Many ups and downs in tech sector in 2017

Pune: The year 2017 was a very significant year for the technology sector. The year saw various ups and down, a lot of them downs. Towards the end, Indians got a lot to cheer after the TRAI submitted its stand on the thorny issue of Net Neutrality.

The regulatory body gave its firm backing to Net Neutrality, whereas those in the US cancelled it, leading to a new furore. Back home, things continued to improve data-wise.

Data continued to rule the Indian markets. While the new entrant Jio disrupted the markets, other companies are either shutting shop or merging. While Airtel gobbled up a few companies like Uninor, Idea and Vodafone India reached a merger agreement.

Speaking of global scenario, the biggest trend of the year has got to be machine learning. As advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning continued, it spelled bad news for a whole lot of software professionals. As companies moved towards the machinisations, many found themselves out of jobs. There is a need for a massive shift in skills learning with this. If you have them, you are safer, if not, count your days (in the job).

On other fronts, it is being widely integrated into a whole lot of hardware. One big example of that was Google’s new smartphones and speakers.

The Google assistant is now baked into every device, and other companies are following suit. Apple already had the Siri, and followed suit with Google on its flagship brand, iPhone X. Samsung has also stepped into the fray with its own assistant, Bixby. The results have been so far mixed.

As far as India is concerned, cyber security was a very big trend. The year saw various significant data breaches across the world. The Indian government’s unique ID programme Aadhaar came under scrutiny amidst fears that its data may have been invariably leaked. This was followed by huge outbreaks of malware and ransomware. 

While these two have been around for quite some time, the scale of the attacks was unprecedented this time, and there is no assurance that it is over. The next area was blockchain.

Apart from areas like cryptocurrency, the blockchain technology is now finding widespread adaptation. The adaptation of blockchain technology drew the world’s attention with bitcoin, which grabbed headlines around the world and continues 
to do so.