Accenture has revealed its forecast for 5 technology trends affecting tomorrow’s digital businesses. The 5 emerging technology trends highlighted in the report look at the key areas that companies are developing.
The Internet of Me
Our highly personalised world: Personalised wearables (62%), connected TV’s (68%), connected cars (59%) and smart objects (64%) are all areas in which companies are using or experimenting with to engage customers. The report states that companies who succeed in the new "Internet of ME" will become the next household names. Companies are creating highly personalised experiences in order to draw and keep customers, however, they must be careful not to violate the customers trust.
Outcome Economy
Hardware producing hard results: Indsutries adaption to facing the Industrial Internet of Things, has resulted in the uncovering of opportunities to embed hardware and sensors in their digital toolboxes and the ability to use highly connected devices to produce more meaningful outcomes. Of those surveyed, 87% acknowledged a greater use of more intelligent hardware, sensors and devices as intelligent hardware seeks to bridge the gap between digital enterprise and the physical world. The "outcome economy" is about selling results, rather than just selling things.
The Platform (R)evolution
Defining ecosystems, redefining industries: Increasingly, platform-based companies are capturing more of the digital economy’s opportunities for growth and profitability. As a result of this, 75% of those surveyed believe that the next generation of platforms will be led by industry players and leaders rather than large tech companies. 74% are using or experimenting with industry platforms to integrate data with digital business partners. The rapid advances in cloud and mobility are opening up platform-based ecosystems as the new plane of competition.
Intelligent Enterprise
Huge data + smarter systems = better business: Software intelligence is helping to make better-informed decisions as a result of big data, advances in processing power, data science and cognitive technology. 80% of respondents believe that tools will take on more human-like intelligence, while 78% believe that software will soon be able to learn and adapt to our changing world and make decisions based on learned experiences. The next generation of software services will come from gains in software intelligence and will result in new levels of evolution and discovery.
Workforce Reimagined
Collaboration at the intersection of humans and machines: The digital push is creating more need for humans and machines to work together more. Already, 57% of those surveyed are adopting technologies that enable business users to complete tasks that previously required IT experts, such as data visualisation. The ability to empower workers through technology is growing, however, this will raise new challenges in managing a collaborative workforce of people and machines. 78% of executives agree that successful businesses will manage employees alongside intelligent machines, with collaboration between the two.
Paul Daugherty, said: "Rather than simply focusing internally, on improving their own operations, successful companies are looking externally to create and become part of digital ecosystems."
"They’re beginning to see the importance of selling not just products and services, but outcomes — and that requires weaving their businesses into the broader digital fabric that extends to customers, partners, employees and industries."
