13 cutting-edge tech trends industry insiders intend to leverage (and how you can, too)

Cutting-edge tech trends are in a constant state of flux. With so many to choose from, and newer ones still appearing, it may be tricky to navigate which tech to invest time and energy in.

To find out which popular tech trends are here to stay and effective enough to improve company ROI, I asked a panel of entrepreneurs from YEC the following question:

Following recent popular tech trends, what is one in particular that your company intends to leverage and how?

Their best answers are below:

1. AI and ML for SEO

We intend on leveraging the advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes. In the past year, we have seen many SEO tools with built-in machine learning capabilities start to emerge. These tools allow us to spend more time executing and less time researching, acquiring data and reporting. – Duran Inci, Optimum7

2. Digital assistants

As digital assistants (Alexa, Assistant, Cortana, Watson, etc.) get to know our habits, likes, dislikes, schedules and more, we will begin to trust them more than we do brands. For routine and repeat purchases, our digital assistant may completely replace the brand-to-consumer relationship. For more complex one-time purchases, we will rely on our digital assistants to help make a decision. – Andrew Howlett, Rain

3. Text messaging to increase conversions

Everyone sees Intercom and other messaging applications on sites. But one of the newer trends is for e-commerce brands to proactively text their customers after purchase (or at least after entering information during checkout). One of the most interesting tools I’ve seen is called SaveMySales. This turns the purchase flow into a conversation to help educate prospects on your customer. – Aaron Schwartz, Passport

4. Mechanical and digital automation

I love the potential of automation. I’m talking about both mechanical and digital options. I see so much potential in this space. Basically, I tell my tech people to get rid of busy work. Get it to the point where we are just doing verification, quality assurance and clarification. – Derek Broman, Discount Enterprises LLC deguns.net

5. Augmented reality

It’s one thing to see a product but it’s another to see it in your home before you buy. By creating an experience-focused product design with augmented reality within my home is to do something truly innovative. – Nicole Munoz, Nicole Munoz Consulting, Inc.

6. Aerial and walkthrough

One popular tech trend I would like to implement is the ability for my client to fly by the property through virtual reality and go inside a property and explore all its spaces. This would allow better visualization of the final product. – Julian Montoya, JM11 Investments

7. Cryptography-based distributed public ledgers

My company has a number of projects going on right now that are focused on making the world of crypto-assets more accessible to everyday uses. The foundational technology has had a lot of speculative hype but will be incredibly useful in unglamorous industries like supply chain, utilities, real estate, etc. For developers and designers up for a challenge, there’s a lot of work to be done. – Tony Scherba, Yeti

8. Voice search and smart speakers

We intend to help our clients build a communication strategy for the next generation of one-to-one conversational interactions with their customers. The game is changing and brands need to think of ways to scale one-to-one chats, either through chatbots or building call centers. – Dan Golden, BFO (Be Found Online)

9. Internet of Things

We are building a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for the transportation industry using Internet of Things (IoT) devices. IoT is the latest tech trend which is going to change all industries, especially transportation. We already use IoT devices in our life, but we will rely more and more on IoT in the future, especially in commercial spaces to collect the data. – Piyush Jain, SIMpalm

10. Agile methodology for nondevelopment

Everyone is talking about agile development. But what about agile everything else? Every department at our company runs on sprints: our marketing team, design team, operations, etc. The departments run two-week-long sprints with pointed stories and manage their work through tickets on Jira or Trello. This has been truly revolutionary for productivity, collaboration and time management. – Ryan D Matzner, Fueled

11. Edge computing

We are researching this next evolution of cloud computing and determining how it will impact our organization. As a technology-focused organization, we’re always looking at the next step so we can identify when it will impact us and our clients and how. It’s not about if it will impact anymore. Cloud computing was the last phase of this that had huge implications. – Baruch Labunski, Rank Secure

12. Connected vehicles

We believe the connected vehicle space is just taking off. As more accessories are software-enabled and vehicles become software-connected, a connected vehicle system will become much more integrated to include cameras, sensors and more all into one platform. – Andy Karuza, FenSens

13. Creating content around the trends

We have Google Trends alerts set so every week we research the current trends in Google’s search engine. This gives us a lot of great ideas for blog posts and content to create. We relate to how these trends will change our product or industry‘s future. Our clients think of us as a cutting–edge thought leader due to this simple process. – Brandon Stapper, Nonstop Signs