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Tech predictions for 2022: Cloud, AI, NFTs and more

BY MobileFolk

21.01.2022 | 4 mins

Well, let’s be honest: we’re not even sure if our predictions are right, or at least, “going to be right”, just something to enjoy at the end of the week, because it’s January (new month, new year, yay!) and we want to make 2022 a hopeful year!

Many followers have told us not to predict tech – I mean, who wants to make predictions about things that change and evolve as fast as technology anyway? Driven by endless investments, thousands of companies innovate not even on a daily – but hourly – basis, tech is really “something else”.

Yet, here we are, making predictions about how technology will evolve in 2022. Well, let’s be honest: we’re not even sure if our predictions are right, or at least, “going to be right”, just something to enjoy at the end of the week, because it’s January (new month, new year, yay!) and we want to make 2022 a hopeful year!

Photo credit: Investopedia
  1. Cloud: major growth in Hybrid and Multi-cloud:

Expect to see dramatic growth in hybrid and multi-clouds in the new year. Hybrid and multi-cloud solutions allow the business to choose the best fit for their workload without compromising the fidelity to their service management and integrations. Efficient and effective enterprises will want to lean into this natural affinity to get the most value, resulting in multiple cloud environments.”

John Annand, Director of the Infrastructure Team, Info-tech Research Group

  1. Data centric AI:

We can undeniably see the demand to make data available everywhere and how tech companies are going crazy for data-centric machine learning. 

“AI will accelerate its migration from servers to edges. Where data lives needs to be interpreted (often in real-time) and should not leave the walls of the company. Today, a plethora of AI-ready processors, cameras, and other hardware makes this possible. Increasingly, companies are realizing that the way to build a truly efficient AI algorithm is to train it on their own unique data, which might vary substantially over time. To do that effectively, the intelligence needs to directly interface with the sensors producing the data. From there, AI should run at a compute edge, and interface with cloud infrastructure only occasionally for backups and/or increased functionality.

“No critical process – e.g., in a manufacturing plant – would and should exclusively rely on cloud AI, exposing the manufacturing floor to connectivity/latency issues that could disrupt production. 2022 will see edge learning technologies on the rise, enabling AI to ‘reprogram’ from scratch in a few seconds, whenever and wherever needed. This paradigm-shifting technology will empower AI to truly serve its purpose at speeds, latency, and costs that make it affordable for every user.”

Dr. Max Versace, PhD, co-founder and CEO, Neurala

  1. Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): 

Blockchain will see a massive expansion this year. We can potentially see ownership of physical things and trades using NFTs. NFTs undoubtedly have the potential to become a multi-billion dollar market.

“NFTs have become hugely popular in recent years, reaching USD $2.5bn in sales volume in the first half of 2021. However, NFTs are currently an under-utilised source for the gaming world. Certain companies such as Ubisoft are leaning in, launching Ubisoft Quartz, where they will offer NFTs they call “Digits”. Polygon are also noticing NFTs, having launched Polygon Studios, which focuses on helping to advance blockchain gaming and NFTs, in July.

In 2022, more gaming platforms would be wise to jump on board. This will be the year that more gaming platforms finally open their eyes to all of the exciting changes that have the possibility to take place in online gaming in the not-so-distant future, and understand the value of leaning into this untapped market.”

Jessica Rovello, CEO & Co-founder, Arkadium

  1. Next-Generation Remote Presence (“Metaverse”)

Here are our few favourite quotes about the Metaverse: 

The metaverse will become the new interface for people to engage with the web and each other. — Justin Banon, Co-founder, Boson Protocol.

Most people will operate day-to-day jobs partially in the metaverse. — Shane Molidor, Chief revenue officer, AscendEx.

What are your 2022 tech predictions?