As 2014 draws to a close, it's time to examine the tech industry's trajectory and predict which trends will explode in the upcoming year.
Experts from market research firm Gartner, the IEEE Computer Society, MIT, and other sources have named the tech trends they thought were super hot for businesses in 2014 or are going to become hot in 2015.
We've sifted through that information, and have thrown in a few of our own picks to come up with this list of the nine technologies companies will go nuts for in 2015.
No. 9: 3D printing
Breakthroughs in 3D printing are coming in 2015, which will make this form of manufacturing attractive to nearly any business.
One such technology is something known "micro-scale 3D printing," according to MIT.
This is where "inks" of different materials can be loaded into 3D printers, allowing them to print a huge range of objects.
No. 8: Wearables at work
In 2015, wearable computers will start to trickle into the workplace.
Smartwatches will keep employees plugged in without constantly looking at their phones.
Health wrist devices will encourage employees to participate in group wellness programs.
Companies will also start experimenting with smart glasses with custom apps such as repair guides, video conferencing, training videos, and the like.
HR software company Kronos and The Workforce Institute recently polled 9,000 people worldwide and found that 73% said they think wearables would be helpful at work.
No. 7: Ultra-private devices
Computer security is entering a new phase. Passwords won't exactly die in 2015, but our devices will become more secure and private. More devices, including and beyond smartphones, will get fingerprint sensors.
(A company called Nok Nok, for instance, offers technology that turns touchscreens and touch pads into a finger print sensor.)
While hackers aren't going away, your work software will be wrapped in layers of security. So when a hacker breaks into one app, other apps will know it and guard themselves. The hacker will get limited info and won't get the data stored in other apps.
"Every app needs to be self-aware and self-protecting,"Gartner says.
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