Decade in review: Top Tech Trends

Over the last decade advanced technology – AI, machine learning, blockchain, mixed reality and IoT – has revolutionized the way we communicate, how we do our jobs, and even how we get by day-to-day. Technology that was once considered abstract and theoretical, is becoming ubiquitous and ingrained in our daily routines. As I reflect on how far we’ve come, there are four trends that stand out to me: Cloud Computing, Accessible Technology, AI for Good, and Mixed Reality.

Cloud Computing

We are entering 2020 in the midst of a digital revolution, with cloud computing at the core of business transformation across industries. Introduced in February 2010, Microsoft Azure represented the next frontier of innovation, bringing together the physical and digital worlds. Over the last 10 years Azure has evolved to offer capabilities spanning basic computing, networking, and storage, as well as mobile and web app services, advanced cloud scenarios such as IoT, cognitive services and machine learning.

In 2020, 1 million new devices are expected to come online every hour. The connectivity between people and data is creating billions of new relationships that are driven not only by data but by algorithms and advanced services – all powered by the cloud. Businesses around the world, and in every industry, are migrating to the cloud to manage and create business intelligence with big data, as well as create new experiences with intelligent apps.

The next wave of computing is already taking shape around us – from smart devices and sensors that can speak, listen and action with the power of AI, all the way to compute enabled in remote parts of the globe – without requiring “always on” connectivity to the cloud to make real-time, context-aware decisions. This is the intelligent edge, and it will define the next wave of innovation – not just for business but also how we address some of the world’s most pressing problems.

Accessible Technology

Alongside innovation, accessibility in the tech space is helping to empower users as they interact in their daily life, in ways that previously may have never been possible. One in five Canadians experience a disability, so making the world more accessible and inclusive isn’t just important — it’s imperative. Advancements in technology has the power to unlock solutions for some of the biggest challenges facing society. Already we’re witnessing this as people with disabilities expand their use of computers to hear, see and reason with impressive accuracy using technology like real-time speech-to-text transcription, visual recognition services and predictive text functionality.

Over the last 10 years, we’ve seen how technology is an equalizer. It has the unique ability to breakdown accessibility barriers and offer enormous potential by enabling people of all abilities do more at home, at work and in their daily lives. Seeing AI and the Xbox Adaptive Controller are just two of the many examples.

Seeing AI

• Developed by Saqib Shaikh, a blind software engineer who has worked at Microsoft for more than a decade, Seeing AI offers the visually impaired a new way to understand the world through the cameras on their smartphones. The free iOS app leverages AI technology to narrate your surroundings – simply point your phone and the app tells says what it sees. It’s already helped people with more than 20M tasks and can be leveraged to help read documents (including handwriting), identify products, recognize friends or acquaintances, and describe the world around you.

Xbox Adaptive Controller

• When everybody plays, we all win. It is our goal to empower gamers around the world with the opportunity to play the games they want, with the people they want, on the devices they want. Launched in 2018, the Xbox Adaptive Controller provides a much-needed, simple and affordable solution for gamers with limited mobility. With the ability to connect to external buttons, switches, mounts, and joysticks, gamers can customize the Xbox Adaptive Controller to create a full controller experience that best suits their needs.

In the years ahead, technology will continue to empower people with disabilities to unlock their full potential at school, work, and home. I can’t wait to see what the next decade holds!

AI for Good

As creators of technology, it is incumbent upon us to make careful choices so that advanced technology ultimately translates into welfare for all. In the last decade we have witnessed the power of AI, and the incredible ways in which machines can augment people’s capabilities. Our work with organizations on the front lines of education, environmental advocacy, accessibility and healthcare has given us the opportunity to impact the world in a positive way. In 2015 we launched AI for Good, a $125M commitment to provide technology, resources, and expertise to empower those working to solve humanitarian issues, advance global sustainability, and amplify human capability. 

This initiative is made up of four programs and is part of our overarching effort to ensure that AI is used to advance society:

• AI for Earth is set up to address global environmental challenges in the core focus areas of climate, agriculture, water, and biodiversity.
• AI for Accessibility is aimed at leveraging the power of AI to amplify human capability for the more than one billion people around the world with disabilities.
• AI for Humanitarian Action endeavors to help the world recover from disasters, address the needs of children, protect refugees and displaced people, and promote respect for human rights.
• AI for Cultural Heritage empowers people and organizations dedicated to applying AI innovation to preserve languages, historical sites, and artifacts. 

I’m incredibly inspired by the tremendous work being done through this initiative. The rapid rate at which technology has changed over the past 10 years is rivaled only by the earth’s environment and sustainability. One of our featured AI for Earth projects, FarmBeats, provides farmers with access to Microsoft Azure and AI technologies, enabling data driven decisions to help improve agricultural yield, lower overall costs, and reduce the environmental impact of agricultural production. This is a digital transformation of agriculture, at both small and large scales, that’s critical to meeting 21st century food-supply challenges.

But our work is just beginning. It’s clear that to compute data on a global scale, we need a truly integrated planetary computer. That’s why we’re looking forward to announcing more grants and featured projects.

Mixed Reality

We are entering a new era of computing, one in which the digital world goes beyond two-dimensional screens and enters the three-dimensional world. In 2016, Microsoft defined the mixed reality space with the launch of HoloLens, the world’s first untethered holographic computer that you could wear, and again this past year with release of HoloLens 2. 

This innovation is a culmination of breakthroughs in hardware design, AI and mixed reality. It has transformed the way work gets done – from medicine, to engineering, manufacturing and interior design, HoloLens allows you to literally visualize possibilities right in front of you. For example, CAE VimedixAR, based in Montreal, is using HoloLens to teach and train healthcare workers without the use of cadavers or endangering the lives of patients. Now, medical students can display, enlarge, turn, and rotate realistic-looking anatomical parts, or return them to the mannequin in a medical education and training mixed reality environment. 

This new collaborative computing era will empower us all to achieve more, break boundaries and work together with greater ease and immediacy in 3D.

The past decade has been monumental and I’m incredibly proud the work we’ve accomplished at Microsoft; the innovations we’ve achieved, and tremendous strides we’ve made to deliver on our mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As we look ahead to the next 10 years, I encourage you to read Brad Smith’s insightful piece Dawn of a Decade: The Top Ten Tech Policy Issues for the 2020s. It’s a fascinating look at the pivotal trends facing our world today, and how Microsoft will address these important issues with solutions that reflect ethical principles deeply rooted in important and timeless values.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!