Trends Identified

2016 campaign hacking

In a survey conducted a few weeks before Trump took the oath of office, most Americans believed that Russia was behind the cyberattacks against Democrats during the 2016 presidential race. Roughly seven-in-ten Americans (72%) who had heard of these allegations said Russia was definitely or probably involved in hacking the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign, while 24% said Russia was probably or definitely not involved.

2017

Key trends shaping technology in 2017

Pew Research Center

Sports' online revolution

In a splintering media landscape, live sports have managed to retain their appointment viewing status. But with the likes of ESPN, BT and Sky now reporting some declines for their sports broadcast audiences, it’s clear that even sports are no longer immune to the ‘cord-cutting’ phenomenon. How serious could this digital disruption be and how should the industry respond?

2018

Trends 18

GlobalWebIndex

Increasing focus on resource efficiancy and climate change

In a global marketplace, "green" may well become the new global language. Worldwide, the pace of legislation and policy initiatives focused on green issues is clearly picking up Between July 2008 and February 2009, for example, 250 climate-change regulations were enacted globally as governments, both emerging and developed, hastened the implementation of policies to support clean technologies (cleantech). Mandatory standards on efficient energy consumption, biofuels, vehicle emissions and eco-labeling are going into effect in greater numbers than in previous years.

2010

Business Redefined - A look at the global trends that are changing the world of business

EY

Recycling

In a context of increasing global awareness over the adverse environmental effects of improper handling of waste, European waste management is becoming increasingly complex due to growing waste generation and number of waste streams needing tailored management routes. It is thus challenging to improve the efficiency of the use of natural resources (e.g. “turn waste into resources” in a circular economy approach) and, ultimately, improve the environmental sustainability of current waste management strategies. Science-based evidence is nonetheless available showing that, from a life cycle perspective, significant environmental benefits can be achieved through higher rates of reuse, recycling and energy recovery. This is reflected also in several EC Directives. However, to identify cost-efficient and environmentally sound recycling options and set up waste-type specific targets for optimal recycling rates, adapting life-cycle based methodologies and applying them in a consistent way across high priority waste stream is required. Equally, it will be required to take into account also the social and economic aspects of waste management in a systematic manner.

2015

Preparing the Commission for future opportunities - Foresight network fiches 2030

European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS)

Measuring and communicating success

In a complex and rapidly changing world, we were interested in understanding which areas CEOs want to better measure and which areas they want to better communicate to the multiple stakeholders who interact with their organisations. We found that the key metrics CEOs would like to improve are the ones traditionally seen as ‘harder’ drivers of business success like innovation and risks, while the areas they want to better communicate are emotional, ‘softer’ issues around values and purpose (see Figure 15). But customers are seeking information about both the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ drivers of business success. Indeed, real-time dashboards created and managed by users themselves are becoming feasible, raising expectations for more fresh and relevant information and ways of viewing it. Ultimately the CEO must deal with matters of the head and the heart, the rational and the emotional. Our research suggests that there is much room to improve on both the assessment and communication of key business areas, including of course, core financial data.

2016

19th Annual global CEO survey

PWC

4D Printing – Shape-Shifting and Dynamic Materials

In 4D printing, invented by MIT Self-Assembly Lab, the material used has dynamic capability and can change function, color, confirmation or properties, when certain qualities are changed, such as chemical, electronics, particulates or nanomaterials. The application of 4D printing will allow a completely new and re-design of currently used materials. Shape-shifting materials could disrupt many industries. The technology is in very early prototyping stage with an evolving intellectual property landscape with over 10 years before this technology becomes mainstream. Shape-shifting materials have already been leveraged in the automotive, aerospace, defense and medical industries. Further examples are transformable tissues that can support cell growth or NASA’s space chain mail, which can flexibly create a shield in space. Challenges are to obtain the exact shape-shifting results as designed and well as modeling the geometries, determining interactions for changing states and calculating the energy.

2018

Trend Report 2018 - Emerging Technology Trends

SAP

Architecture: What constitutes a 'city' will change

In 2035, most of humanity will live in favelas. This will not be entirely wonderful, as many people will live in very poor housing, but it will have its good side. It will mean that cities will consist of series of small units organised, at best, by the people who know what is best for themselves and, at worst, by local crime bosses. Cities will be too big and complex for any single power to understand and manage them. They already are, in fact. The word "city" will lose some of its meaning: it will make less and less sense to describe agglomerations of tens of millions of people as if they were one place, with one identity. If current dreams of urban agriculture come true, the distinction between town and country will blur. Attempts at control won't be abandoned, however, meaning that strange bubbles of luxury will appear, like shopping malls and office parks. To be optimistic, the human genius for inventing social structures will mean that new forms of settlement we can't quite imagine will begin to emerge. All this assumes that environmental catastrophe doesn't drive us into caves. Nor does it describe what will happen in Britain, with a roughly stable population and a planning policy dedicated to preserving the status quo as much as possible. Britain in 25 years' time may look much as it does now, which is not hugely different from 25 years ago.

2011

20 predictions for the next 25 years

The Guardian

Agricultural biofactories

In 2028, synthetic biology will have the potential to produce different kinds of food, including meat and drinks at lower costs than today. By manipulating genes, brand-new foods can be created with new properties or flavours. The bioproduction industry is expected to reach $100 billion by 2020 alone. This technology, which uses glass or plastic vats (bioreactors), and needs only sun or sugar, algae and nutrients, can be located anywhere.

2013

Metascan 3 emerging technologies

Canada, Policy Horizons Canada

Subscribe to the future

In 2019, we’ll see the sharing economy continue to give way to the subscription economy. Subscriptions that provide on-demand products and services will become the norm for a growing number of sectors and products. The subscription model can reframe the brand beyond the category, radically changing the business model and profoundly changing how marketers need to approach the entire product development, distribution, and go-to-market process. Subscription appeals to virtually every consumer, giving them access to highly personalized just-in-time inventory without the need to invest in big-ticket items. Older generations are generally accustomed to subscribing to a relatively small number of product categories—periodicals, cable television, smartphones, apartments, insurance—and those subscriptions tend to be static (you don’t get much flexibility in changing product preferences mid-subscription).

2019

The top trends for brands to watch in 2019

Landor

Enterprise Content Management

In 2019, more documentation will originate digitally, eliminating the need for organizations to “go paperless” in the first place. Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software integrates disparate data from across your organization through the use of electronic forms and automated workflows. By empowering this exchange of data, businesses maximize their return on investment (ROI) and customer acquisition costs (CAC) throughout customer lifecycles.

2018

2019 Tech Forecast: 11 Experts Predict The Next Wave Of Breakout Technologies

Forbes