How to keep up with emerging technologies at work
If you’re in the IT profession right now, you will know that technology is constantly evolving and it’s important to learn about these new technologies to stay relevant, especially if your company is prone to innovation and transformation.
The ever-changing landscapes can make it quite a challenge in keeping up with the latest technology. It can therefore be quite daunting when your company decides to implement new technology that you’re not familiar with. While it may seem easier to continue doing what you’re good at, it will benefit you to stay relevant by continuously upskilling and learning about new tech, whether it’s for your company or to make that next career step.
Here are some of our key tips on how to keep up and learn about the latest in technology.
Follow tech news and influencers
Collect a few of your favourite tech news sources online and bookmark them. If they have an email subscription, sign up and you can receive regular news articles delivered straight to your inbox.
In addition, online forums are also a great way to engage with people and learn about emerging tech from different perspectives. It can provide a great source of valuable information that you may not be able to get from reading articles.
Similar to forums, social media such as LinkedIn can provide a wealth of information on a regular basis. Follow tech figures who are progressive and innovative and often share opinions, articles or news about the technology they’ve had experience with. If you’re unsure of who to follow, a great idea is to search hashtags of topics you want to follow, and content specific to your topics will show up in your feed, allowing you to find the right people to follow.
Talk to people in your business, and other people in similar industries to you
A great way to learn about new things is through discussion. Don’t be afraid to ask others who are pros or very familiar with a certain tech product or concept. People who are very knowledgeable about a certain area will be more than happy to share their insights with you. In contrast, you can also create discussion/focus groups and go through the learning process together with your team.
To go one step further you can assign your team members research roles and catch up fortnightly to discuss the different segments of tech that each person had to research. This is a great way to get others involved and share ideas without being overwhelmed by doing all the research on your own.
Take training courses
Narrow down what you want to learn and look for training courses to get to know the ins and outs of a product or concept. Many courses are available online and the internet has a huge library of resources from free taster sessions to Youtube videos to paid accredited courses. If you want to upskill, getting a certification to add to your resume is a bonus and expresses your adaptability and expertise.
Join webinars or virtual events
If you don’t have the time to take courses, you can learn a lot just by joining webinars or tech events. Most of them are free or at a very small cost. If you’re not sure where to start, the tech giants such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon (AWS) all have regular live and on-demand webinars for you to choose from.
All the above points can be easily integrated into your routine and soon you will be talking about technology without even realising how ahead of the game you are.
How do you keep up with the latest technology trends? Let us know and we will feature your answer!