From smartphones to self-driving cars: a timeline of tech innovation
We asked business leaders and tech workers in the UK what the most important invention of the last twenty years is. Here’s what they had to say.
A new white paper from CWJobs maps out the last two decades in the technology industry and explores how tech innovations have created new job roles. The report, which sources insights from over 1,150 tech workers, also anticipates key trends in the industry over the next 20 years.
The most innovative technology of the past 20 years
The last two decades have been highly significant for the tech sector. To think that broadband internet first became widely available almost 20 years ago, technology has come a long way since.
We asked business leaders and technology workers across the UK to consider the most important inventions since the turn of the millennium to better understand our future relationship with technology.
The research revealed that 74% of tech employees consider the smartphone to be the most crucial invention of the past 20 years. Bluetooth technology is named as the most underappreciated invention (36%), closely followed by the USB flash drive (31%).
Technologies that raise the most concerns
Based on our research, we might conclude that tech workers’ concerns are centred around emerging technologies that are linked to privacy and job replacement.
Whilst the majority of tech workers say that social media is the most surprising innovation of the last two decades, they also consider it the invention that they’re most concerned about (74%).
Artificial Intelligence comes a close second at 71%, followed by facial recognition (66%).
How have tech careers changed over the last two decades?
Our survey reveals that the most notable change in tech roles over the last twenty years is diversity. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of business leaders say that tech jobs are much more diverse now, compared to two decades ago.
At CWJobs, we’ve certainly seen an increase in the number of UK businesses hiring for expert tech roles. Between November 2018 and November 2019, over 12,200 DevOps engineer jobs, more than 6,000 data analyst roles and nearly 2,000 cybersecurity analyst roles were advertised on our jobs board. These figures suggest that companies are increasingly looking to futureproof themselves amid the tech industry’s current skills shortage.
Our research also found that three quarters (71%) of technology workers and nearly two thirds (62%) of business leaders say that the average age of people in technology is a lot younger today.
For jobseekers, technology has had a significant impact on helping them find suitable roles. Over half of tech employees (54%) say that technology has helped them find jobs faster, whilst 49% say it has increased the number of roles available. From an employer’s perspective, technology has helped them fill roles quicker (29%) and reduce admin when recruiting (29%).
What does the future hold for the tech industry?
Approximately two-thirds of tech workers (69%) and business decision makers (64%) say that there are more innovative people in technology than ever before.
As we move into the 2020s, business leaders expect inventions such as self-driving cars (34%), delivery drones (30%) and 5G (24%) to have the biggest impact on society in the next 20 years. What was once only conceivable in sci-fi films, is now becoming a reality.
Our survey finds that 42% of business leaders believe that mechanics for self-driving cars will be the most likely technology to emerge in the next 20 years. On the other hand, technology workers believe that those with specialisms in human-technology integration (53%), body-hacking and AI translation (52%) will be of most value in the future.
In terms of future job roles, 35% of business leaders believe that cyber security engineers and analysts will be the most crucial roles over the next 20 years. However, 70% of technology employees believe that roles created around AI will prove more vital as we progress towards 2040
At a glance:
- 74% of tech employees say the smartphone is the most crucial invention of the past 20 years, whereas 36% say Bluetooth technology is the most underappreciated invention, followed by the USB flash drive (31%)
- 74% of tech workers say that social media is the invention that they’re most concerned about, followed by Artificial Intelligence (71%) and facial recognition (66%)
- 62% of business leaders say that tech jobs are much more diverse now, compared to two decades ago
- 54% of tech employees say that technology has helped them find jobs faster, whilst 49% say it has increased the number of roles available
- 69% of tech workers and 64% of business decision makers say that there are more innovative people in technology than ever before
- 34% of business leaders say they expect self-driving cars to have the biggest impact on society in the next 20 years, followed by delivery drones (30%) and 5G (24%)
- 35% of business leaders believe that cyber security engineers and analysts will be the most crucial roles over the next 20 years