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Your weekly briefing on market status, tech news and developing trends.

Monday, 28 December 2020

Gooood Monday.

It’s the last Big Pic issue of the year and we decided to switch things up a little. 

This time, instead of a weekly news roundup, we’re taking 2020 apart to find three trends that defined it, techwise. 

We even managed not to mention the words ‘COVID’ and ‘pandemic’ even once, yay!

We'll be back with our regular format next Monday. Until then – take a look at our picks and... have a great 2021!

2020 IN TECH

BRINGING BIG TECH DOWN TO SIZE

We can’t really count just how many times we wrote “Big Tech” and “antitrust” in one sentence this year, but it’s been a lot. 2020 was a year of anti-monopoly policies and lawsuits, the biggest of which came in December when US state prosecutors sued Facebook and Google over illegal monopolistic practises.

The push for regulations from governments and consumers has just begun, but now that big companies have been called out on their shenanigans looks like some major changes are on their way. 2020 will be remembered as the year Big Tech got the antitrust target on its back.

Dig deeper:

• Why Is Google Being Sued? 'Search Monopoly' Antitrust Lawsuit Explained by Kyle Encina, Screen Rant
• Facebook must be broken up, the US government says in a groundbreaking lawsuit by Brian Fung, CNN Business
• Congress releases blockbuster tech antitrust report by Adi Robertson and Russell Brandom, The Verge

NO-CODE IS GETTING TRACTION

No-code movement is not a new idea, but it’s been growing stronger in 2020. No-code and low-code tools allowed remote employees to automate a good deal of their daily tasks. They also got in the spotlight of big companies: Microsoft expanded on their Power Apps suite, Google acquired AppSheet, and Amazon released a no-code app builder called Honeycode.

The no-code trend will surely continue to solidify across different sectors. Gartner forecasts that by 2024 low-code platforms will be responsible for more than 65 percent of all app dev activity.

Dig deeper:

• Is Low-Code No-Code the Future of Software Development? by Mitul Makadia, Business 2 Community
  
• What is no-code AI and why should you care?
  by Anshul Pandey, Tech Radar
• The No-Code Movement Means Anyone Can Be a Tech Founder by Liz Brody, Entrepreneur

THE ZOOM BOOM

With millions working from home, this has been a year of videoconferencing. Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams have become an integral part of our professional and personal lives.

And it looks like video calls are here to stay. “Firms that were once reluctant to let their employees work remotely, or worried about potential security issues from using cloud-based services, have now been forced to do so and learned that it's not as bad as they imagined,” says Michael Inouye, Video & OTT Principal Analyst at global tech market advisory ABI Research in his talk with CNN Business.

Dig deeper:

• Sorry, but video meetings are here to stay by Rishi Iyengar, CNN Business
• Slack Missed Out on the Pandemic’s Zoom Boom, Leaving It Vulnerable by Aaron Tilley, The Wall Street Journal
• 'Yes, people have Zoom fatigue but it's not our fault' by Will Smale, BBC News
  

NEWS

Bitcoin's market cap could hit $1 trillion in 2021 as its growing reserve currency status drives adoption higher / Markets Insider

Trump signs legislation that could delist Chinese stocks over auditing rules / S&P Global

Apple's market value grows by $102 billion after report says the company aims to produce electric cars by 2024 / Markets Insider

CD Projekt faces class action lawsuit over ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ disaster / Forbes

Zoom may launch an email service and calendar app to compete with Google and Microsoft / The Verge

FINANCIAL MARKETS

CLOSING PRICES ON 25 DEC, LAST WEEK % CHANGE

TECH INSIGHTS

REPORT

Finder's 2021 Bitcoin Predictions Report by Finder

With Bitcoin prices reaching all-time highs over the past month, the question on everyone’s lips is how long the rally will last and if there’s room for prices to climb higher. This report shares the views of 47 experts who were questioned about the future of Bitcoin

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

READ

2020: A Year That Changed Everything by McKinsey

The COVID-19 outbreak is one of many events that have made 2020 a year like no other. As 2020 comes to a close, let’s take a look at some of the year’s milestones and find out what people are looking forward to in 2021.

LISTEN

Predictions 2021: What IT Leaders Can Expect in the Year Ahead by Forrester

Brian Hopkins and Matt Guarini, Vice Presidents of Forrester, review top CIO predictions for 2021, adding their own insights and real-world examples. The difference between thriving and failure for many firms will be the ability to apply technology to adapt to new changes.

WATCH 

Solving Problems by Starting with the Worst Idea Possible by Harvard Business Interview

Time to innovate a little. Think of a challenge you’re facing at work. Now, what is the worst possible solution you can dream up? What is a truly terrible way to address this? Sometimes wrong thinking can lead to the right answer. Explore the concept of wrong thinking on purpose by Ayse Birsel.

APPS & TOOLS WE LOVED

NO CODE

V.One: build an app easily with no code. Just drag, drop, and customize.
 
+2,284 upvotes, #1 Product of the Week on Product Hunt

MEETINGS

Topia: a spatial media platform that combines playful world-building with encrypted video chat. Create a unique world for your meetings in minutes.
 
+1,032 upvotes, #3 Product of the Day on Product Hunt

PRIVACY

Ethi: learn what big tech knows about you and delete it. Available for Facebook - Google, Instagram, and others coming soon.

+853 upvotes, #2 Product of the Day on Product Hunt

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Twitter: @JonErlichman