Trends Identified
Earth In Crisis
A flurry of reports in 2018 highlighted the devastating impact of pollution and climate change events. Issues like the destruction of wildlife and natural habitats, the rampant use of plastic, and climate change induced disasters like droughts, wildfires, floods and tsunamis, spurred a sense of urgency among governments, industries and citizens who committed to more sustainable environmental practices. In 2019, ripple effects will be felt in the real estate business where investments and land prices are likely to rise in regions less likely to be affected by climate change. Political will and public pressure will elicit shifts in policy and regulations, even as they disrupt industries which continue with unsustainable operations. Promisingly, leaders with strong green credentials will accelerate the development of their countries as innovation hubs for next generation environmental solutions.
2019
Top 10 Trends For 2019
Forbes
Marketplaces Everywhere
Get ready for marketplaces everywhere. The fourth generation of marketplace business models will be focused on the service sector. Three converging trends will drive their rapid expansion. Firstly, the over five billion connected devices and nearly 230 billion app downloads expected in 2019 will lead to an increase in mobile based marketplace models for services. China and India will lead the way here, primarily because of their growing app economy. Secondly, technologies like blockchain will transform online payment systems. Thirdly, a surging on-demand economy will fuel the expansion and diversification of digital service marketplaces. Watch out for a series of niche service marketplaces—adult and child healthcare, vehicle ride-hailing services or vehicle after sales spares & services, for example—as a result of the focus on personalization and customization.
2019
Top 10 Trends For 2019
Forbes
Bendable Devices Make Their Debut
"Hone up on your origami because 2019 will see the launch of foldable phones with flexible screens, replacing convertible or detachable devices. These devices are expected to be lightweight, unbreakable and compact. Several companies—Apple, Motorola, LG, Huawei and Samsung—are in a race to launch first generation foldable phones with flexible screens in 2019. In the meantime, LG has stolen a march over its competitors by unveiling its rollup, ultra high definition TV earlier this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Royole debuted its FlexiPal bendable tablet at the same venue."
2019
Top 10 Trends For 2019
Forbes
First Wave Of 5G Enabled Smart Phones/High Speed Devices
5G enabled smartphones are on track to take over the mobile industry in 2019. Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Motorola and Huawei are among the leading mobile phone developers that are vying to launch 5G enabled mobile sets this year.5G will enable more hybrid and cloud applications ranging from machine learning to cloud-based graphics rendering for VR, AR, and gaming. With gigabit speeds, 5G will also eliminate the need for wires as the last mile of connectivity, even within homes and enterprises.
2019
Top 10 Trends For 2019
Forbes
Autonomous Is Here, Now and Everywhere
I have been advocating for a while now that anything that moves will be autonomous in the future. This year will set the scene with the commercialization of 1st generation autonomous products. Automotive, industrial robotics, aerospace and consumer appliance industries will ramp up their pursuit of autonomous technology in 2019. In the automotive sector, semi-autonomous and autonomous ride-hailing services are a strong likelihood with BMW, GM, Uber and Waymo planning to launch their own ride-hailing programs this year. Robots are set to become more commonplace in industrial workplaces. Aerial taxi services are very much on track, with Germany-based Volocopter set to test autonomous air taxis in Singapore later this year. For those looking for some help around the house, Amazon Alexa and Google Home are old news. Smart Home 2.0 devices with enhanced capabilities are all set to shoulder some of your household chores even as Amazon redoubles efforts to introduce its home robot to consumers this year. Accompanying these developments will be the urgent need to formulate new regulations governing the safe testing and deployment of autonomous technologies.
2019
Top 10 Trends For 2019
Forbes
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
The Trillion-Dollar Sprint
2018 is likely to be the year that a leading Fortune 500 company (think tech titans Apple, Google, Microsoft or Amazon, with petroleum giant Saudi Aramco crashing the tech party) surpasses the trillion dollar valuation mark. The trillion-dollar question is which corporate behemoth will be the first to claim this bragging right? Attainment of this benchmark will highlight a new level of corporate power and influence but will also result in closer monitoring by competitors, regulators and consumers. These companies might become trillion dollar babies but key for them will be earning and retaining public trust the world over.
2018
Top 10 Tech Trends For 2018
Forbes
The Innovation Tug-of-War
Rising concerns regarding technology companies’ increasing power is driving pushback from government organizations, and we expect this trend to gain momentum in 2018. Greater government and regulatory oversight is likely to protect consumers and curb corporate overreach, but may also stunt innovation. Underscoring this trend will be the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into effect in mid-2018, as well as adjusted net neutrality rules in the US.
2018
Top 10 Tech Trends For 2018
Forbes
The Quantum Leap
Long the domain of science fiction and theory, quantum computing looks poised to outperform traditional supercomputers and achieve supremacy in 2018. Competitors in the space are aggressively racing to increase their qubit computing power, while minimizing the potential for errors. Experimentation of quantum computing in conjunction with encryption, AI, materials, and qubit generation will be key areas of focus in 2018. Be ready to hear “Quantum” as the next buzz word.
2018
Top 10 Tech Trends For 2018
Forbes
Flying Cars Reach for the Skies
Get ready to throw out the conventional road safety rule book. You might not have to check skywards just yet when you cross the road, but flying cars are getting ready to ruffle some feathers (and it’s not just birds we are talking about!). Numerous competitors laid the groundwork in 2017, testing their flying vehicle models, with more expected in 2018. The biggest leap forward in this space, and in the public’s popular imagination, will be the much anticipated launch of a flying taxi service in Dubai this summer. Expect more buzz worthy investments as awareness becomes more widespread.
2018
Top 10 Tech Trends For 2018
Forbes