What are the technological trends that will reshape industries in 2019 and how best can small businesses capitalise on their innovations?

The coming year promises to be one of growing stability and maturity for the technology sector, as many of the tech trends of recent years emerge from their shaky foundations into a new era of consistent regulation and widespread adoption.

Blockchain matures

Excitement around Distributed Ledger Technology has been around for some time, but that excitement has been tempered by the fact that its fate has rightly or wrongly often been entwined with the growth of cryptocurrency, an industry which suffered a severe blow in 2018 when the value of Bitcoin plummeted.

But Blockchain isn’t just about currency, and in an age when data security and misinformation are never out of the headlines, the promise of a system that allows a user to store and move information in a way that means it cannot be stolen or copied has huge potential appeal for the investors that are willing to back it, despite the apparent risks.

Nick Cowan, founder and managing director of the Gibraltar Stock Exchange (GSX) Group Limited, which has supported the trading of cryptocurrencies, says: “I expect a level of maturation within the Blockchain space in 2019, with sustainable Blockchain projects on the rise.

“Blockchain’s ascent into mainstream society hasn’t been as direct as some would like, but this transformative technology merits a measured, patient approach. In the coming year, I envision more steady progress.”

AI gets ethical

Artificial intelligence has developed at breakneck speed in recent years, with more and more systemic or repetitive decisions being taken out of the hands of humans and placed at the whims of algorithms.

The coming year however will see companies held accountable for how these decisions are made by the AIs they employ.

Albert Mercadal, head of Fujitsu Advanced Analytics Centre of Excellence, says: “Flushing out any unfairness in automatic decisions taken by AI systems – and then being able to prove this has been done – will become more important if AI is to be accepted as an ethically acceptable technology.”

He said: “GDPR and other data regulations will elevate the importance of algorithm accountability, as will the ability to understand why an algorithm has taken certain decisions – especially in highly regulated sectors like banking or health.”

Smartphones enter a new era

The smartphone market arguably hasn’t advanced rapidly in the past couple of years. Changes have been incremental and mostly centred around things such as battery life and gadgets such as fingerprint scanners.

But 2019 promises two major advances that could usher in a new era of smartphone technology. The first is foldable screens. Tech giants such as Huawei, Samsung and Motorola have announced phones with this type of tech.

The arrival of 5G has been long-heralded, promising download speeds up to 100 times faster than the current 4G standard. Now, finally, the first such phone, the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3, is expected to land in the first quarter of this year.

Data security a priority

From fake news to mass data breaches, the way our data is harvested and used is now a major area of concern for most consumers.

Last year we saw Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai testifying in front of US congress, and Olinda Hassan, a partner in the Strategy and Innovation team at Twitter, said this year will see CEOs focus on adopting guidelines designed to satisfy consumer concerns.

Smart tech: what does 2019 hold for the future of technology? Credit: Getty

She says: “Consumer interest in understanding privacy, data and security will continue to grow in the New Year, especially with more and more household devices connecting to the internet, making personal information even easier to access for a skilled hacker.

“In 2019, we're going to see technology decision makers proposing policies that not only follow government law, but adhere to customer concerns as well.”

March of the virtual assistants

Virtual Assistants such as Google Home and Alexa are now firmly established at the centre of the 21st-century home, a fact perhaps best illustrated by Alexa’s network suffering outages on Christmas day due to the huge surge in new users.

In 2019 though, expect to start finding Virtual Assistants everywhere, from the customer service sections of retail websites to stores themselves. Increasing sophistication, too, will take VAs beyond the realm of simple language, into the world of interpreting mood and user habits.

Steve Haworth, CEO at TeleWare, says: “Through cognitive services and conversational analytics, people will be able to have a voice conversation with their VA devices.

“The device will be able to detect their mood from sentiment and emotion analysis through voice and facial expressions. Previously, chatbots have been more reactive to requests from humans.

“But through AI, VAs will be able to predict more in advance and proactively communicate with people.”

2019 The SME Agenda The 2019 SME Agenda looks at the core challenges facing SMEs in the year ahead. From Brexit to housing, how is the state of the nation affecting the businesses within it? To access a copy and find out, download the report. Download and keep the whitepaper >

Taking care of business

With the latest advances in digital connectivity, from ethical AI through virtual assistants to superfast 5G, today’s rapidly evolving business landscape demands equal attention be paid to cutting-edge technology as it is to human relationships. That’s why Telegraph Spark and Yorkshire Bank are examining how SMEs can look to the future without letting go of the proven principles of good business.

Launching its Business Internet Banking service to help SME owners manage their business finances on the go, Yorkshire Bank takes a relationship-based approach to small business banking, without losing sight of the latest technological opportunities for making business and banking better.

Embedded in the heart of its approach is the importance of direct contact with business owners to support their needs. To find out more about why you may want to switch your business banking provider, or how you could better balance technology with a personal touch, visit secure.ybonline.co.uk/business