Experts from SnapLogic, provider of the #1 Intelligent Integration Platform, believe that the following key areas will play a large role in 2021:

Automation

●        Data in motion will come full circle to fuel digital initiatives. To date, data automation has mostly been about collecting “exhaust” to power BI and analytics outcomes. Going forward, the “exhaust” (and more of it than ever before) will be captured and used to feed customer initiatives in order to deliver better, more personalized outcomes and value propositions.  -- Brad Drysdale, Field CTO, SnapLogic

●        Low-code platforms will increasingly be used by non-programmers to perform business process automation. This will be possible by user experience advancements in low-code and no-code systems to integrate applications and data. This trend will take pressure off IT departments and allow business users to improve efficiency on their timelines. As a result, automation project schedules will shorten from months to weeks.  -- Greg Benson, Chief Scientist, SnapLogic

AI/ML/Data Science

●        AI/ML will play a bigger role in 2021 in helping make more and more tasks “invisible.” In our integration space, AI to date has been primarily around learning and assisting to streamline complex integration tasks (such as data mapping, for example). In 2021, machine learning will continue to improve to the point where the AI will be doing less “assisting” and more “augmenting” by actually undertaking tasks which today are normally done by a human, with AI “assistance,” via suggestions. As the AI does more and more of this, these tasks will become invisible and “just done for you,” bringing us one step closer to autonomous, self-driving integration.  -- Brad Drysdale, Field CTO, SnapLogic

●        Businesses will invest more in data collection and curation in support of AI and ML initiatives. Current AI and ML technology is powered by useful and large-scale data. A big barrier to entry for organizations is large-scale source data that can be used to train models. Cloud-based data services make it easier to collect event and sensor data that can be used in model building to support customer experiences or improve internal business efficiency.  -- Greg Benson, Chief Scientist, SnapLogic

Data Warehousing/ETL-ELT/Analytics

●        ELT design pattern will continue to accelerate as data automation persists. Making data available to those in the business who need it at the time they need it is crucial to enabling the data-driven enterprise. Replicating schema and data from critical business systems into a cloud data warehouse ensures the right data is available at the right time.  -- Mark Gibbs, Senior Director, Product Management, SnapLogic

Low-code/Self-service

●        Low-code will mature to become more “intent-driven.” Today a business/domain owner uses higher level UX tooling to piece together a flow of data between various systems in order to achieve an integrated outcome. This will mature further in 2021 where less of the manual steps are needed to be undertaken by a user, and more of the intent behind the outcome is captured and automated into pipelines.  -- Brad Drysdale, Field CTO, SnapLogic

Post-pandemic Tech Priorities

●        Having weathered the disruption and uncertainty caused by the pandemic, organizations will be constantly on edge. Disruption will be absolutely expected at any point, and businesses will need to ensure they are battle-ready. It won’t be enough anymore to have a 3-5 year digital transformation plan. There will need to be a constant sense of urgency around being ready to adapt, pivot, and defend at a moment’s notice.  -- Brad Drysdale, Field CTO, SnapLogic

●        Businesses will accelerate modernization initiatives that were born out of the pandemic. The pandemic was a tipping point for many companies that were putting off modernization efforts such as moving more operations to the cloud and investing more in automation. Many businesses learned that much of their workforce can work from home and more interactions than ever take place online via services like Slack and Zoom. Taken together, most businesses have turned a corner and won’t look back. Interaction and collaboration at the office will be different due to these forced modernization efforts.  -- Greg Benson, Chief Scientist, SnapLogic

Social Responsibility and the Environment

●        Longer-term social and environmental responsibility will be taken more seriously. Organizations will start to be measured more closely (primarily by their customers and employees) by their social responsibilities and environmental footprint. To date these aspects often were enacted at a minimum to please external observers while focusing primarily on key stakeholders (often shareholders). The key stakeholders will expand to include more than just shareholders and owners, and start to provide more inclusion for community and environmental bodies. Companies will be measured not only by their products and services, but also by the way their growing responsibilities around recycling, reclaiming, carbon emissions, and social engagement.  -- Brad Drysdale, Field CTO, SnapLogic

Remote Working

●        Remote work is here to stay. The pandemic forced large parts of the workforce to work remotely. Many businesses scrambled to accommodate a remote workforce, but once they overcame the initial challenges, they started to see the benefits from both a company and a  social perspective. As an example, reducing the time spent commuting enables employees to have more focused time on the task at hand as well as providing the social benefit to the employee of a more balanced life, not to mention reducing traffic congestion and one's carbon footprint. Companies can save OpEx by reducing their physical footprint needed in centralized office spaces.  -- Mark Gibbs, Senior Director, Product Management, SnapLogic