5 Top Technology Trends that will Disappear in the Next 5 years

Dinosaurs are extinct and don’t we just miss them? We have to go all the way to the museum just to look at their bones. Let’s fast forward to five years from now and we have nostalgia for office fax machines. Surprised? Well it’s true. A recent survey was conducted by LinkedIn, a social media platform for people in professional occupations, where over 7,000 global professionals in 10 countries were questioned. The results of this survey have suggested that by the year 2017, most of the office trends we are so painfully used to will be no more. Like that saying goes, “Out with the old and in with the new.”

Developments in technology have taken the world by storm and some of us are finding it rather difficult to keep up with its lightning speed. It is however best if we acquaint ourselves because technology is here to stay. Let us have a look at some of the technology trends that are believed to be going out of style.

1. “Did you get my fax” is a question that we might not hear again in five years. 71% of the people surveyed said the fax machine is fast becoming redundant. The winning formula may very well be scan + pdf + email because it is easier and it saves the trees, as less paper is used.

2. Laptops and tablets (e.g. Ipad, Samsung Galaxy Tab) may just be the demise of desktops which are already quite a nuisance with their bulky nature and their inability to be moved about easily.  34% agree that desktop computers will soon be replaced by newer technologies. Tablets and laptops are portable and convenient; you can carry all your work with you wherever you go.

3. According to the study, 35% of the people believe that desk phones will give way to calls being made on smartphones or over the internet, using applications such as Skype and the hangout feature on Google Talk.

4. With the proliferation of digital recorders and smartphones, the tape recorder seems to be losing its battle of relevance. A whopping 79% of the people surveyed agree with this assertion. Digital recorders allow the user to transfer files to a laptop easily, whereas tape recorders do not.

5. Last on our list is the USB drive. 17% stated that these will be wiped out soon enough. Files can be saved onto a Dropbox account and shared with various people. Also, smartphone producers are constantly coming up with new ways to transfer files easily. A good example is the Samsung Galaxy 3, where files can be transferred just by touching two of such phones together. Isn’t technology brilliant?

It is important to stay on top of technological trends in order to succeed in today’s world. While we might be comfortable doing things how we have always done them in the past, technology continues to provide new and improved, exciting ways for us to carry out different tasks and we must come out of our comfort zones and embrace the change and endless possibilities.

Apart from these so-called “outgoing” technology trends, some of the professionals that were used in the survey suggested several dream tools they would like to see in the future; clones of themselves or assistants to help them daily, both at work and at home, a place in the office that provides natural sunlight and my personal favourite, a quiet place in the office where you are allowed to take naps. This is already being done at Google offices, where management has provided sleep pods; employees are allowed to enhance their energy levels by taking quick naps. Now, wouldn’t it be splendid if they had those everywhere?