Whether you’re out there waving the tech banner or a bit more on the skeptical side, there’s no denying that technology companies are dominant in their growth, innovation, and influence on our lives.
The tech industry is fascinating because it’s so deeply involved in almost every area that we touch, eat, rely on, or otherwise use all day, every day. Unlike other industries that are vertically focused, tech is everywhere. With very few exceptions, no matter what interests you the most, tech probably factors in.
“From medical science to green tech, personal investing to consumer goods manufacturing, tech is immersed in something that matters to you. ”
Learning what companies are leveraging developing technology to become more advanced is a great way to be an informed consumer. Let’s dive into eight tech companies involved in widely diverse markets so that you get an overview of the landscape for 2022 and who to watch. Use this info for your own creative inspiration or to dazzle at dinner parties or Zoom happy hours—it’s up to you!
Established Tech Giants
These powerhouses might not be new names to you, but they are sure to surprise you with their consistent innovations. Here’s an overview of what you can expect from them in 2022 and how they’ve gotten to their top spots.
Salesforce – Industry: IT-Software & Services
If you’re not familiar with Salesforce, it might not seem like a very innovative concept at first. They are a company that makes software for customer relationship management. Sounds like a fancy address book, right? Not quite! Salesforce is leveraging leading-edge technology to continue to be a frontrunner in the software as a service (SaaS) industry. Salesforce consistently makes Forbes Most Innovative Companies list, coming out each year with products that help their customers use the latest mobile and smart device technology with their CRM tool.
Picture this – you’re a small business owner with a growing clientele that’s becoming unmanageable to track manually. You know you’re losing out on opportunities by trying to keep contact lists, spreadsheets, reminders, quotes, and other documents independently. Salesforce CRM helps by putting all of these things and more into one place and using automation technology to help you streamline daily tasks. It’s kind of like having an assistant without actually having an assistant. Their solution scales to the enterprise level as well, and this is where they really shine. Large companies with huge sales teams can centralize their data in order to track, measure, and analyze their numbers in a way that would take way more time and money to do manually.
Intuitive – Industry: Medical Science
Intuitive is a robotics company out of California specializing in creating technology used in complex surgeries. Their products aim to create more successful outcomes by making surgeries less invasive for patients. By integrating robotics into surgery, Intuitive’s DaVinci and Ion products allow surgeons to be more precise.
This tech isn’t meant to replace surgeons by any means or the human element, but rather to enhance our ability for precision. Surgeons control the robotics from a console with less contact with the patient, thereby increasing the likelihood of human error. Lowering the risk of mistakes in surgery means better outcomes for patients and surgeons, so it’s a win all around.
Microsoft – Industry: IT-Software & Consumer Electronics
If you haven’t heard of Microsoft, we’re not sure where you might have been living, but it probably isn’t planet Earth. Founded in New Mexico and headquartered in Redmond, Washington, this tech giant remains relevant by innovating in collaboration and consumer electronics.
Microsoft’s Office 365 suite of products is widely used, and more relevant than ever as more and more people work from home. They put the first laptop with a removable screen/tablet on the market with the SurfaceBook, and are a significant competitor in the gaming space with their Xbox console. Microsoft is a pioneer in its products and consistently rated as a top employer. No surprise to find them on this list!
Alphabet – Industry: Literally Anything
You might be more familiar with Alphabet under its former moniker – Google. In 2015, Alphabet was created as a parent company to Google to allow the business to broaden its scope outside of its established search engine and advertising history. Google’s creator, Larry Page, is now the CEO of Alphabet.
Google is now more streamlined in its offerings, with Alphabet owning companies that are less related to Google. A great example of the type of company that Alphabet has in its collection is Wing, a drone delivery service that is being developed. Alphabet also owns a more well-known brand – you’ve probably heard of Nest thermostats and smart home systems? That’s right! Nest is an Alphabet company. So is FitBit. Still the same Google-style innovation, just under a new parent company now with Alphabet.
Tech Startups
You might not have heard of the following four companies yet, but they are sitting in a great position with creative new tech or applications of tech that could take the market by storm in 2022.
Esusu – Industry: Fintech
Esusu is a super cool concept to help lower-income individuals increase their credit scores by reporting their on-time rent payments to credit bureaus. Their service is free of charge to the tenants, and the cost is paid by property management companies that want to provide an incentive to their tenants to pay rent on time each month.
If you’re just getting started building your credit history or are recovering from a bit of a dent in your credit score, initiatives like this can mean the difference between securing a loan for a car or a house in the future or being turned down.
This type of socially conscious tech use is becoming more and more prevalent as developers and business people bring together their smarts for great causes.
Integrated Roadways – Industry: Internet of Things
Integrated Roadway is a great example of how creative we’re getting with our application of technology. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, this startup tech company creates smart roadways. By incorporating sensors into paving materials, they connect the surface of a freeway to your cell phone or smart device to feed you information about traffic, weather conditions, etc.
Innovations like this have far-reaching impacts on city planning and infrastructure projects, with the potential to revolutionize the way we picture a typical commute. How great would it be to have real-time info coming to you that could potentially save you hours each week in time lost sitting stuck in traffic? Gone are the days of burning gas and feeling your blood pressure rise as you lose precious relaxing time to your commute if these forward thinkers have anything to say about it!
xFarm – Industry: Agriculture
As a society, we are becoming more and more aware of the various impacts we have on the earth. Undeniably, one of the main ways people negatively affect the environment is that pesky need we have to eat. Growing, processing and shipping food is tough on our resources and climate, but it’s not always easy to know exactly what that impact is because so many factors are involved.
Enter xFarm, a tech startup aimed at helping the agriculture industry eliminate the mystery behind the food they produce. This solution is not an end-user app but rather a system for farmers to implement to aggregate information about their operations in order to find ways to improve. The system uses sensors and the Internet of Things to provide data to farmers from everything from soil content and moisture to supply chain information. Farming is going high-tech!
Saie – Industry: Beauty & Fashion
The beauty and fashion industries have come under fire for non-sustainable practices and unsafe ingredients in the past several years. The response has been a surge in socially responsible companies like Saie.
Initially started as a clean cosmetics company, the startup has branched out in the past year by creating an online platform for vintage fashion aficionados to sell their curated clothing collections online. The platform connects consumers to sellers, verified by Saie, to reduce the number of new products being created by fast fashion.
As if this burgeoning company needed more endorsement for their great idea, the iconic Gwyneth Paltrow was one of their initial investors. Whether you love her or roll your eyes at Goop, there’s no denying she’s a branding powerhouse.
Did one or more of these innovative companies catch your interest? Set up a news alert with your preferred search engine so that stories featuring your company of choice make it to the top of your feed or into your inbox! It’s a great way to stay informed and ensure you’re not missing any news throughout the year.
Now that you’re armed with the latest and greatest of the tech market, you can be confident that you’re making informed buying choices and supporting companies that resonate with you in 2022.
