What will be the technology trend in 2016? Check out the answers voted by outstanding entrepreneurs

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Technology has made huge leaps forward over the past year, and it shows no signs of slowing down. With so many aspects of our lives improving thanks to technology, I couldn’t help but wonder what major technological changes will happen in 2016?

Here are the top-voted results from a survey of entrepreneurs on their 2016 tech predictions:

1. Every industry will have its own Uber

I predict that many Uber-like brands will emerge in 2016. Uber's concept of time-saving on-demand services can be applied to almost everything: dry cleaning, housekeeping, personal delivery services, etc.

I think next year we will see a lot of things being bought with Uber. As people become more aware of the value of their time, this service will have a boom.

—Jonathan Long, Market Domination Media

2. Customer privacy and data security are of greater concern

In 2015, the important issues of security and privacy began to attract people's attention. Last year, there were some data breaches that exposed important private information, such as the exposure of 21.5 million government employees and the Ashley Madison hack. In 2016, I think more people will have a more direct understanding of how data breaches can affect their privacy and security.

—Nick Reese, BroadbandNow

3. Vertical content explosion

With the growth of Snapchat, vertical content is likely to be the next big thing in 2016. Since current content doesn’t fit into a vertical design, there is a lot of room to redefine entertainment and marketing, thanks to smartphones. It’s not as cool as drones, the Internet of Things, and biotechnology, but it will have a huge impact on the daily lives of ordinary people.

—Nicholas Haase, Loot!

4. Live events promote the development of wearable technology

Sports games, concerts and other events can all work with wearable devices to increase audience engagement. The technology can also collect information about the wearer for sponsors and event venues to retarget their audiences.

——Faithe Parker, Marbaloo Marketing

5. Web tools and API integration will become mainstream

Everything is connected. As a web-based software developer, we are often asked to integrate different types of systems together, such as storage systems, customer management systems, and accounting systems. The most effective way to do this is to use APIs, and we have developed APIs for some small companies. I predict that 2016 will be the year when APIs for integration and web tool development will become mainstream.

——Duran Inci, Optimum7

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6. Small companies can also use big data

Until now, only large companies that could afford it have access to big data. Now, with the likes of InsightSquared, SiSense, and Salesforce's Wave Analytics, big data tools are becoming more affordable, with monthly subscription prices not too outrageous. Soon, small companies around the world will be able to see the power of these business intelligence tools firsthand.

—David Ciccarelli, Voices.com

7. Tolerance for intellectual property infringement will decrease

Digital piracy has changed many industries. Intellectual property infringement has become increasingly intolerable, and as more stakeholders unite to defend their bottom line, the last pillar supporting piracy is about to fall. Pay TV companies and network service providers will reach cooperation, and users who violate relevant terms may be prosecuted.

——Cody McLain, SupportNinja

8. Web page personalization technology will become more mainstream

Tools like Optimizely Personalization will allow website owners to build personalized visit sections based on visitor traffic sources and behaviors and display more relevant content. However, this over-segmentation will also cause many common problems.

—Chris Goward, WiderFunnel

9. Social networking sites will have a "buy" button

No doubt you’ll soon see “Buy” next to “Like” and “Share” on Twitter, Facebook, etc. The ability to buy what you want with just one click is sure to be popular.

——George Morris, The FRAMEWORK

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10. Uber delivers packages

Amazon is likely to buy a gas station company or partner with Uber or Lyft to have private car drivers deliver packages. This will optimize the delivery process and eliminate the need for expensive couriers such as UPS and FedEx.

—Brian David Crane, Caller Smart Inc.

11. Interactive content will rise

In Content Marketing Comes of Age, Gartner says: "Content marketing has given way to a more practical, results-oriented perspective." This includes adding more interactive elements to content. I predict that interactive content will become the new investment hotspot in 2016, while traditional marketing content will become less and less important.

—Simon Berg, Ceros

12. Paid products need to be clearly indicated

Advertising is starting to get more attention, and the FTC will be stricter about requiring websites to clearly indicate which content is paid for, including all affiliates, streaming video, sponsored content, and influencer marketing. Media sites can no longer disguise paid content as free content.

——Fan Bi, Blank Label

13. Graph databases are gaining popularity

Information technology experts collect a lot of data to build a data platform, but after it is built, it is put aside and rarely used. Graph analysis is one of the most suitable methods for processing large data sets, which makes graph database the most popular technology in big data in 2016. Some people predict that by 2017, 25% of companies will use graph databases.

—Eric Mathews, Start Co.

14. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI)

AI will dominate the tech world in 2016. There will be a lot of interesting developments in AI, especially now that Google has open-sourced its AI engine. With this access, smart people in many fields will realize how they can use AI to completely change the way companies learn, operate, and adapt to better serve their customers.

—Brock Stechman, divvyHQ