Top 10 Trending Technologies

Change is the only constant thing in every sphere of life. This applies in your professional life as well. Up-scaling yourself is a need nowadays, the reason is pretty simple, technology is evolving very quickly. I have listed top 10 trending technologies, which is expected to acquire a huge market in 2020.

So, let’s make a new year resolution to master any one of the below technologies:

1. Artificial Intelligence
2. Blockchain
3. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
4. Cognitive Cloud Computing
5. Angular and React
6. DevOps
7. Internet of Things (IoT)
8. Intelligent Apps (I – Apps)
9. Big Data
10. RPA (Robotic Process Automation)

So, the countdown begins from here.

10) RPA (Robotic Process Automation):

RPA Training – Explore the Curriculum to Master RPA.

• Generally, any desk job in any industry involves tasks that are repetitive in nature and can be automated.
• RPA or Robotic Process Automation allows you to automate such routine and repetitive tasks. 
• You don’t need to write any code to automate repetitive tasks.

In 2019, the trend of bots and machine learning is only going to skyrocket, which means RPA will become an invaluable skill to have.

 9) Big Data:

Big Data and Hadoop Training – Explore the Curriculum to Master Big Data and Hadoop.

Big data refers to problems that are associated with processing and storing different types of data. Most of the companies today, rely on big data analytics to gain huge insight about their:

• customer,
• product research,
• marketing initiatives and many more.

For your surprise, big data led Germany to win the world cup.

Hadoop and Spark are the two most famous frameworks for solving Big Data problems.

If you already have some knowledge of Big Data, splendid! If not, now is the time to start.

  

8) Intelligent Apps (I – Apps):

• I-Apps are pieces of software written for mobile devices based on artificial intelligence and machine learning technology, aimed at making everyday tasks easier.
• This involves tasks like organizing and prioritizing emails, scheduling meetings, logging interactions, content, etc. Some familiar examples of I-Apps are Chatbots and virtual assistants.

As these applications become more popular, they will come with the promise of jobs and fat paychecks.

 7) Internet of Things (IoT):

• Another buzzword that no longer remains a buzzword but has become a full-fledged technology ecosystem in itself.
• IoT essentially is connecting many devices and creating a virtual network where everything works seamlessly via a single monitoring center of sorts.
• IoT is a giant network of connected devices – all of which gather and share data about how they are used and the environments in which they are operated.

This includes everything from your:

• mobile phones,
• refrigerator,
• washing machines to almost everything that you can think of.

With IoT, we can have smart cities with optimized:

• traffic system,
• efficient waste management and
• energy use

So, start thinking of some new excuse for coming late to the office other than traffic.

 6)  DevOps:

DevOps Training – Explore the Curriculum to Master DevOps tools.

This is the odd one out in the list. It is not a technology, but a methodology. 

DevOps is a methodology that ensures that both the development and operations go hand in hand. DevOps cycle is picturized as an infinite loop representing the integration of developers and operation teams by:

• automating infrastructure,
• workflows and
• continuously measuring application performance.

It is basically the process of continual improvement, so why not start with yourself.

 5) Angular and React:

Angular and React Training – Explore the Curriculum to Master Angular and React.

OK, now we are getting into core tech.

• Angular and React are JavaScript based Frameworks for creating modern web applications. 
• Using React and Angular one can create a highly modular web app. So, you don’t need to go through a lot of changes in your code base for adding a new feature.
• Angular and React also allows you to create a native mobile application with the same JS, CSS & HTML knowledge.
• Best part – Open source library with highly active community support.

  

4) Cognitive Cloud Computing:

AWS Solution Architect Training – Explore the Curriculum to Master AWS.

• Cognitive Cloud is an extended ecosystem of traditional Cloud and Cognitive Computing.
• It’s due to this, you can create Cognitive Computing applications and bring to the masses through cloud deployments. Cognitive computing is considered as the next big evolution in the IT industry.
• It converses in human language and helps experts in better decision making by understanding the complexities of Big Data. Its market size is expected to generate revenue of $13.8 billion by 2020 and is one of the top 10 trending technologies to consider this year.
• Big brands such as IBM, Google, Microsoft, Cisco have already started implementing this next-gen tech to gear up for the upcoming market.

 3) Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality:

• Virtual is real! VR and AR, the twin technologies that let you experience things in virtual, that are extremely close to real, are today being used by businesses of all sizes and shapes. But the underlying technology can be quite complex.
• Medical students use AR technology to practice surgery in a controlled environment.
• VR on the other hand, opens up newer avenues for gaming and interactive marketing.

Whatever your interest might be, AR and VR are must-have skills if you want to ride the virtual wave!

  

2) Blockchain:

Blockchain Training – Explore the Curriculum to Master Blockchain.

• This is the tech that powers bitcoins, the whole new parallel currency that has taken over the world.
• Interestingly, blockchain as a technology has far-reaching potential in everything from healthcare to elections to real estate to law enforcement.

Understand how blockchain works and your career is as sorted as the secure ledger this tech is based on!

1) Artificial Intelligence (AI):

Artificial Intelligence Training – Explore the Curriculum to Master AI and Deep Learning.

• AI existed even before the internet was born, but it is now that the data processing and compute power backbone became strong enough to sustain an entire technology by itself.
• AI is everywhere today, from your smartphones to your cars to your home to your banking establishment.
• It is the new normal, something the world cannot do without.

Get your hands dirty with AI and have a crystal clear career ahead of you!

Choose one or choose all, either way have a happy career this 2020! 

With this we come to the end of “Top 10 trending technologies” article. I hope this was informative enough to get you started in 2020 and don't forget to click on any of the links above for further reading and more.

What are your options for Windows 7 PCs you haven't upgraded?

It may not be the end of Windows 7 on your network, but its days are definitely numbered.

Windows 7 is now officially end-of-life. Its last official update has been published. At least, that's the case for home users -- enterprises and business users have more options. So what can you do with those Windows 7 PCs and licences you still have?

Keep running with ESU

If you have a large fleet of Windows 7 PCs and are unable to migrate to Windows 10, then you have the option of purchasing Extended Security Updates (ESU) for an additional three years, taking critical issue support out to 2023. ESU isn't an option for home users, as it's only for Windows 7 Professional and Enterprise editions. You don't need a volume licensing agreement, although if you do have one as part of Windows Enterprise Software Assurance or Windows Enterprise E3 there will be a discount to the ESU prices.

You can buy Windows 7 ESU directly from Microsoft or from Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partners. It's important to remember that ESU is only available for a year at a time; there's no automatic renewal, so you must purchase it again in 2021 and 2022. If Microsoft treats Windows 7 ESU in the same way as previous ESUs, then it's highly likely that prices will rise as we get further away from January 2020.

Put Windows 7 in the cloud

One alternative to running Windows 7 locally is to upgrade the underlying OS and use Remote Desktop to deliver Windows 7 from the Azure-hosted Windows Virtual Desktop service. It's a useful tool for running migrations, as users can be running Windows 10 locally with new applications and services, while applications that have yet to be migrated to Windows 10 can continue running in cloud-hosted Windows 7 instances.

There's an added advantage to using Microsoft-hosted remote machines, as all Windows Virtual Desktop instances are automatically enrolled into ESU at no additional cost and you can bring your existing Windows 7 licenses with you. You still have to pay for the Azure resources your virtual machines use, but you can take advantage of reserved instances to reduce costs significantly. And because reserved instances can be returned to Azure if no longer needed, you can still run a planned draw-down of Windows 7 as you complete your Windows 10 migration without spending money on resources that aren't needed.

If application compatibility is your main issue, then it's worth looking at Microsoft's Desktop App Assure service. Designed for companies making migrations to Windows 10, it's part of the FastTrack service. If you have an eligible Windows subscription, a Microsoft engineer will help diagnose compatibility issues, at no cost to you. That can be a big help, and a big saving, reducing the risks associated with bespoke software and with OS upgrades.

Keeping Windows 7 secure

End of support doesn't stop your PCs getting antivirus updates. Most third-party security vendors will carry on supporting it, and Microsoft's own Security Essentials will still deliver signature updates. It's no panacea, though: the available attack surface will be getting larger every day that Microsoft doesn't deliver a security update for an operating system vulnerability. Antivirus can only protect you from known threats and known delivery methods.

SEE: What to do if you're still running Windows 7 (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

There are ways to improve security beyond antivirus. With all Windows 7 systems inside your firewall, on a separate untrusted VLAN, and with network services locked down to those needed for your current suite of applications, you can minimise that visible attack surface significantly so long as you keep your network protection up to date. Any laptops running Windows 7 should be withdrawn from service and replaced by supported operating systems or assigned ESU licences.

Using the new Edge on old Windows

One final option is an intriguing one. With the new Microsoft Edge available for Windows 7, and likely to be supported until sometime in 2021, you can start treating your older PCs as the Windows equivalent of Chromebooks, using nothing but a modern, secure browser. Switching users to web apps is easier than it used to be, with Office 365 offering web versions of Office's familiar desktop apps. Locking down systems to only antivirus and SSL network ports makes them easier to protect, and with the new Edge getting updates every six weeks or so the risk of compromises via the browser should be low.

The new Edge supports Progressive Web Applications (PWAs), which can work offline. Microsoft is working on a PWA version of its Outlook.com service, and there are plenty of third-party web applications like Twitter that are taking a similar approach. If a web app doesn't offer a PWA you can still run it as a standalone browser application, with websites opening in their own window without the additional browser functions, and accessible from the Windows start menu.

An intriguing option for using Edge for application compatibility is coming with the shift to .NET Core as the basis for .NET applications and the associated move to WinUI 3.0 for user interface components. One component of the new .NET, Blazor, runs .NET code on the Web Assembly runtime in Edge. Using it, and the Uno Platform port of WinUI 3.0, you will be able to take modern .NET apps and run them in the browser, while you finish updating your PCs.

Ending support for Windows 7 doesn't mean the end of Windows 7 PCs on your network. However, it's a clear signal that it's time to move to a newer, supported OS, as keeping Windows 7 secure will become harder and harder, and, even with ESU, more and more expensive. Taking a year of ESU or moving to Windows Virtual Desktop should give you the headroom you need to port apps and test Windows 10 on old and new hardware, while you invest in a migration program.

After all, if you don't start now, when will you? In 2023 when Microsoft ends the Windows 7 ESU program?

Some tech CEOs eyed as untrustworthy but certain companies are still favored

Tech moguls Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos all scored on the bottom half of the scale for trustworthiness, according to analysis conducted by global brand consultancy Landor. 

The CEOs of major tech companies face an interesting and challenging public perception. They can sometimes seem like celebrities, generating a certain buzz and excitement among people. But business scandals and other issues can prompt that same public to see them as untrustworthy. A study by consultancy group Landor looks at some top tech moguls and their companies to learn how consumers view them.

Using consumer opinions from the 2019 U.S. BrandAsset Valuator, Landor's analysis encompasses more than 3,000 different brands, both tech and non-tech. For the purposes of the new study, CEOs were considered brands just like their companies. So the analysis didn't compare CEO against CEO or company against company, but rather compared and ranked all of them together as they're seen in the public eye.

Among the tech moguls included in the study, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook both ranked in the 21st percentile for trustworthiness, meaning they were considered more trustworthy than only 20% or less trustworthy than 80% of the other brands analyzed. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg scored in the 13th percentile, meaning he was seen as less trustworthy than 88% of the other brands, while Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos ended up in the 6th percentile, seen as less trustworthy than 95% of the other brands. Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, and John Zimmer, CEO of Lyft, were both ranked in the 2nd percentile on trust.

On a more positive note, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel led tech CEOs on trustworthiness, scoring in the 52nd percentile.

But the negative views held by consumers about these tech moguls don't necessarily extend to the companies themselves, at least not all of them. For trustworthiness, Amazon scored in the 99th percentile, while Apple was in the 87th percentile, meaning both companies were near the top of the list. On a more negative note, however, Facebook was in the 31st percentile, while Tesla was in the 21st. At the bottom of the list was Snapchat, which scored in the 7th percentile, a marked contrast from the trustworthy ranking granted to its CEO.

Why the low trustworthy rankings for certain tech moguls?

"Tech moguls can be seen by the general public as untrustworthy for a variety of reasons," said Attila Tomaschek, digital privacy expert at ProPrivacy. "Essentially, public perception of untrustworthiness in tech moguls can be as varied as the companies they have built. For instance, Jeff Bezos is seen by many as untrustworthy because he is one of the richest men in the world, yet reports of unfavorable working conditions and low employee wages in Amazon warehouses have prevailed and diminished his overall level of trustworthiness in the public eye. Tim Cook can be seen as elitist by pushing sleek products but at preposterous price points. Mark Zuckerberg can often be perceived as almost robotic and completely unrelatable to the average Facebook user. Furthermore, Zuckerberg's hollow promises to protect user privacy fall flat when his company continues to falter on privacy matters, which obviously doesn't do much to boost his trustworthiness factor."

And why the disparity between the views of the CEOs and the companies they run?

"The companies are viewed as trustworthy because they have built lovable brands and offer a consistently positive consumer experience," said Sacha Labourey, CEO of CloudBees. "People love the variety of goods they can buy on Amazon and the ease with which they can do so - no matter what Bezos' personal escapades are. Whatever you order is there within a day or two - fast delivery. Facebook has enabled literally billions of people around the globe to connect and stay in touch - even though the Facebook CEO was selling massive amounts of data about them without their knowledge. Apple has designed and manufactured stunningly designed products that look sleek, provide industry-leading innovation - and work, no matter their US employment status, tax avoidance practices, or manufacturing operations. Whatever the behaviors of the person at the top, their brands are lovable."

With the low trustworthy rankings given to certain tech moguls, could this type of public perception affect the actual business or product sales?

"For Apple and Amazon, at least, the perceived untrustworthiness of their executives would have little to zero impact on their bottom line," Tomaschek said. "The services that Amazon offers and the products that Apple delivers are already so well established and so deeply ingrained in consumers' consciousness that for many it can be difficult to live without. Amazon's services are so convenient that consumers practically never have to leave their own homes to shop for anything. The convenience factor and the breadth of its offering are largely responsible for why consumers will continue coming back to Amazon. As for Apple, the company has built such a devoted following that is so emotionally connected to its products that the trustworthiness of Tim Cook is completely irrelevant to sales or the company's bottom line."

Still, CEOs are missing out on opportunities to better connect with the public, according to Maarten Lagae, Landor's director of insights and analytics.

"I think the biggest insight from our analysis is that CEOs are missing out on a massive opportunity," Lagae told TechRepublic. "If you're leading a technology company, very often technology is considered a bit faceless, scary, anonymous, compromising privacy. The opportunities that CEOs have is to put a face and a human touch on their companies and their products. And I think our analysis shows that a lot of these high-profile tech CEOs aren't completely leveraging that potential."

Using the BrandAsset Valuator data of 17,000 U.S. consumers, Landor Pulse analyzed brand strength based on relevance and differentiation among adults aged 18 years and older.