Gartner Identifies Autonomous Agents as Top Technology Trend to Watch for in 2016

Can you believe it is almost the end of the year? With the holidays fast approaching, the rest of 2015 is going to fly by. In fact, leading analysts have already started making predictions for 2016 top trends. Recently, Gartner went into detail about top technology trends at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2015 in Orlando. Check out what tech trends they think you should look out for in 2016 on the infographic below: 

Gartner, Smarter with Gartner, Top 10 Technology Trends Signal the Digital Mesh, October 7, 2015

http://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/top-ten-technology-trends-signal-the-digital-mesh/

We are excited (but not surprised) to see 'autonomous agents and things' as a top trend in the coming year according to Gartner. Virtual Personal Assistants (and Virtual Customer Assistants) have made major strides within the past couple years, and more companies are beginning to see the benefits of investing into this technology. Not just any static Artificial Intelligence (AI) will cut it though; consumers are demanding sophisticated, intelligent agents that can handle tasks seamlessly. "Over the next five years we will evolve to a postapp world with intelligent agents delivering dynamic and contextual actions and interfaces," said Mr. Cearley. "IT leaders should explore how they can use autonomous things and agents to augment human activity and free people for work that only people can do. However, they must recognize that smart agents and things are a long-term phenomenon that will continually evolve and expand their uses for the next 20 years." (Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2016)

What is your opinion on autonomous agents and things? Thoughts about any of the other predicted trends for 2016? Let us know in the comments below. 
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