A few months ago, I found myself wondering whether the technology industry is genuinely changing faster than it used to, or whether I am simply paying more attention.
Rather than relying on memory, I decided to look at the data.
Using Google Trends, I examined worldwide search interest between 2010 and 2025 across a range of technology, data, architecture and governance topics that have shaped much of my career.
The results were fascinating.
Some topics, such as SQL, ETL, Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence, have followed relatively stable trajectories. These technologies have matured and become part of the fabric of modern organisations. They may not generate headlines, but they continue to underpin many of the systems we rely on every day.
Other topics have experienced periods of enthusiasm before settling into more modest levels of interest. GDPR is a good example. Search activity peaked around 2018, coinciding with its introduction and enforcement, before declining as organisations moved from implementation projects into business-as-usual operations.
What surprised me most, however, was the persistence of topics such as Data Quality, Data Governance, Master Data Management and Data Vault.
These are not new concepts. In fact, many have been discussed for decades. Yet they continue to attract significant interest year after year. This raises an interesting question. Why are we still searching for them?
I suspect that these disciplines represent problems that organisations have never fully solved. We continue to invest in them because the promise is compelling: trusted data, consistent definitions, improved decision-making and better operational outcomes. Yet integrating these capabilities into day-to-day business processes remains challenging.
And then there is AI.
Looking across the entire dataset, nothing comes close to the growth trajectory of Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI and Large Language Models. The rise is not merely significant; it is unprecedented.
Unlike many previous technology trends, AI has rapidly moved beyond specialist circles and into mainstream awareness. Executives, developers, analysts, marketers, students and consumers are all participating in the conversation.
The scale and speed of adoption suggest that something fundamentally different may be occurring.
Whether AI ultimately fulfils its promise remains to be seen. Technology history is full of innovations that generated enormous excitement before settling into a more modest role within the enterprise landscape.
What is clear, however, is that we are witnessing a level of interest unlike anything seen in the previous fifteen years. Perhaps the most interesting insight from this exercise is that search trends tell us more than what technologies are popular. They reveal what challenges organisations are trying to solve.
Some searches represent curiosity. Others represent opportunity. Many represent problems that have remained stubbornly unsolved despite years of investment and effort.
The next decade will undoubtedly introduce new terms, new technologies and new methodologies.
The question is not simply what we will be searching for next.
The more interesting question may be why.