Trends Identified

The beginning of the end for cancer

The emergence of real-time diagnostics for complex diseases will mark the beginning of the end of their debilitating reign by 2020. The ability to monitor cancer, the dynamic immune system, intestinal flora and pre-diabetes in real-time will change the nature of medicine and usher in a new era of human health where wellness is protected versus illness treated. As a result, fundamental shifts in healthcare will occur, causing it to become largely preventative rather than fire-fighting. It’s far more productive and economical to stop a fire from happening in the first place than to rebuild something after the fire has taken its course. The amount of data available in the world is growing exponentially, and analyzing large data sets (so-called big data) is becoming key for market analysis and competition. Analytics will dramatically shift away from reporting and towards predictive and prescriptive practices, dramatically improving the ability of healthcare providers to help the ill and injured. Even more importantly, it will create the possibility for truly personalized healthcare by allowing providers to impact the biggest determinants of health, including behaviours, genetics and environmental factors.

2014

14 tech predictions for our world in 2020

World Economic Forum (WEF)

Surgical robots

The emergence of new surgical robots, as well as nanorobots, will make it possible to reduce the level of trauma, wound infection and avoid the need for blood transfusions. Operations carried out using robots will see reduced soreness in the post­operative period, accelerated rehabilitation times, minimal risks of the complications common in traditional surgery, increased oncological and functional results from operations, and improved cosmetic effects due to the lack of large post­operative scars. The introduction of such surgical technologies will reduce the impact of the human element during the operation and in terms of its outcome.

2016

Russia 2030: science and technology foresight

Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

Solidarity and rising healthcare and pension costs and growth of third age economy

The effects on solidarity will be felt throughout the EU and present serious challenges with momentous budgetary consequences.

2014

Challenges at the horizon 2025

European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS)

Economic and trade downturn

The effects of the 2008 financial crisis, for instance, spread to developing countries, primarily through declines in trade and commodity prices and reduced access to credit, as lower demand in developed countries damaged export revenues and slowed economic growth in developing countries (UN DESA 2011). While developing countries overall managed to absorb the shock of the 2008 crisis, their responses increased fiscal deficits and deteriorated current-account balances. As these indicators have not reverted to their pre-crisis levels in many developing countries, there will be limited capacity in future to absorb another major economic shock (UN MDG Gap Task Force 2015).

2017

Global trends

UNDP

Natural Disasters

The effects of natural disasters will become more devastating. Natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, meteor strikes) will occur with devastating impacts on humanity. Increased population and infrastructure in disaster prone areas will magnify the consequences of these natural disasters.

2013

Strategic Foresight Analysis 2013 Report

NATO

The Future Is Edge

The edge is where it’s at. Investments will increasingly migrate from the cloud to edge computing. Porsche, Softbank, and Berkshire have already bet big on edge computing start-ups. Watch out for significant application enablement as a result. There’s going to be further movement shifting storage and processing to the edge. In the meantime, a slew of industries—defense and healthcare, among them—will begin to leverage edge computing technologies. And no, I haven’t forgotten about our two missteps from last year. First, our prediction that some tech giants, Apple in particular, would hit the golden $1 trillion valuation mark didn’t quite happen as expected; they did hit the mark but failed to sustain the momentum. Another of our predictions that didn't turn out as anticipated was that a generation of young leaders would spearhead a new brand of politics. Disappointingly, the sheen of poster boys like Emmanuel Macron, Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, Kim Jong Un and Justin Trudeau dimmed considerably over the course of 2018.

2019

Top 10 Trends For 2019

Forbes

Internet of Things

The ecosystem of electronic devices connected to the Internet that can be accessed remotely continues to grow (e.g., sensor technology, wearable technologies, connected vehicles).

2017

Beyond the Noise- The Megatrends of Tomorrow’s World

Deloitte

The economic outlook

The economy and the future economic setting remain perhaps the most critical factor in determining to a large extent which family and household groups are affected, and how. Long-term stable growth, ample employment opportunities, sound public finances, etc. will clearly affect family/household outcomes differently to a long-term unstable economy with high structural unemployment and poor public finances. In either case, some households and families will thrive, while others will see their vulnerability grow. Policy can mitigate such inequalities and ease the situation especially of those who are the most in need. But just as the future economic setting will affect families/households dif- ferently, so it will also affect the scope and resources available for policy action.

2011

The Future of Families to 2030

OECD

Mergers & acquisitions: Underlying optimism & Contrasting direction

The economic prognosis may be gloomy, but many CEOs are still keen to expand overseas. However, North American CEOs are more cautious than their peers in other regions, and Asian CEOs favour strategic alliances over M&As.

2008

11th Annual global CEO Survey

PWC

BRIC: the new powerhouses

The economic growth of the BRIC countries up through 2030 is overwhelming. Their real GDP will grow by 7.9% p.a. over the next 20 years, much faster than over the past 20 years (5.6%). The BRIC countries will generate 36% of global GDP in 2030, compared to 18% today. China's annual real GDP growth rate will be the strongest at 9.0%, followed by India (8.4%), Brazil (5.5%) and Russia (5.3%). China will overtake the United States to become the world's largest economy by 2026. India's will be one-quarter the size of the Chinese economy in 2030, accounting for 5.7% of the world's GDP. Brazil will overtake Japan in 2030

2011

Trend compendium 2030

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants