Trend Scanner | Reports

Fourth-generation system development

From the mainframe era, through client-server, and into the era of the desktop, the history of computing has been shaped by new capabilities (new hardware, new algorithms, new ways of doing things) that in turn stimulate new kinds of demands. Simply giving the 1980s-era personal computer a network connection, for example, turned out to have far-reaching effects on how enterprise systems were designed, built and used. In this decade, a wave of new capabilities will push system architecture into unexplored territory, ushering in a fourth generation of system-building. The forces propelling this new era are, as always, both technological and economic. The technologies range from parallel chip architectures to multi-tenancy, from new data storage techniques to advancements in programming languages. The economies are economies of scale: the cost profile of modern data centers or the efficiencies wrung from the manufacture of mobile chips. But progress may not be as smoothly and broadly distributed as it was in the age of Moore’s Law. Instead, innovations may be more localized, confined to more narrow domains. Competitive advantage will go to those who are aware of the technology hot spots, able to discern what will prove useful—and ready with the skills to seize the opportunity.

2010

Accenture technology vision

Accenture

view report

Data + decisions = differentiation

Insightful analytics can help organizations discover patterns, detect anomalies, improve data quality and ultimately take effective action. But as analytics tools have been incorporated into standard offerings from software vendors, it is becoming clear that the real advantage in analytics is gained before the analysis begins—in data collection; and after it ends—in decision making. Analytical maturity varies widely across companies and across industries: some organizations are already integrating analytical decision making into their business processes, while others are still working at basic measurement and collection. In the next phase, what may truly differentiate an organization is whether turning information into action becomes part of its DNA.“Everything elastic” is proving to be a durable concept, whose influence is spreading thanks to the technological developments sketched above. Business executives—and CIOs in particular—should consider reshaping their thinking in line with this concept. The idea of elasticity—scalable, infinitely flexible, adaptive—may be integrated into the very fabric of the business. Only then will high performance be achievable in this new market place.

2010

Accenture technology vision

Accenture

view report

The rise and rise of emerging markets

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the 21st century will be marked by the dominance of emerging markets. Already a force to reckon with, emerging markets will in the next years become equal competitors with mature markets and command more economic and political power. As trade and investment occur across emerging markets, newly emerging markets will flourish. An explosive combination of large, young increasingly educated and urban populations with greater levels of disposable income (e.g., in Indonesia) and (or) natural resources (e.g., in Nigeria) is propelling newly emerging markets forward. The latter have provided the more established emerging markste with investment opportunities.

2010