10 Top Tech Trends to Watch in 2018

By Trey Thoelcke Updated Jan 12, 5:46AM EST · Published Dec 5, 7:35AM EST

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10 Top Tech Trends to Watch in 2018 — © Thinkstock

Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR), which was one of the companies that Credit Suisse recently said would benefit handily from tax reform, has shared what it expects will be the top trends for the technology industry for 2018. Specifically it has a list of 10 predictions for the coming year.

Not surprisingly, tech and internet giants figure prominently on the list. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) are expected not only to be key players in streaming sporting events next year, but also to be leaders in driving growth in the social payments space.

Juniper’s predictions for 2018 are as follows:

Amazon and Facebook Lead OTT Bids for Major Sporting Rights

Apple, Facebook, Google Bring Social Payments to the Masses

AI and Blockchain to Power Numerous Fintech & Insurance Solutions

Edge Computing to Fast Track the IoT

Facial Recognition Applications Surge

The Rise of Robo-advisors & App-based Investments

Machine Learning Coming to Verify Your Identity

Chinese Cards and Wallets Achieve Scale in Western Markets

Smart Toys Educating the Masses

Wireless Charging Market Moves Up a Gear

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Juniper believes that Amazon ultimately will be the biggest over-the-top player in sports events:

Not only would it gain revenues from new Amazon Prime customers joining mainly for the football, but additionally revenues derived from retail sales by those customers via the Prime channel. This significantly reduces the number of new customers it would require to cover the costs of a rights package.

Amazon, which was also on Credit Suisse’s list of the top tax reform winners, has already made forays into the sports arena. It streams the NFL games at no charge for members of its Amazon Prime service, though the service initially had only meager success compared with broadcast television. Still, this may be only the first few plays in a long game.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.