Here Are 10 Emerging Technologies Impacting 2020

Artificial intelligence (AI) has ascended to the top of CompTIA’s latest list of 10 emerging technologies that have the most potential for near-term business impact.

The top technologies on the list shifted only slightly from 2019 to 2020. AI, 5G and IoT take the top three spots. In 2019, IoT was No. 1 followed by AI and 5G.

In 2018, when the CompTIA Emerging Technology Community released its first list, AI ranked third.

Microsoft’s Mike Haines

“We try to place technologies on the list that have a window of opportunity for channel companies of around three years or so,” said Mike Haines, director of partner incentive strategy at Microsoft and chair of the community’s executive council. “The innovation that will be delivered by these technologies when they’re leveraged in tandem will be staggering over the next few years and will enable customer solutions that will actually have paradigm shifting impact for those that act on them. They’ll also provide some great new opportunities for IT companies and IT solution providers that decide to build offers around them.”

List Formed by Research Committee

The community developed the list by forming a subcommittee tasked with researching the technology landscape, assessing the marketplace, and determining if an emerging technology had near-term opportunity for solution providers.

“It’s the view of this community, but it fosters great discussion,” Haines said. “It becomes a good vehicle for channel companies to use to assess their own possible opportunities and to make sure that they’re considering emerging technologies that they could build solutions around.”

Think Channel’s John Rice

John Rice is president of Think Channel and also a member of the community’s executive council. He said both AI and 5G will drive the technology revolution. And they will continue to be the most impactful technologies both short and long term.

“Of the two, AI is probably going to have the most short-term impact as it becomes embedded in almost every software system and is used in process automation to make increasing smarter systems,” he said. “It will enhance IoT, robotics, blockchain and a broad array of business software and apps.”

Scroll through the gallery above to learn about the top emerging technologies.