Today, we live in a world where technology is redefining the way we work, live and play. Significantly, our future is quickly being reshaped by digital transformation technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Cloud Computing, Internet of Things (IoT), 5G and Edge Computing. Indeed, data management is going through profound changes, opening up countless opportunities. More so, as businesses are looking for comprehensive services and process thousands of scenarios, spanning considerations hinge on everything from central storage to frontier-edge computing. As we step into 2020, here's my take on the top five technology trends that will impact businesses, society, and the world.

If 2018 was the year of the data breach, the thinking among IT pros is that this will be the year companies take concrete steps to prevent future breaches. That was the sentiment among tech professionals who took part in a recent @IDGTechTalk Twitter chat about enterprise tech trends for 2019. In fact, a recent @IDGTechTalk poll found privacy and security to be the top enterprise tech issue for 2019 (45 percent), followed by artificial intelligence (30 percent), cloud computing (16 percent), and blockchain (9 percent). "I think cybersecurity is where it's going to be at in 2019," said tech writer Siobhan Climer during the Twitter chat. "2018 was the year of, 'Oh, God, data breach is everywhere!' 2019 will hopefully be the year of, 'Well, this is what we're going to do about it!' Brent Kirkpatrick, founder of Intrepid Net Computing and a computer security researcher, agreed, saying that in 2018 business people finally started to realize anyone can be hacked. "For 2019, let us work to fix it!" he said. It's at the board level that cybersecurity needs to be pushed to the top of the priority list, said Mike D. Kail, CTO of The Everest Project. "Action, not aspiration would be fantastic," he said. A representative from Adlib Software agreed: "Hopefully, we'll see more proactive strategies in 2019 vs. some of the reactive pitfalls of the past." How can security be improved? Advances in cloud computing and blockchain will help organizations better protect their data, Climer wrote in a recent article. "Though these aren't new technology trends -- blockchain and the cloud led conversations throughout 2018 -- how businesses utilize these tech tools for their operational security will likely transition dramatically," she wrote. Jessica Marie, director of product marketing at Vera Security, also said tech advances in cybersecurity will help. "I'm most excited about advancements in cybersecurity, particularly encryption technologies and securing data in the cloud/collaboration tools.

We learned that the emerging ecosystem of containers, microservices, cloud scalability, devops, application monitoring, and streaming analytics is not a fad. It's the future, already powering Silicon Valley's and Seattle's most advanced tech companies. Throw in machine learning and IoT and you have a comprehensive framework for the next phase of enterprise IT, with continuous improvement as its founding principle. At the same time, we became more aware of the widening gulf between this new world and most existing enterprise IT operations. That's why the hoary phrase "digital transformation" refuses to die -- the leap from legacy to modernity requires profound, multiphase, across-the-board change.