the 5G network and expanding internet bandwidth.
Companies such as Microsoft , Consagous , Quytech , RealWorld One , Chetu , Gramercy Tech , Scanta , IndiaNIC , Groove Jones , etc . will play a significant role in shaping our world in the near future, not only because of AR’s plus VR’s numerous applications but also since the flag carrier of just about all virtualized technology.
Trend 9: Continued development in micromobility
While the micromobility market had seen a natural slowdown at the beginning associated with Covid-19 spread, this field has already recovered to the pre-Covid growth level. E-bikes and e-scooters usage is soaring, since they are viewed as convenient transportation alternatives that furthermore meet social distancing norms. Compared in order to the pre-Covid days, the particular micromobility market is expected to grow by 9 % for personal micromobility and by 12 percent for shared micromobility.
There are hundreds of miles associated with new bike lanes created in anticipation. Milan, Brussels, Seattle, Montreal, New York, and San Francisco have got each introduced 20-plus miles of dedicated cycle paths. The Oughout. K. government announced that will diesel plus petrol-fueled car sales is going to be banned after 2030, which has also driven interest within micromobility because one of the alternative options.
Startups are leading the innovation in micromobility. Bird , Lime , Dott , Skip , Tier , and Voi are key startups top the worldwide micromobility market.
China has seen several micromobility startups reach unicorn status, including Ofo , Mobike , and Hellobike .
Trend 10: Ongoing autonomous driving development
We will see major progress in autonomous driving technology during 2021. Honda recently announced that it will mass-produce autonomous vehicles, which under certain conditions will not require any driver intervention. Tesla’s Autopilot not only offers lane centering and automatic street changes, yet, from this 12 months, can also recognize speed signs and detect green lights.
Ford is usually also joining the race, anticipating an autonomous traveling cars ridesharing service launch in 2021. The company could also make such vehicles available to particular buyers since early as 2026. Other automakers, including Mercedes-Benz, are usually also trying to integrate some degree of autonomous driving technology in their particular new models from 2021. GM intends to roll out its hands-free-driving Super Cruise feature to 22 vehicles simply by 2023.
The fierce market competition is also accelerating self-driving technologies growth within other companies, including Lyft and Waymo . Billions of dollars have been spent in acquiring startups in this domain: GENERAL MOTORS acquired Cruise for $1 billion; Uber acquired Otto with regard to $680 million; Ford acquired Argo AI regarding $1 billion dollars; and Intel acquired Mobileye intended for $15. a few billion.
Looking ahead
Technologies development in 2021 will be somewhat of a continuation associated with 2020, but the influence of Covid-19 will evolve during the year. Many associated with our brand new behaviors will end up part of the new normal within 2021, helping drive main technological plus business innovations.
Correction: An earlier version of this column misstated the name of Meituan as Meituan Dianping. The company’s title had lately changed.