Trends Identified

Demand for Customization
Control is shifting away from the manufacturer, giving the consumer a greater say in what, when, and how they receive their goods and services (e.g., customized goods, precision medicine) due to the interaction between Web 2.0 and advanced manufacturing trends.
2017
Beyond the Noise- The Megatrends of Tomorrow’s World
Deloitte
Regional agreements between Europe, the US, and Africa face an uncertain future
Contrary to many fears, the end of the Multi- Fibre Arrangement did not mark the end of trade preferences for Africa. Both the United States and the European Union introduced new preferences in 2001. The future of both preference schemes is uncertain.
2011
Africa in 50 Years’ Time
African Development Bank
Digital engagement - Context + content for marketing . . . and beyond
Content and assets are increasingly digital—with audio, video, and interactive elements—and consumed across multiple channels, including not only mobile, social, and the web, but also in store, on location, or in the field. Whether for customers, employees, or business partners, digital engagement is about creating a consistent, compelling, and contextual way of personalizing, delivering, and sometimes even monetizing the user’s overall experience— especially as core products become augmented or replaced with digital intellectual property.
2014
Tech trends 2014 - Inspiring Disruption
Deloitte
Data Monetization
Consumers increasingly collect, track, barter, or sell their personal data for savings, convenience, or customization; companies increasingly value sources of data direct from the consumer as a way of gaining a competitive advantage (e.g., Facebook, Uber).
2017
Beyond the Noise- The Megatrends of Tomorrow’s World
Deloitte
Digital ethics and privacy
Consumers have an growing awareness of the value of their personal information, and they are increasingly concerned with how it’s being used by public and private entities. Enterprises that don’t pay attention are at risk of consumer backlash. Conversations regarding privacy must be grounded in ethics and trust. The conversation should move from “Are we compliant?” toward “Are we doing the right thing?” Governments are increasingly planning or passing regulations with which companies must be compliant, and consumers are carefully guarding or removing information about themselves. Companies must gain and maintain trust with the customer to succeed, and they must also follow internal values to ensure customers view them as trustworthy.
2018
Gartner Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2019
Gartner
Brands won’t be able to stay neutral.
Consumers and employees increasingly expect companies to take a position on the day’s issues and live their values, says Blackbird CEO Ross Martin. “You’re forced, as a company, as a leader, to stand for something, otherwise everyone will know you stand for nothing,” he warns. “You won’t be hated, you’ll become completely irrelevant, and the people who worked for you, won’t work for you anymore because you didn’t stand up when it mattered.” These expectations will only intensify in 2019, agrees Marianne Cooper, senior research scholar at Stanford and the lead researcher on Lean In. “To prepare, leaders need to get clear on their own and their company’s values, decide which issues make the most sense to weigh in on, and pre-plan how they will respond — or at least establish a process for dealing with situations that need a rapid response.”
2018
50 Big Ideas for 2019: What to watch in the year ahead
LinkedIn
The end of public anonymity
Constant monitoring and surveillance will become increasingly prevalent through the use of nano and biosensors, brain-computer interfaces, and artificial intelligence (AI). Smart devices will routinely know a person’s movements and location to within 10 centimetres, which will make it possible to infer a person’s activity, behaviour, interactions and relationships. This will make it increasingly difficult for individuals to go unnoticed, as AI can identify people from face and gait, and even determine the behaviour pa erns of those without smart devices by looking at those who do. These devices will increasingly be used to identify, authenticate and track the movement of food, goods and materials in value chains. Constant monitoring and surveillance could also enhance public health and environmental and personal security. For example, in emergency situations, sensors, AI and machine-to-machine communication could make it easier to locate people and identify their needs. As privacy becomes a major issue, there may be a need to rethink the balance between public and private interests and liberties.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
Connectivity and platforms
Connectivity and platforms, under which we group digital platforms, the mobile internet, and the cloud .
2019
Tech for good
McKinsey
Rethink: From crisis to cautious optimism
Confident in companies, tentative on recoveries CEOs are emerging from deeper cost-cutting than they expected last year. In last year’s survey, conducted as the financial crisis unfolded late in 2008, 26% of CEOs told us they expected headcount reductions over the next 12 months. A year later, close to half of respondents reported they cut jobs and at least 80% of CEOs in each region initiated cost reductions. In North America and Western Europe, close to a quarter of companies divested a business or exited a significant market. It is clear that few considered simply riding out the recession a viable response. ‘The crisis took us to a new place. It was a reset for our business’, said Angela F. Braly, President and CEO of US health insurer WellPoint Inc. They are now guardedly confident about generating revenue growth in the near term and they are decidedly more confident over a three-year time horizon. Indeed, over that time period, CEOs are about as confident of their revenue prospects as they have ever been in our survey. Of course, this may partly be a reflection of the depths to which demand had sunk.
2010
13th Annual global CEO Survey
PWC
An historic moment: One world united in crisis
Concerns about the prospect of a recession in the US, the UK and some other developed economies mounted, as 2008 marched on. By the time autumn arrived in the northern hemisphere, a deep economic winter seemed imminent. The trigger point came in mid-September, when US investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, felled by nearly US$60 billion in bad debts, and another US investment bank, Merrill Lynch, announced it would be acquired by Bank of America to avoid a similar fate. That evening, the US Federal Reserve asked two other Wall Street investment banks to help inject US$75 billion into insurer American International Group.2 All the major advanced economies were either in, or about to enter, a serious recession. Indeed, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expressed fears that 2009 might be the worst year for the industrialised economies since World War II.3
2009
12th Annual global CEO Survey
PWC