10 IT Trends to Watch for in 2021

Here's how the dramatic events of 2020 are likely to shape enterprise IT teams in the coming year, according to analysts from firms like Gartner, IDC, and Forrester.

2020 has been a year unlike any other.

Twelve months ago, when tech industry analysts and experts made their annual predictions, they were focused on how technologies like cloud computing, artificial intelligence and robotics would likely transform the market. They forecast that demand for tech workers would continue to outpace supply, that data science would continue to be important, and that digital transformation would determine which enterprises were successful and which were not.

They did not predict that a global pandemic would radically change almost every aspect of our work and personal lives.

As the time comes once again to take a guess about what the new year will bring, everyone has become so used to an environment of constant uncertainty that it seems almost laughable to make the attempt at technology forecasts.

On the other, it does seem fairly certain that the coronavirus and its aftermath will continue to have repercussions into 2021 and beyond.

As they make their requisite predictions for 2021, most of the industry analysts are concentrating on the ways that the events of 2020 are likely to affect the foreseeable future. Clearly, the pandemic and the resulting economic downturn had an impact on every business around the globe. And the fact that people are spending so much more time in their homes has made technology more important than ever. It stands to reason then that the businesses best able to take advantage of the opportunities made possible by this new reliance on technology -- and overcome its challenges -- are those most likely to experience success in today's radically different world.

With that in mind, the following slides highlight 10 trends that analysts from firms like Gartner, IDC, and Forrester say are likely to play a major role in enterprise IT in 2021.

Cynthia Harvey is a freelance writer and editor based in the Detroit area. She has been covering the technology industry for more than fifteen years. View Full Bio