Trends Identified
Measuring and communicating success
In a complex and rapidly changing world, we were interested in understanding which areas CEOs want to better measure and which areas they want to better communicate to the multiple stakeholders who interact with their organisations. We found that the key metrics CEOs would like to improve are the ones traditionally seen as ‘harder’ drivers of business success like innovation and risks, while the areas they want to better communicate are emotional, ‘softer’ issues around values and purpose (see Figure 15). But customers are seeking information about both the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ drivers of business success. Indeed, real-time dashboards created and managed by users themselves are becoming feasible, raising expectations for more fresh and relevant information and ways of viewing it. Ultimately the CEO must deal with matters of the head and the heart, the rational and the emotional. Our research suggests that there is much room to improve on both the assessment and communication of key business areas, including of course, core financial data.
2016
19th Annual global CEO survey
PWC
“Smart” infrastructure
“Smart” infrastructure in power engineering (smart grid) – an integrated self-regulating and self-restoring electricity grid system with network topology and covering all generating sources, trunk and distribution networks and all forms of consumer electricity, all together managed as an integrated set by a single network of automated devices in real-time – will undergo further development in the short term. The importance of sensory networks and sensor units will increase at the next stage in order to synchronise disparate industry systems for monitoring purposes.
2016
Russia 2030: science and technology foresight
Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Cloud solutions
Cloud solutions are already on offer on IT services markets. It is sufficient to note the dramatic growth and publicity accorded to services to store content in the “cloud” which are being developed and supported by all of the major companies in the segment, as well as the increasing trend of migrating towards Internet-based applications and leading global software manufacturers moving to business models geared towards a “thin client”. According to recent research by McKinsey Global Institute, by 2025 the annual market potential of cloud technologies and applications according to various developmental scenarios for the global economy could range from 1.7 to 6.2 trillion dollars.
2016
Russia 2030: science and technology foresight
Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Fourth generation mobile communications (4G)
Fourth generation mobile communications (4G) are widely accepted as promising technologies which make it possible to transfer data at speeds in excess of 100 Mbit/s for mobile and 1 Gbit/s for fixed subscribers. The introduction of such networks has already started and in the near future there is expected to be widespread dissemination of 4G communications on a global scale and associated development of new forms of content services and business models.
2016
Russia 2030: science and technology foresight
Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Machine-to-machine interaction technologies
The development of machine-to-machine interaction technologies (machine-to-machine, M2M) will lead to the emergence of more flexible opportunities for collaboration and distributed control of infrastructure objects and will become an important stage on the route to implementing the global concept of the “Internet of Things”.
2016
Russia 2030: science and technology foresight
Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Biotechnology processes to obtain recombinant proteins of plant and animal origin
Biotechnological processes to produce recombinant proteins for industrial (enzymes, biopolymers, etc.) and medical (vaccines, antibodies, enzymes) use in plants and animals, or “biofactories”, are cheaper and more effective compared with traditional technologies based on using microbial cultures and animal cells. Thus, technologies to produce recombinant proteins in plants using viral systems, and in the milk of transgenic animals, are one of the key prospective developments in this field.
2016
Russia 2030: science and technology foresight
Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
3D-printing technologies
3D-printing technologies have been around for quite a long time and have been successfully applied in several industries. Thus, without their use, the activities of many leading companies in terms of creating mock-ups, models and prototypes of units, assemblies, products, buildings and structures would not be possible. Future improvements in 3D printing should be considered in the context of global developments in processing devices with computer numerical control (CNC) and in expanding their use among end users (creation of home and public Fab Labs). The future of such additive technologies is linked to the development of new production principles, the creation of new materials with increased functional characteristics (strength, rigidity, etc.) and reduction in costs.
2016
Russia 2030: science and technology foresight
Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Algorithms and software for knowledge engineering
There has been some development of algorithms and software for knowledge engineering at the juncture of learning system and cognitive psychology theories and research on artificial intelligence. Knowledge engineering extends concepts that were previously – in research on artificial intelligence – only applicable to computers (machine learning) to any learning system (where learning is understood to mean the acquisition and transformation of knowledge with a view to its application). New models for working with large amounts of memory (including semantic databases) are becoming increasingly abundant.
2016
Russia 2030: science and technology foresight
Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Algorithms and software to verify large programmes
The development of algorithms and software to verify large programmes for cloud and grid- based applications is one of the key fields of research and development in ICT. In the medium term, progress in software development technologies will set down a path of improving methods to verify industrial hardware and software systems. Theoretical bases for algorithms allowing for effective verification have already been developed and tested. In the foreseeable future, these methods will become part of the technology cycle of companies which create programmes for critical applications. In a number of cases verification technologies are relevant not only for major software systems, but also to reduce the time take to develop various medium-complexity applications where reliability is a particularly high requirement (built-in computer technologies for on-board control systems in space and military equipment, medical equipment, mobile telephones, etc.).
2016
Russia 2030: science and technology foresight
Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
5th generation of mobile technology (5G)
The transition to the 5th generation of mobile technology (5G) will lead, according to experts, to a 100–1000 increase in data transmission speeds and throughput efficiency compared to 4G technologies used today. Noticeable improvements in other technical characteristics are expected, such as in coverage area, number of simultaneous connections, cost of expansion and power consumption of infrastructure, energy costs on subscriber’s device, and reliability and flexibility of connection. Despite the fact that the commercialisation of 5G technology is anticipated for 2020–2025 (shown by the dynamics of mobile communications in the last 20 years), corresponding standards and long-term programmes for research in the field are actively being developed now at international, national and corporate levels.
2016
Russia 2030: science and technology foresight
Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation