At Backelite, tech is not just the platform for creating a digital service. Rather, it’s the medium for companies to communicate with their users while delivering an exceptional user experience. How will 3D printing, virtual reality and Artificial Intelligence (AI) impact tech and user experiences? Read on for our top 9 trends to watch out for this year.

1. THE TOP 9 TECH TRENDS IN 2016

2. BUT FIRST, WHO ARE WE?
Paul-Anatole Claudot
Co-Head of
Innovation
Philippe Bernery
Co-Head of
Innovation
Gilles Grousset
Development
Team Manager
Jérôme Morissard
Lead Tech iOS

3. 3D PRINTING
FOR EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE

4. 3D PRINTING GETS MORE ACCESSIBLE
Affordable printers aren’t just for
manufacturers anymore
In 2016, 3D printers will become more reliable, more
affordable and easier to use.
Makerbot (US) and Ultimaker (NL) are still the most
popular mainstream 3D printer manufacturers.
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5. MOVING TOWARDS NEW PRODUCTION METHODS
3D printing is gaining ground in industry too.
At the prototyping stage, it helps reduce costs whilst speeding up production.
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In 2015, the Chinese company WinSun produced 10
houses in less than 24 hours
Local Motors has been printing entire cars in 3D.
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6. DOCKER
MOVING TOWARDS CONTINUOUS DELIVERY

7. ONE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE WHOLE PRODUCTION CHAIN
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In 2016, Docker software will continue gaining
traction in the market. Its container-based
system means that server application
production environments are able to mirror
perfectly those of the development machines.
With numerous tools dedicated to
implementing it, it has become the
cornerstone of Continuous Delivery, fully
automating anything from application delivery
to production environments.
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8. NEW CLOUD STANDARDS
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Not long after its release in 2013, Docker already gained support from major cloud players.
In 2016, this trend will continue to accelerate with the arrival of new services dedicated to it, in
particular from specialist Docker suppliers.
MARCH 4 2016

9. IOT
MORE AUTONOMOUS, MORE DIVERSE

10. IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT WEARABLES...
We’ve already seen connected watches
and wearables, but soon we’ll be seeing
different types of connected objects.
In 2016, smart appliances will continue to become
more accessible, in particular among products from
huge electrical specialists such as Legrand.
The number of connected home appliances will also
increase: robot vacuum cleaners, smart cookers, fridge-
freezers...
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11. M2M (MACHINE TO MACHINE) COMMUNICATION
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With so many connected devices, M2M, the communication between devices, is developing fast and
will bring about an improved user experience.
In France, the company Sigfox, as well as a number of telephone companies have started to provide
cell networks dedicated to this new type of communication.
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12. M-CRM
STAY ON TOP OF YOUR APPS WITH MOBILE CRM.

13. M-CRM IS AT THE HEART OF MOBILE APPLICATIONS
Its one aim: to better understand users in order to offer them the most relevant content.
Gone are the days of tagging to collect app data. In 2016, we’ll be fully segmenting users in order to
drive individual user-level personalisation
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m-CRM Functionality
1. Push notifications
2. InApp messages
3. Retargeting
4. Geofencing
5. Enrollment
6. AB Testing
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14. ANGULAR JS 2
ANGULAR JS IS DEAD, LONG LIVE ANGULAR JS 2!

15. TYPESCRIPT: JAVASCRIPT 2.0
Typescript is an open source language developed by Microsoft. It is built on JavaScript and adds
additional features such as Object Oriented Programming!
Compiling TypeScript doesn’t add any additional JavaScript library dependencies, meaning that the
two languages are highly compatible. Unlike other languages like Dart, TypeScript doesn’t try to
compete with JavaScript; rather it seeks to extend its capabilities.
It also respects ECMAScript 6 (sometimes known as ECMAScript 2015), which means the language’s
syntax will stay solid over time, since JavaScript, now working under ECMAScript 5.1, is the one which
is actually getting closer to TypeScript, rather than the other way around.
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16. ANGULAR JS 2
Expected towards the end of 2015, Angular 2 was
released earlier this year.
Angular 2 supports TypeScript out of the box, and also add the following:
- Component-based approach
- Simplification of directives
- Dependency injection
- Use of Generics (TypeScript)
- Performance enhancements
- Effortless updating from Angular 1
- Animation, Accessibility, Browser support...
These features will make Angular 2 2016 the preferred Front Office
development framework.
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17. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)
WORKING TOWARDS INTELLIGENT INTERFACES

18. AUTOMATED AND INTELLIGENT HUMAN-
MACHINE INTERACTION
In 2016, interfaces have been simplified and made
practically invisible, to achieve simple interactions
using natural language, made possible thanks to the
possibility of the more prevalent application of
semantic analyses.
These days, Siri, Google Now and Cortana aren’t the
only personal assistants; Magic and Jam are providing
inspiration to others, and new services are popping up
all the time.
Help for end users has become more intelligent and
contextual.
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19. MACHINE LEARNING HELPS USERS
Apps are more proactive than ever, and suggest
relevant actions to users according to previous
behaviour and the context of what they are doing.
Since the code was opened up in 2015, solutions from
the big hitters, like Google’s TensorFlow, Facebook’s
FAIR and open research initiatives such as OpenAI by
Elon Musk (Tesla) have made it possible for others to
build new services which leverage AI in 2016.
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20. FINTECH
BANKING IS SEEING HUGE CHANGES

21. NEW, MOBILE-FIRST BANKS
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In 2016, a new type of bank has opened its doors to the public, banks which prioritize the one
channel that more and more customers are using as their first point of contact with them: mobile.
Number26 and Mondo continue to grow, and are challenging traditional banking practices. Orange
has now also ventured into banking.
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22. BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY UNDERPINS
TRANSACTIONS
Used primarily by non-official, virtual currencies (such
as Bitcoin), blockchain is a technology which secures
and decentralises banking transactions.
Blockchain will become more readily used in 2016, with
traditional banks starting to integrate it as well as new
ventures, attracted by the lower transaction costs.
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23. SWIFT
IT’S EVERYWHERE

24. SAFE, FAST, EXPRESSIVE
Safe: the code written is cleaner, with types easier
to keep on top of and pre-compilation checks to
help ensure code runs better. We’re therefore more
confident about the code produced.
Fast: it’s a functional language which describes
behavior.
Expressive: the syntax is a mix of the best parts of a
number of languages.
Try it out and you’ll end up loving it.
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25. SWIFT MAY BE YOUNG, BUT ITS HISTORY IS ALREADY A
LONG ONE
July 2010: Chris Lattner started working on a new programming
language
September 2014: version 1.0 released
June 2015: version 2.0 released
December 2015: Swift is turned open source and its roadmap for
version 3.0 is opened up to collaboration
Opening it up turns it into one of the most popular languages on
GitHub, and it’s adapted for Android (SwiftAndroid), and even for
server development (Perfect).
Swift has become a universal language, and it’s definitely the one
to learn in 2016.
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26. VIRTUAL REALITY
AN OPEN DOOR TO NEW SENSATIONS

27. SO MANY DEVELOPMENTS
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Google, Jump and Cardboard
Samsung, GalaxyVR
Facebook, OculusVR
Playstation and PlaystationVR
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28. NEW EXPERIENCES
Virtual reality hits the mainstream, with current levels of
technology and drop in price making it more accessible. The
initial Oculus Rift was launched in 2012 and has
demonstrated its maturity.
VR technologies came about through the world of video
games to make gameplay more immersive for players. Now,
they’re used in numerous other areas, including cinema (in
360°), medicine (for simulation and support in complex
operations), and with the sick or elderly (where there is a
desire to travel or experience new sensations that are
physically difficult or impossible for this demographic).
Since the end of 2015, VR can be now tested with just a
phone, so 2016 is definitely the year of VR.
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29. philippe.bernery@backelite.com
tel : +33 1 73 00 28 27
www.backelite.com
CONTACT US
Philippe BERNERY
Head of Innovation
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CURIOUS ABOUT HOW YOU CAN INTEGRATE SOME OF
THESE TRENDS IN YOUR 2016 STRATEGY?