Trends Identified
Contested Space
With satellites now central to the smooth functioning of civil and military technologies, the amount of commercial and government activity in space has been increasing. This is a legally ambiguous realm, creating the potential for confusion, accident and even wilful disruption. Space debris is proliferating too—half a million pieces are now moving at the speed of a bullet in low orbit. Even accidental debris collisions could cause significant disruption to internet connectivity and all that relies on it. But at a time of intensifying geopolitical competition, space could also become an arena for active conflict. Even defensive moves to protect critical space assets might trigger a destabilizing arms race. Precision weapons and military earlywarning systems rely on high-orbit satellites—militarizing space might be seen as necessary to deter a crippling attack on them. In the future, as space becomes more affordably accessible, new threats of space-based terrorism could emerge. New rules or updated protocols would provide greater clarity— particularly on the rapid expansion of commercial activity, but also on military activity. Even simple measures could help—such as ensuring transparency on debrisremoval activities to prevent the misinterpretation of intentions. At a time of fraying global cooperation, space might be an area where multilateral advances could be signed up to by all.
2019
The Global Risks Report 2019 14th Edition
World Economic Forum (WEF)
The rise of the global middle class
With regard to global and regional income distribution and associated societal developments, our research identified six major trends. First decreasing inequality between countries, second the rise of a new global middle class. Third, European and North American share of the global middle class fall significantly over the coming decades. Fourth, in addition, there is evidence that the middle class in these regions is on the decline. Fifth, the relation between inequality and the future strength and composition of the global middle class. Sixth, global middle-class growth will engender the flourishing of democratic and ‘self-expression’ values.
2013
Europe's Societal Challenges: An analysis of global societal trends to 2030 and their impact on the EU
RAND Corporation
Real Estate As A Service
With real estate at 14% of U.S. gross domestic product, there will be lots of capital raised for things like on-demand self-storage, coworking, and coliving concepts, Wallace believes.
2018
The Most Important Tech Trends Of 2018, According To Top VCs
Fast Company
Horizontal and vertical system integration
With Industry 4.0, companies, departments, functions, and capabilities will become much more cohesive, as cross-company, universal data-integration networks evolve and enable truly automated value chains.
2015
Nine Technologies Transforming Industrial Production
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Health reimagined
With growing health needs, is digital the best medicine? There is much to gain from disrupting health care. Aging (see Engaged aging) populations and increasingly sedentary lifestyles have put costs on an unsustainable trajectory. Advances that improve health outcomes and care delivery will generate tremendous benefits, not just for patients, but also for governments and businesses. This is the promise of health reimagined* — the move to an entirely different health paradigm that is predictive, personalized, proactive and participatory. The ubiquity of data and analytics means every company is now a tech company. In the future, companies from every sector will develop products, and increasingly, algorithms to improve individuals’ health. Mobile and other empowering technologies are helping drive this shift, transforming patients into super consumers who demand greater control of their health through new products and services.
2018
What’s after what’s next? The upside of disruption Megatrends shaping 2018 and beyond
EY
Growing urban sprawl and urban-rural synergies in the areas of recycling, food and renewable energy production Growing urban rural relations
With continuing growth of urbanisation, urban-rural relations are rapidly changing. Foremost, Europe will continue to witness an ever wider urban sprawl. Over the past 50 years, on average, cities have expanded by 78%, whereas the population has grown by only 33%. The historical compact city model has been replaced by free standing housing, more than doubling of the space consumed per inhabitant. As a result, low density suburban development in the periphery of Europe's cities has become the norm.
2014
Challenges at the horizon 2025
European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS)
Against the Grain
With climate change placing growing strain on the global food system, and with international tensions already heightened, the risk of geopolitically motivated food-supply disruptions increases. Worsening trade wars might spill over into high-stakes threats to disrupt food or agricultural supplies. Conflict affecting supply-chain chokepoints could lead to disruption of domestic and cross-border flows of food. At the extreme, state or non-state actors could target the crops of an adversary state, for example with a clandestine biological attack. In these circumstances, retaliatory dynamics could swiftly take hold. Domestically, rationing might be needed. Hoarding and theft could undermine the social order. Widespread famine risk in recent years suggests that greater hunger and more deaths—in least-developed countries, at any rate—might not trigger a major international reaction. If similar suffering were inflicted on more powerful countries, the responses would be swift and severe. More resilient trade and humanitarian networks would help to limit the impact of food supply disruption. But if trade wars were a contributing factor, then countries might seek greater self-sufficiency in food production and agriculture. In some advanced economies, this might require rebuilding skills that have been allowed to fade in recent decades. Agricultural diversification and the development of more resilient crop variants could bolster national security by reducing countries’ vulnerability.
2019
The Global Risks Report 2019 14th Edition
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Reengineering technology- building new it delivery models from the top down and bottom up
With business strategies linked inseparably to technology, leading organizations are fundamentally rethinking how they envision, deliver, and evolve technology solutions. They are transforming IT departments into engines for driving business growth, with responsibilities that span back-office systems, operations, and even product and platform offerings. From the bottom up, they are modernizing infrastructure and the architecture stack. From the top down, they are organizing, operating, and delivering technology capabilities in new ways. In tandem, these approaches can deliver more than efficiency—they offer the tools, velocity, and empowerment that will define the technology organization of the future.
2017
Tech trends 2018
Deloitte
Wireless Charging Market Moves Up a Gear
With Apple supporting Qi, the wireless charging standards war is over for smartphones. With smartphones across both major operating systems now supporting Qi, businesses can invest in wireless charging provision without the risk of leaving out a key demographic.
2018
Top Tech trends 2018
Juniper Research
Reinventing the ERP Engine
With a super-charged engine, businesses can drive new performance. ERP is no stranger to reinvention, overhauling itself time and again to remain relevant through disruptive waves of client/server and the Web. Its formula for success? Expanding the very definition of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) from financials to manufacturing to supply chain management to CRM to HR and more. Beyond new functional capabilities, it has also expanded into information – business intelligence, reporting, and analytics allow organizations to build predictive models. For a while, the focus was extensibility through integration platforms, application servers, and orchestration suites. Today’s momentum is around ubiquity. Organizations are striving to make ERP accessible in many ways – on your mobile device, in your collaboration suite, or in your social streams.
2013
Tech Trends 2013 Elements of postdigital
Deloitte