These are the trends in ICT in the coming years.

Barry Derksen, Yuri Bobbert en Edwin Löring | December 22, 2020

ICT can no longer be ignored in our lives and will only play a greater role, both privately and commercially. What developments can we expect in the field of ICT? A group of experts mapped the Trends in ICT for the next 5 years by means of Group Support System. During the session everyone's point of view is highlighted and weighed equally.

With their expertise, the experts cover a wide area in the field: from data science, business and IT alignment to software engineering and cloud and infrastructure engineering. The session was led by Prof. Dr. Yuri Bobbert, CISO at ON2IT and chair of the Professional Field Committee at LOI Hogeschool. Professor Barry Derksen, author of Trends in IT1, guided the session and challenged the participants in their vision to identify important trends and distinguish them from the hypes.

The following topics emerged from the session as the Trends in ICT for the coming years:

Top 10 most important trends
1. Cyber security: 9.1
2. Big data science: 8.2
3. Digital Ethics: 7.9
4. Predictive Analytics: 7.9
5. Artificial Intelligent: 7.8
6. Cloudintegratie: 7.6
7. Internet of Things (IoT): 7.3
8. Privacy revolution: 7.2
9. Hybrid cloud: 7
10. Automation: 6.9

Focus on data and digital ethics
More and more data is becoming available, partly due to the increase in objects that are linked to the internet (Internet of Things). Think of the thermostat, but also of home automation (home automation). Data can offer great opportunities for improving and forecasting strategy (predictive analytics), policy and operations. "Data is the new gold" is a frequently heard statement. Organizations must then be able to process that data into valuable insights. The need for specialists in this field will therefore be great. In addition, digital ethics will play an increasingly important role in dealing with data. For example, to better deal with fake news and deepfake.

More attention for security
Security is a trend that is actually related to all developments. Data can be collected and used in many ways. And therefore also abused. This must be prevented with data protection. Storing data in a cloud means that there is a possibility that such a system will be hacked or accidentally leaked. The mere fact that a great deal of data is collected, processed and stored digitally creates all kinds of new risk forms and thus security issues. Increasing attention will therefore be paid to risk management, privacy and security in the collection and processing of data, in the development of software and in the storage of data in a public or private cloud.

Participating experts
- Prof. Dr Yuri Bobbert (ON2IT)
- Karel van Gool (EVG Start)
- Herman Welleweerd (Carthago ICT)
- Maurice Behre (Checkdata en Datajobs.nl)
- Arjan Otter (IM Consulting)
- Bouwe Koopal (ADkwADraat)
- Jerry Otto (the Signal)
- Prof. dr. Barry Derksen (BITTI)
- Edwin Löring (Program Manager LOI University of Applied Sciences)

Digital and soft skills more important
Another interesting trend the experts see is the increasing importance of "digital skills", such as executive and creative skills, and "soft skills", such as collaboration, presentation and communication.

ICT indispensable in all sectors
The latest trend identified by the experts is the trend that IT will play a significant role in every sector. Health (Cure and Care), real estate (smart buildings), mobility (autonomous cars and smart transport), logistics, the financial sector, you name it. Everything becomes smart, everything becomes digital. ICT knowledge is more important than ever.

The future is digital
“The world is 'digitalising' more and more and there is a great need for IT knowledge,” says Edwin Löring, IT program manager at LOI University of Applied Sciences. “We keep a close eye on developments in the field of ICT. Looking ahead is also part of this, because ICT is a dynamic field. ICT workers must develop themselves throughout their lives to keep up with the continuous changes in the field. An important focus of LOI Hogeschool is therefore on the field of ICT. We know the market and are constantly adapting our ICT offer and our training to it.”