The world of IT is ever evolving with new technologies and trends popping up all the time. However, not all of them live up to the promise, and some even prove to be a failure.
Today, we will look at the main IT trend failures of 2022 and seek to understand why they haven't become the next big thing.
Wide crypto adoption
The world of cryptocurrencies continues to be a wild west of the IT world where regulation is ambiguous and fortunes are made within weeks. In terms of technology, however, not everything is rosy. Crypto was predicted to be accepted everywhere as an alternative payment by the end of 2022 while also creating many new startups to enable its exchange. With the crypto winter tu rning a cold shoulder to these ambitions, a lot of startups and established companies had to either take a pause or make significant cuts in budgets to survive the turmoil. This combined with the ongoing skepticism of these new currencies has let to crypto’s downfall, taking with it a slew of visionary projects and ideas.
Metaverse
Technically, metaverses are not failures. Yet they’ve certainly failed to become the next big thing in 2022.
There are many metaverses out there besides the one by ex-Facebook. For example, there is Mesh by Microsoft or Nvidia’s Omniverse. Each metaverse promises a unique experience and endless possibilities that would reshape how we live, work, have fun, and study. However, none of them were able to revolutionise how we live just yet.
Part of the blame lies on the technology not yet being available to us. If we remember some of the promotional videos that Meta presented, it becomes painfully obvious that we are a good 10-20 years away from turning those mockups into reality. The other issue is the lack of definite criteria for what metaverses are ultimately supposed to be. Market players and businesses joining metaverses today decide for themselves what they want to do and what their engagement in the metaverse should look like.
Today, the metaverse is an expensive brand awareness project more than anything else. Will it turn into something all-encompassing one day? Only time will tell.
Artificial Intelligence
Just like with metaverses, it would not be 100% fair to claim that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a failure, but it is a failure this year. AI was promised to become the next big thing from the start of the pandemic, and many claimed it would shine in 2022. However, due to multiple reasons (shortage of highly skilled professionals with a deep understanding of the technology, inefficient development strategies, and a focus on the wrong tools, just to name a few), AI-driven projects gave us underwhelming results in 2022.
Should you always follow trends to succeed?
With so many trends out there and so many of those trends failing or not living up to their full potential, a rational question comes to mind: should we even bother?
The answer is twofold: yes and no.
Even if trends don’t turn out to be a success, they often become a base for something else that the market adapts and transforms into the new industry standard. It means that even if you try and fail, you are very likely to end up with a unique experience that will help you make a breakthrough down the line.
Trends should definitely be watched out for and analysed, but also taken with a grain of salt. At Emphasoft, we recommend our clients be careful and picky with the trends they want to follow. If something is happening in the industry and you can see an opportunity for it to benefit your business, then such a trend can be incorporated into your operations and strategy. But blindly following all trends should be avoided as it can easily take up too much of your attention and resources, making the company deviate from its long-term goals.
Read next:
Super Apps: what they are, why they’re great, and the latest trends
Emerging Mobile App Development Trends
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