Seven Tech Trends to Watch in Silicon Hills in 2015

By LAURA LOREK
Reporter with Silicon Hills News

The central Texas region is thriving and technology is driving a lot of that growth. This is a list of seven tech trends to watch in 2015 particularly tailored to the Austin and San Antonio area.

3D Printing – The roots of this industry can be traced, in part, to innovators at the University of Texas at Austin. And it’s growing by leaps and bounds every year. Austin-based startup MakeXYZ.com aggregates 3-D printers worldwide, with the goal of being the Kinko’s of 3D Print shops. Other companies include Structured Polymers, re:3D and Zebra Imaging.

Wearables – The Austin-based portal Wearables.com aggregates information and keeps tabs on this emerging industry. Atlas Wearables, a Techstars company based in Austin, also sells a wearable fitness device. And Wisewear in San Antonio is developing one. At the University of Texas at Austin, Nanshu Lu, an assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the Cockrell School of Engineering has created a patch or electronic tattoo that monitors all kinds of information from heart rate, muscle movement to dehydration. Wearables are here to stay and will become an increasingly integrated part of our daily life.

1G High-Speed Fiber Internet – Google is rolling out high-speed Internet in Austin. AT&T, Time Warner and Grande also have competing high-speed Internet services. And Google is considering San Antonio for the next wave of rollouts of its 1G Internet speeds. Imagine the possibilities if this entire region get high-speed Internet. It will spawn startups galore with innovative business models that push the limits of what’s possible on the Internet.

Cloud Computing – Rackspace and Dell are both investing a lot of money in data centers and cloud services. John Engates, chief technology officer of Rackspace, provides this blog post on trends in cloud computing for the coming year. They include big data, sensors; cybersecurity needs all driving the demand for cloud storage.

Life Sciences Startups – The Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin is expected to spur growth in biotechnology, medical device and drug development startups in Austin. The life sciences industry with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is already the largest industry in San Antonio with an overall economic impact of $29 billion. With the two cities working together, the central Texas region stands to become a powerhouse in the life sciences industry.

Big Data – With more and more devices connected to the Internet and to our homes, cars and bodies, the amount of data being generated is going to continue to grow and grow. The smart startups that can make sense of all that data already stored and the new stuff will find a huge market in providing data analysis, dashboards and analytics marketed to companies and individuals.

Cybersecurity – Big security breaches this year at Target and Sony have created greater awareness for the need to secure all the information stored in the cloud, on the Internet and at point of sale retailers. Luckily, Cybersecurity is a strong point in this region. San Antonio has one of the largest concentrations of security experts outside of the Washington, D.C. area. And startups like Infocyte in San Antonio are helping companies identify security breaches and protect all their information.