Top technology trends in 2017: When future felt closer to present

 We often think of hardware, such as smartphones, when we talk about the personal technology. Without taking away the value of hardware, personal technology extensively relies on software. This year belonged to software, user experience to be precise, where Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality became buzzwords.

All of these technologies, once considered niche, finally came to the masses. And in Indian context, a good chunk of these became available to the masses. Of course, we are yet to reach a stage where everyone’s a user of Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), but still 2017 was the year when the foundation was laid for them to become mainstream.

So, without further ado, let’s look back at the biggest technology trends that left an impact on our lives.

Cyber security

Even as we take giant strides towards building a digital society that leverages cutting-edge technology, security remained the prime concern for the users. Not that it wasn’t a concern in corresponding years, but ransomware such as WannaCry exposed our readiness to tackle a major cyber threat.

More than 300,000 users across 150 nations, including India, were affected by the cyber attack. India, in particular, has been one of the worst-hit nations. Shortly after WannaCry, ransomware attacks such as Petya created havoc worldwide. These ransomware attacks have been the much-needed wake-up call for all of us. As we introspect and identify loopholes we must fix, these incidents also call for ramping up our cyber warfare capabilities.

Looking at the brighter side, users are more aware about the online security. And enterprises are being asked questions about the security. Though we haven’t achieved a completely secure environment, but there are far more serious efforts towards building one.