2021 to be a launchpad for all kinds of change: Amazon CTO

Technology, more specifically, digital technology emerged as the lifeline for the global community during the pandemic. Today more than ever, we are dependent on a plethora of new and emerging digital technologies for the continuity of essential day-to-day tasks- from education and business meetings to entertainment and healthcare- and this trend will continue in the future as well.

The upcoming year i.e. 2021 is going to be a launchpad for all kinds of change, says Dr. Werner Vogels, Amazon Vice President and chief technology officer (CTO), sharing his eight predictions on how technology will impact our lives in the coming year.

"2020 was a year unlike any other. Rather than slow us down, 2020 accelerated our shift to a digital world, and I anticipate we won’t go back any time soon. Thanks to this acceleration, from my vantage point, 2021 will be a launchpad for all kinds of change," Vogels said.

Here are the eight predictions made by Amazon CTO for 2021:

Cloud will be everywhere

Cloud computing or cloud, the delivery of computing services like servers, storage, databases and software, among others, over the internet, is accessible nearly everywhere. From rural communities and remote wildernesses to near-earth orbit, access to the cloud's compute and storage is also reaching farther.

"It's not just the reach that matters, it’s the speed of the connections. For example, 5G extends to the edge of the networks and enables real computational work to be done. This matters because tasks can now start to happen where results are needed most," says Vogels.

The internet of machine learning

Machine learning went mainstream in 2020.To ensure that the world’s population remains healthy and connected during the pandemic, all efforts including identifying hotspots, the development of novel treatment and vaccines required generating and processing vast amounts of data.

According to Vogels, in 2021, we’ll see accelerated adoption of ML models across industries including manufacturing and agriculture as well as the government. For instance, across SoutheastAsia and Africa where small-holder farmers are the majority, pushing the use of ML models into new applications and the collection of data closer to the edge will be revolutionary in helping them increase the yield of their crops and find the best price for their effort.

In 2021, pictures, video, and audio will speak more than words

During the lockdown period, the world increasingly interacted via audio, video and images rather than text. According to Vogels, on an average day on Twitter, 80% of messages contain some kind of image or video or are just an image or video.

"As we make more use of multimedia to communicate, the amount of text we consume on our screens is being reduced."

For companies that want to remain relevant to their customers, Vogels says, they need to be keenly aware of these changing habits rather than expecting customers to interact with their products and services through a keyboard, mouse, or other mechanical ways. Companies should explore this move towards user interfaces like voice, and other forms of audio and video.

"In 2021 and beyond, the use of audio, video and images will continue to replace written text in everything from social platforms to business operations, and cloud technologies will play a significant role in meeting that demand."

Technology will transform our physical worlds as much as our digital worlds

In 2020, we were introduced to social distancing, also called physical distancing, to slow the spread of COVID-19 infection.

"Using advanced data analytics, we'll start to figure out how to design our cities with the advantages of social distancing without the sense of being apart. Our planning will consider how we make our communities healthier and safer, rather than merely denser and more efficient. It's the true convergence of the digital and the physical."

Remote learning earns its place in education

During the global pandemic, many schools and universities globally shifted to an online learning environment to minimize disruption and transition teaching and learning beyond brick and mortar classrooms.

"Technology, and access to it, has played a huge role in children’s education during this pandemic. In 2021, we'll prove that remote learning can work and maybe a better option for some and can have a positive and more persistent role in education. We don't need a global health crisis for online classes to make sense. "

Not just pandemics, remote classrooms give school systems the flexibility to respond to other unforeseen events such as natural disasters or man-made calamities to ensure continuity of education.

Small businesses will race to the cloud, and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa will lead the way

Driven by the 'cloud everywhere' trend, small businesses will begin to make use of advanced cloud technology to reach their customers.

"We'll see an explosion of higher-level technologies and service providers that cater to these small businesses. In turn, this will help small businesses do everything- from spinning up a chatbot to help answer frequently asked questions, to getting a customer relationship management system in place and running within minutes."

Vogels predicts that countries in Southeast Asia like Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and African nations like Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa will lead the way in the cloud race.

Quantum computing starts to bloom

"As companies and institutions begin to experiment with quantum for the first time and as that expertise starts to move beyond the academic world we'll see business plans and the early seeds of products and services that center around a quantum future. Based on our experience with making advanced cloud technologies affordable, available, and understandable to everyone, 2021 will be the year the quantum computer starts to bloom."

The final frontier...

The global pandemic has demonstrated the importance of making technology available, accessible and affordable to all.

"For technology to help everyone around the world live a better life, we shouldn't go out and around the world as much as we should go up and above it."

" In 2021 and beyond, I predict space will be the area where we see some of the greatest advancements when it comes to cloud technologies. By making access to space affordable and accessible to every developer, I'm looking forward to seeing the innovations that come back down to earth and can help us all to grow and prosper," says Vogels.