Trends Identified

User Experience is What matters
Today, business process design is driven by the need for optimization and cost reduction. But tomorrow it will be driven by the need to create superior user experiences that help to boost customer satisfaction. But in the future, great user experiences will require more layered approaches than what is typical today. Leading IT providers are thinking way beyond the next great touch-screen interfaces or gesture-driven devices. They are preparing to address three specific factors: the integrated user experience, with no cognitive cost of switching from one context to another; a compelling experience, which minimizes tedium and boredom; and a natural device interface – one that involves little or no learning time. Apple has mastered all three factors; for instance, its iPhone and iPod products can be used right out of the box, with little need to resort to a user manual.
2011
Accenture Technology Vision 2011
Accenture
User interface
The way we interact with technology has a huge impact on our productivity. Key examples include the mouse, the touch screen, and most recently, voice communication systems like Siri. Connecting voluminous data and computational power with our physical and biological reality will become ever more seamless and sophisticated. User interfaces will become more natural and in tune with natural human behaviour.
2017
Surfing the digital tsunami
Australia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
Utilization of carbon dioxide as a resource
Carbon is at the heart of all life on earth. Yet, managing carbon dioxide releases is one of the greatest social, political and economic challenges of our time. An emerging innovative approach to carbon dioxide management involves transforming it from a liability to a resource. Novel catalysts, based on nanostructured materials, can potentially transform carbon dioxide to high value hydrocarbons and other carbon-containing molecules, which could be used as new building blocks for the chemical industry as cleaner and more sustainable alternatives to petrochemicals.
2012
The top 10 emerging technologies for 2012
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Vacuum Insulation
(Definition) Insulation material technology using vacuum in order to minimize the heat loss. (Application) The technology can reduce the causes of energy poverty through minimizing heat loss both in heating and cooling energy.
2015
KISTEP 10 Emerging Technologies 2015
South Korea, Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP)
Vacuum-tube transport
Example of Organizationsactive in the area: The Boring Company/Elon Musk (US), China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (China).
2018
Table of disruptive technologies
Imperial College London
Value-driven Application Management Services
Moving beyond labor arbitrage in Applications Management Services (AMS) With 65 percent of all IT service dollars spent on maintaining existing technology,1 companies everywhere have been hard pressed to invest more in technology improvements needed by the business. In an effort to trim maintenance costs, many organizations entered into AMS contracts.
2010
Depth perception A dozen technology trends shaping business and IT in 2010
Deloitte
Vertical agriculture
Example of Organizationsactive in the area: Green Skies Vertical Farms (US), Aero Farms (US), Neo Farms (Germany), Urban Crop Solutions (Belgium)
2018
Table of disruptive technologies
Imperial College London
Video games are the new social media
At over 2.3 billion, Facebook has by far more users than any social media platform worldwide (Twitter, by comparison, has about 325 million). That’s why, despite its increasingly tattered reputation, Facebook continues to be popular with advertisers in search of eyeballs. At the same time, Facebook has a problem with young people, with only about half of all high-school aged kids being active on the platform. If young people are not using Facebook now, what makes anyone believe that they’ll log on when they get older? They most likely won't, and a big reason why is video games. Thanks partly to the rousing success of “Fortnite,” Amazon-owned Twitch and other platforms like it are creating communities that young people prize far more than Facebook, whether they are watching their favorite gamers or facing off with their friends or with others across the globe. These types of immersive experiences dwarf anything Facebook offers this group, calling into question whether the company can sustain its advertising prowess in the years to come as the younger generation becomes a highly sought-after consumer demographic. Underscoring this dynamic is Netflix, which said in its most recent shareholder letter that it competes more with “Fortnite” than it does HBO. Skeptics will scoff at that, pointing out (correctly) even the biggest phenomenon fade at some point. However, the next huge game is just around the corner, and when it arrives, Netflix, along with social media, will have to worry about it cannibalizing users too. All this is good news for gaming companies, including Tencent, whose subsidiary, Epic Games, published “Fortnite,” Electronic Arts and Activision.
2019
Three Big Tech Trends For 2019
Forbes
Virtual and augmented reality
Virtual and augmented reality, an artificial environment created with software and hardware that, in the case of augmented reality, provides the ability to overlay digital information into real-world settings
2019
Tech for good
McKinsey
Virtual and augmented reality
Computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image overlaid to the physical world (AR) or a complete environment (VR).
2017
Innovation for the Earth - Harnessing technological breakthroughs for people and the planet
PWC