2015 is almost over and what a great year it’s been. We’ve seen Apple watch, virtual reality and the rise of drones. Here are 5 trends to watch for 2016.
Cybersecurity will go mainstream / end-to-end encryption will take-off.
Expect to see simplified rhetoric and more accessible technology driving companies and end-users to buy into the security paradigm. Investment should start to pour in as tech companies embrace the challenge of cybersecurity for all. Despite the tug-of-war between government and tech Cos., expect end-to-end encryption to take a strong foot hold among a wider range of end users.
PHP 7 will start rolling-out to web servers near you.
This is the most important change for PHP since the release of PHP 5 in 2004. Thanks to the new Zend Engine 3.0, apps should see up to 2x faster performance and 50% better memory consumption than PHP 5.6, allowing sites to serve more concurrent users without adding any hardware. However, expect many ISPs to be slow to support PHP 7 on their web-servers.
Cord-cutting will continue.
This is really good news as it is clearly incentivizing many traditional media groups to add streaming services to their bouquets. On the down-side is the ongoing debate between the FCC and service providers regarding how they charge for data usage. Many providers are excluding ‘streaming’ from the clients data caps.
Screens will get bigger and smaller.
As we see the maturity of wearables and the evolution of 4K Ultra-HD TV, we see 2 sides of the same coin; one focused on the small personal world and the other focused on the larger-than-life personal world of home entertainment. Expect to see wearables becoming more functional as they integrate to IoT devices.
IoT will invade your home.
Expect the Internet of Things to make an appearance in your home in 2016. Perhaps it will be a thermostat or smart lighting or in-home surveillance. There is no doubt that the IoT will invade homes as tech manufactures find new and interesting products to separate consumers from their cash.
