20 years of itecopeople

Here at itecopeople in 2020, we are celebrating our 20th anniversary. We are proud that we have been providing our recruitment services to the market place, and during the past 20 years, we have placed 1000’s of candidates into new permanent and contract roles.

During 2020, to mark this achievement, we are going to be doing several things to recognise this achievement, including a series of blogs looking back over the past 20 years and looking forward to the future.

In our first blog, we look at some of the new technology that came to the fore during these past 20 years.

You may not love everything that’s happened over the past 20 years, but one thing’s for sure, technology has evolved and is an integral part of our everyday lives.

Here are just a few applications and tech innovations that have come about since we launched our IT Recruitment business in 2000:

Connectivity Bluetooth

Officially unveiled in 1999, it was only in the early 2000s that manufacturers began to adopt Bluetooth for use in computers and mobile phones. Today, Bluetooth is an absolute essential for the myriad of devices we use and has become taken for granted as an integral part of many people’s day-to-day lives.

Skype / Video Calls.

Launched in August 2003, Skype transformed the way that people communicate across borders. Before Skype, calling friends or family abroad cost lots of money. Today, speaking to people on the other side of the world, or even video calling with them, is practically free and makes everyone accessible.   From a business perspective holding virtual meetings is a useful alternative to travelling to meetings saving the carbon that would have been emitted. Sustainable and efficient.

Mobile working Smartphones

In June 2007, Apple released the iPhone. Not the first smart mobile device; however many other companies took inspiration from the iPhone, and as a consequence, today, smartphones are an integral part of day-to-day life for billions of people around the world. Today, we take pictures, navigate ourselves, order food, play games,  message friends, listen to music, monitor our health, work and watch films, all on our smartphones. Oh, and you can also still use them to call people, by video call too!

Phone cameras

The introduction of the camera phone in 2000 enabled us to take high definition images on our smartphone, making everyone a photographer. Innovations in phone camera technology, applications and digital photography have revolutionised the way we take and store images.

Google Maps

Google launched its mapping service in February 2005 changing the way that many people travel.  With the app available on virtually all smartphones, Google Maps has made getting lost almost an impossibility! It’s easy to forget that just two decades ago, most road trips involved extensive route planning and certainly all drivers had a map book to hand in their car.

YouTube

YouTube is arguably the world’s most popular video-sharing website. In May 2005, the first video was uploaded, and now billions of pieces of content can be streamed on YouTube for free.

Smart Watches

Wearable technology with data tracking devices like a FitBit or the Apple Watch has allowed people to help improve their wellbeing by monitoring their health quickly. From the number of calories burned to hours slept, a  smartwatch keeps your wellbeing at your fingertips.

e-books the Amazon Kindle

E-books give us access to digital books and provide an easy way to read while travelling, saving on packing lots of books for that holiday. No baggage weight limit is taken up by books to spoil a holiday read.

Facebook

Launched in 2004 from his Harvard dorm room, Mark Zuckerberg created what would become the world’s largest social media network, Facebook (formerly called “The Facebook.”). As of Q3 2019, Facebook now has 2.45 billion active monthly users.

So, what will the next 20 years bring in the world of technology? How will 5G evolve and enhance our lives? How will Natural Language, Machine Learning impact us. Will voice assistant technology and AI become more pervasive for both our on home and work lives? How do you feel about a cashless society, or staying in a hotel where there are only automated staff?

We’d love to hear your predictions, views and ideas; please feel free to share them with us.

Simon Dunscombe

simon@itecopeople.co.uk