Top Tech Trends for 2015

2014 marked an incredible year. We watched technology cross the threshold from futuristic concept to mainstream use with biometric devices like Apple’s Touch ID featured on the iPhone and iPad, and 3-D printers like the MakerBot’s Thing-O-Maticinstalled in local schools and libraries for the kids to use. The release of Gigabit-per-second broadband service Google Fiber pushed broadband to new limits and free Wi-Fi became a mainstay in public places like Tim Horton’s, McDonald’s, and Starbucks. Whilesome companies soared—Internet serviceAirbnbkick-started the sharing economy, WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook for a whopping $16 billion, and Alibaba celebrated the largest tech IPO ever, raking in $21.8 billion, others fell by the wayside.Amidst all the market upheavals, change was the only constant.

"When you're finished changing, you're finished."

- Benjamin Franklin

What’s in store for 2015? As the Digital-First World takes hold, the disruptors will be disrupted and technology will continue to change our lives in big ways. Here are the top technology trends that I see impacting the way we work and play in 2015.

President of India awards eBay India merchants

President of India, Pranab Mukherjee awarded two eBay India merchants the ‘FIEO Online Retail exporter of the year,’ at the 14th FIEO Niryat Shree and Niryat Bandhua Awards held last week in New Delhi. The Online Retail Exporter of the Year award has been created and approved by The President’s Office this year. 

Mr. Anuj Chawla, owner of Active Industries received the Gold Award while Mr. Abhinav Sharma, promoter of Angaris Exim Ind Pvt Ltd, received the Bronze Award.  

Mr. Latif Nathani, Managing Director, eBay India, said, “We are extremely delighted and feel proud of our sellers who are recipients of the FIEO Online Retail Exporter of the year award. FIEO and the ministry have been doing a sterling job of promoting Indian exports and it was about time that online entrepreneurs get recognized, who equally contribute to Indian exports. We are sure that our seller achievements will inspire many online entrepreneurs who wish to benefit from the power of ecommerce.”

CSI-Nihilent e-Gov awards to be held at Hyderabad on Dec 13th

The 12^th edition of the CSI-Nihilent e-Governance awards is all set to take place on the 13^th of December at the staff college auditorium of JNTU, Hyderabad, on the side-lines of the annual convention of the Computer Society of India (CSI).

As many as five Indian states have been nominated for the prestigious awards this year, the highest number since it was instituted. Several other projects have been shortlisted for the awards, which will be given away on Saturday, the 13^th of December. The awards is an initiative by CSI’s Special Interest Group on e-Governance (SIG eGov), which has been one of the premier consulting organizations for eGovernance in India.

NantOmics Cancer Genome Browser launched

BlackBerry and NantHealth, a cloud-based information technology provider combining science and big data to transform healthcare, announced the first secure clinical genome browser that gives doctors unprecedented access to patients’ genetic data on the BlackBerry® Passport smartphone - The NantOmics Cancer Genome Browser.

The NantOmics Cancer Genome Browser platform on the BlackBerry Passport enables deep, interactive reporting on genomics data for physicians and other treatment providers in clinical settings - for example, giving oncologists a powerful view into the individual genetic alternations that make each patient’s disease unique and highlighting relevant treatment options. The BlackBerry Passport’s large high resolution screen enables clinicians to view a patient’s chromosome at an individual base-pair level. It is the first in a series of innovative offerings being developed jointly by BlackBerry and NantHealth for use by healthcare professionals.

'Digital India Conclave 2014’ to intensify the Digital India initiative

India Inc along with FICCI, Invest India and Chase India is organizing a “Digital India programme”, a series of online and offline activities pivoting around two conclaves in New Delhi and Washington DC. The first conclave of the Digital India Programme is on 5th December 2014 at Longchamp Hall, Hotel TajMansingh, New Delhi. 

The Narendra Modi led Indian government officially clicked through the ambitious Digital India programme a few months ago. The vision is simple: to usher India into the digital age where each and every citizen can experience the impact. But this simple vision will require a lot of hard graft and investment towards the right kind of infrastructure.

Internet Grows to 280 Million Domain Names

VeriSign announced four million domain names were added to the Internet in the second quarter of 2014, bringing the total number of registered domain names to 280 million worldwide across all top-level domains (TLDs) as of June 30, 2014, according to the latest Domain Name Industry Brief.

The increase of four million domain names globally equates to a growth rate of 1.4 percent over the first quarter of 2014. Worldwide registrations have grown by 18.6 million, or 7.2 percent, year over year.

The .com and .net TLDs experienced aggregate growth in the second quarter of 2014, reaching a combined total of approximately 128.9 million domain names in the adjusted zone for .com and .net. This represents a 3.7 percent increase year over year. As of June 30, 2014, the base of registered names in .com equaled 113.7 million names, while .net equaled 15.2 million names.