Technology is evolving day by day and has a huge impact on both our individual and social lives. It plays a tool to solve our problems, helps improve the quality of lives and makes it much easier to live. As technology thrives, businesses must continually embrace technology trends to seize new opportunities and not fall behind. This study will learn what the technology trend is, how to evaluate new technology and how to follow the trend.

What is technology trend?

Technology trends are new technologies that have the ability to respond to high market demand, and are researched by many enterprises for their potential benefits, with a large room for growth.. Thus, new technology will be considered trending when it satisfies all of the following 3 things:

• High market demands.
• Great potential benefits.
• Opportunity for growth

Market demands are changing day by day, based on the development of technology and the quality of life, subjective and objective events, and economic status. For example, during the Covid-19 pandemic, as residents were recommended to stay at home and limit interaction with each other, we have witnessed the rapid development of the delivery and shipping, collaboration platforms and videoconferencing for remote working, tele-health and telemedicine,...

Needs always exist, and there are technological solutions to solve those needs. However, the size of the market is the key to determining the potential of the technology. For markets capable of bringing great benefits, both material and non-material, businesses and organizations will invest in the development of that technology. Therefore, always grasp technology trends that are not only important to the operation of a business, but also important to the individual working in the technology field.

Why do we need to follow the technology trend?

Technology serves human needs, constantly evolving to meet new changing needs. Now, people have access to and become acquainted with technology quickly. In response to that speed, we need to constantly follow the advancement of technology, so as not to become out-of-date and, as a result left behind, then face extinction. We can look at the banking industry for an example. To adapt to the development of technology and human habits in using digital products, there is a race of digitalization in the banking industry. The traditional face-to-face interaction and physical card are now replaced by digital account, banking app, withdrawal by fingerprint, and live customer support via a kiosk. In order to survive in this market, all banks have invested a large amount of capital in following the technology trend to meet the needs of customers, which are convenience and safety. As a result, banks that continue to operate traditionally will fall behind, business deteriorates, and eventually disappears from the market.

Besides staying relevant, competitive and retaining the current market, keeping up with technology trends creates more new opportunities. New technology will often lead to the creation of a new market. The sooner we catch up with the technology, the higher the market we occupy, the higher revenue. Individually, keeping up with the technology trends helps us increase self-confidence and credibility when consulting for clients.

How to evaluate a new technology

Technology has a significant influence on life and is evolving, more and more new technologies are born day by day. However, not every technology is taken into a trend and is worth following. To know which trend we need to follow, we evaluate it through the following criteria:

Market size. The market is made up of the needs of the customer (the user). To assess the size of the market, we need to review the urgency of that demand, the number or percentage of people with the same needs, and the market's ability to respond to that technology.

Development costs and the ability to profit from new technology. Cost and profit are always the top issues that businesses are concerned about. Therefore, to consider whether to pursue it or not, we need to consider research, development, operational marketing costs and other related costs; as well as the affordability of the market for that product.

High applicability and development ability Some technologies born to solve a certain problem but have no other applicability have gradually become obsolete and easily replaced. When human needs change rapidly according to the development of technology, the development ability of that technology must also be corresponding to be able to survive. A viable technology will expand the market and be more profitable.

How to follow the technology trends

According to Cleverism, technology trend awareness as a skill refers to being mindful of the recent becoming popular technology and is readily accepted in the market or industry. It also encompasses one's ability to recognize and understand the usefulness of any such technology for the success of his business. To improve the technology trend awareness skill, there are some ways as below:

• Follow KOL on Social Media. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, even Reddit and Quora, or podcasts are great platforms to connect with experts worldwide. Follow and connect with them on social media platforms is the easiest way to know what's happening in this industry. Social media also lets us see what's trending at the exact moment in geographic areas.
• Newsletter. Warm-up a typical workday with a cup of coffee and a newsletter before deep burry in tasks is also a way to improve skill. Find some technology-focused websites and subscribe to their newsletters, the aggregated news will help you reduce the time searching information and identify trends quickly. Practicing reading habits every day allows us to recognize the technology movement.
• Seminar and Community. Reading is not the only way to gain knowledge, as there are some sources for which we are uncertain about the accuracy. So, after reading, try to discuss with people with the same interests and levels; or attend seminars, listen to experts directly, join in the discussion to express opinions and explore more.
• Keep up with Competitors. Learning from competitors is a great way to ensure we stay updated. Pursuing new technology is a race to grab the market pie, so learning and observing our competitors help us reposition, track and accelerate when necessary to avoid getting left behind.
• Be open to change. It is the most important thing when it comes to learning new technology. The change could be challenging and might be failed, but be flexible and open to changes, learn from the failure will keep us stay on the top of technology innovation.
• Expand the area of focus. It's not about the technology, it's an industry. Besides pursuing new technology, we need to learn more about the industry and its economic value. From the above evaluation criteria, we can make a judgment on that trend, avoiding the overwhelm of technology news.

Finally, to broaden your understanding and embrace technology trends, stay open-minded. When we learn about new technologies to apply, we tend to be selective about the relevant and necessary information. For researching technology to become "knowledgeable", get all the information in an objective and broader way.