The 10 biggest things that will happen with the Internet in 2015

With the year winding down, it ’s time to look ahead. We highlighted the top ten tech things we should expect to see explode in 2015:

1. Internet of things

Soon, nearly everything will be internet connected. Tech experts say we’ll see a burst of connectedness in “virtually all areas of the economy,” including home automation, transportation and healthcare.

2. Big data

Big data — a buzzy term that alludes to new tools that help companies analyse massive amounts of data — will continue to mature into a huge market. Companies will continue increasing the utility of data.

3. Wearables

Prepare to see even more fitness gadgets, health monitors, and smart glasses. We’re just getting started

4. Improved internet access

Google and Facebook are both trying to drive faster speeds and more connectivity, in the US and abroad. In 2015 we’ll see advancements with Google’s Project Loon, Google Fiber, and Facebook’s Internet.org.

5. Cloud for enterprise

More and more enterprise companies will start moving parts of their business to the cloud. Right now, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is far-and-away the biggest enterprise provider, but Google and Microsoft will be coming after AWS more aggressively in the coming year.

6. Payments

Even though Apple wasn’t the first company to take a stab at mobile payments, Apple Pay made much more of an initial splash than its predecessors, and the space is expected to ramp up quickly in 2015.

7. Commerce. Amazon versus everyone else

Amazon takes vastly more ecommerce sales than anyone else — an expected $91 billion in sales this year, more than the next dozen largest e-tailers combined. Next year, it will continue to take share, but Google, Alibaba, eBay, and others “will try to help large and small local players fight back”.

8. Programmatic advertising

Programmatic platforms — which automate the ad buying and selling process — are prepped to fundamentally reshape the entire digital advertising landscape. Predictions are we will see improved tech, more platforms, and more media, including video dollars moving to internet players.

9. Ad targeting improving

"The science of search [advertising] has finally come to display,” says Ben Schachter from Macquarie Securities. You’ll start to see video advertisements become much more tailored to your interests.

10. Virtual/Augmented reality

Oculus and Google Glass are the biggest names in virtual reality, but a startup called Magic Leap also entered the scene this fall with a $542 million investment led by Google. The technology “needs a lot of innovation and improvements, but its time is coming,” Schachter says.