An ongoing dearth of tech talent and an increasing number of business technologists are driving an increase in low-code development technologies, which are projected to total $26.9 billion USD worldwide in 2023, an increase of nearly 20% from 2022, according to a recent forecast from Gartner. Business technologists work outside of IT and create tech or analytics capabilities for internal or external business use. Low-code application platforms are projected to be the largest component of the low-code development technology market, growing 25% to reach nearly $10 billion USD in 2023. Gartner predicts that by 2026, developers outside formal IT departments will account for at least 80% of the user base for low-code development tools, which is up from 60% in 2021. Other key drivers that will accelerate the adoption of low-code technologies through 2026 include an increasing number of enterprise-wide hyperautomation and composable business initiatives, the firm said.

In most cities in China, citizens and visitors must download Health Code -- an app that indicates COVID-19 status -- to access many public and private spaces and services. A green screen means the person is free to travel, yellow indicates required quarantine and red means a confirmed infection. In India, the Aarogya Setu app indicates which travelers are "safe" to use rail and air travel. The United Arab Emirates recently launched ALHOSN UAE, which also indicates via color if a person is okay, infected or need to be quarantined, but also has an option for "hasn't been tested." ALHOSN UAE is currently being used to grant access to air travel.

As part of its Hype Cycle for emerging technologies in 2020, Gartner has identified social distancing technologies, composable enterprise, AI-assisted design, differential privacy and biodegradable sensors as the five key emerging trends that will drive technology innovation over the next decade. "Emerging technologies are disruptive by nature, but the competitive advantage they provide is not yet well known or proven in the market. Most will take more than five years, and some more than 10 years, to reach the Plateau of Productivity. But some technologies on the Hype Cycle will mature in the near term and technology innovation leaders must understand the opportunities for these technologies, particularly those with transformational or high impact," said Brian Burke, research vice president at Gartner. For example, Gartner points to health passports and social distancing technologies, both related to the COVID-19 pandemic, that are taking the fast track through the Hype Cycle and having a high impact.

Social distancing technologies, composable enterprise, AI-assisted design, differential privacy and biodegradable sensors are among key technologies that will drive technology innovation for the next decade, said leading research and advisory company Gartner in a new report. The 30 must-watch technologies on the Gartner report "Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, 2020" include technologies that enable a composable enterprise, aspire to regain society's trust in technology, and alter the state of your brain. "Emerging technologies are disruptive by nature, but the competitive advantage they provide is not yet well known or proven in the market. Most will take more than five years, and some more than 10 years, to reach the Plateau of Productivity. But some technologies on the Hype Cycle will mature in the near term and technology innovation leaders must understand the opportunities for these technologies, particularly those with transformational or high impact," said Brian Burke, research vice president at Gartner.

In most cities in China, citizens and visitors must download Health Code -- an app that indicates COVID-19 status -- to access many public and private spaces and services. A green screen means the person is free to travel, yellow indicates required quarantine and red means a confirmed infection. In India, the Aarogya Setu app indicates which travelers are "safe" to use rail and air travel. The United Arab Emirates recently launched ALHOSN UAE, which also indicates via color if a person is okay, infected or need to be quarantined, but also has an option for "hasn't been tested." ALHOSN UAE is currently being used to grant access to air travel.

Every year brings a new set of hyped technologies. It often seems like everyone is talking about them, even if we don't all understand just what they are or what they do. For instance, in recent years everyone was talking about blockchain, even as there were very few in-production examples of what it did and how it worked. Yet it seemed that everyone needed to have a blockchain strategy. The Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies tries to categorize emerging technologies like this by where they are on the "hype cycle," a hero's journey for technologies, from the innovation trigger to the peak of inflated expectations, on through the trough of disillusionment to the slope of enlightenment and finally to the plateau of productivity.

Health Passports are shifting digital twin tech to humans and the composable enterprise is making it possible for business to stay nimble during the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19 influenced many of the 30 technologies in Gartner's 25th Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies report. Brian Burke, research vice president at Gartner, said that this was the first time in the history of the report that a new piece of technology reached 20% market penetration in less than a year. China and India are using Health Passport mobile apps to indicate the level of infection risk of the holder. Red is a confirmed case o f COVID-19; yellow means the person should be in quarantine; and green means free to travel.