What Are the Top Technology Trends in 2019?

As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, it’s important to be aware of the many changes happening around you and how they might affect your business.  We’ve highlighted the top technology trends we expect to see in 2019.

Employees will demand that employers do more to protect their personal data

Businesses operate in a digital landscape. As such, data has become the new currency. And, with data breaches on the rise, you need to protect not only your customer but also your employee information. As an employer, you’re responsible for protecting sensitive employee information during the course of the employment relationship.

Here are a few steps for safeguarding your employees’ personal information.

  • Investing in cybersecurity. About $1 trillion is expected to be spent worldwide on cybersecurity through 2021. Businesses need to make necessary adjustments in their approach to cybersecurity and reprioritize budgets to combat cybercrime.
  • Updating cybersecurity policies. Because hackers advance their attacks regularly, it’s essential to update your security policies as often as possible.
  • Educating employees on cybersecurity. Employees are a common denominator in data breaches. Some are just negligent, while most are ignorant of basic cybersecurity measures. Teaching them and making sure they enforce the company’s cybersecurity policies will go a long way in protecting their information and customer data.

Businesses will leverage 5G to gain a competitive edge

The world is gradually reaching a point where the 5G network will be the standard. CNBC predicts that by 2023, about 1 billion people will have access to 5G speeds globally.

5G is not a small upgrade on internet speed, according to Business Insider. Currently, the average American home enjoys download speeds of about 6.5 Mbps. With 5G, internet users will comfortably enjoy speeds of about 500 Mbps.

Such high download speeds will have a significant impact on transfer capabilities, data downloads, communication, and the leveraging of mobile technologies.

For a business, 5G will translate to:

  • Smarter business applications: 5G will enable apps to handle more outgoing and incoming data. Companies will be able to develop smarter apps that will serve their customers better.
  • Enhanced enterprise communication: For effective enterprise communication, especially when communicating with clients or workers who are overseas, you need a fast internet connection on both ends.
  • Enhanced IoT ecosystems: The primary challenge of IoT devices in business is their strain on a company’s bandwidth. With a connection as fast as 5G, IoT devices will be adequately supported.

Cybersecurity will become more than an IT problem

There were a number of high-profile security breaches in 2018, and not even giant companies like Facebook are safe from a massive attack that compromised about 50 million users’ data. As hackers become more sophisticated, security breaches in business websites and social media accounts will continue to pop up and take over headlines in 2019, and businesses are going to reevaluate their data security policies and look for better solutions to prevent hacking.

While you can’t fully protect your company from hacking, you can take steps to prevent it from happening. Here are a few best practices to follow to safeguard your business website and social media accounts right now.

Keeping your business website secure

  • Update your website’s software, including the CMS and the plugins.
  • Encrypt the login pages. The information customers type on the login pages could be precious to a hacker. Therefore, use SSL or other strong encryption technologies.
  • Use a secure web hosting company. You get what you pay for in web hosting. Good hosting companies provide round-the-clock technical support and back up your data on a remote server.
  • Clean your website. Apps, databases, and plugins on the backend of your site are potential points of entry. So, delete any application that you’re not using.
  • Hire a security expert to look for vulnerabilities.

Keeping your social media accounts secure

  • Choose a strong password, which typically includes capital letters, symbols, numbers, but make sure it’s not so complicated that you forget it.
  • Change your password at least once every quarter and when your employee leaves the company.
  • Set-up a two-factor authentication whenever someone signs in to your social media accounts.
  • Check page roles and know who has access to accounts.

Millennials will be pushing for remote workplaces

Millennials strongly desire the flexibility that comes from working remotely while staying in the workforce. One study revealed that 37 percent of employees would switch to a job that lets them work off-site at least part of the time. Giving employees the flexibility of working off-site has become a vital way to remain competitive and innovative as a company.

The increase in the desire to work remotely will also increase the need for collaboration tools such as laptops, smartphones, tablets and related software programs.  Because it can be costly to provide new devices for employees, a lot of small and midsized businesses allow their staff to use their own devices.

While BYOD (bring your own device) programs have many benefits, they can present security risks that businesses need to manage. For instance, a remote employee might access sensitive data from an unsecured network leaving your company and its data vulnerable.  Also, they might leave the company with little to no notice taking the device with them, making it impossible for you to wipe company information from the device.

As remote work and BYOD programs continue to expand, it’s extremely important to have clear BYOD policies in place and a keen focus on security measures for those working outside your office.

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