Interaction will be less about selling a product and more about creating a compelling experience.
Driving dynamic, real time business operations
The use of technology in the future will not only change the end users of TMT services and solutions, but also impact the ways businesses interact with one another. As consumer preferences and expectations for interacting with brands evolves into a more seamless, digital environment, so will that of the enterprise.
Traditional channel and distribution strategies will be disrupted as B2B companies take their cue from consumer-facing business models. Businesses will seek to provide omni-channel, platform-driven experiences. They will look to engage with social media platforms for product reviews and work much more dynamically with developer communities and ecosystems.
Commerce and purchasing enabled via the cloud will simplify the process to provide faster implementation and price transparency. Similar to the consumer experience, digital selling to the enterprise will be focused on content, networks and affiliations. Interaction will be less about selling a product and more about creating a compelling experience.
Blurring the lines between human and digital experiences
The future of technology at its best will mimic humans in many ways, not just in processing information, but also in its ability to sense and interact with its surroundings, other systems and especially humans. Advances in areas such as robotics, sensor technology, computer vision and voice and facial recognition will continue to improve, blurring the lines between human and computer capabilities.
Tension will grow between how these technologies are supporting and enabling our lives, while also causing disruption as they begin to replace familiar human experiences, such as driving a car, shopping or even interacting with other humans leading to the potential disenfranchisement of individuals.
For example, as artificial intelligence enables conversational technology to become increasingly integrated, consumers will be unable to tell the difference from a chat bot and an actual human. From this will arise an ethical or even legal requirement for disclosure, awareness and consent when an individual interacts with an intelligent, automated system.
Addressing increased cyber security risks
A larger network of connected devices operating in open source environments will lead to more potential avenues for hackers, malware and spyware to steal, corrupt or manipulate our data and devices. As the use of technology proliferates to become seamlessly integrated into our lives, a sense of ‘cyber insecurity’ will develop among users as the risk of data breaches, hacks into our devices, homes, cars and even potentially our bodies grows exponentially.
This will put not only our personal information and privacy at risk, but also our physical safety. There are already instances of cars, smart homes, infant monitors and even pacemakers being hacked, altered or used to further disrupt the lives of individuals with harmful consequences. As the use of technology becomes more pervasive in our lives and bodies it will be essential to protect the system as well as just the data it holds.
How rules regarding the use of customer data, privacy, and security evolve will dictate the pace of innovation and the speed at which technology pervades our daily lives. Regulatory issues and policies around these issues will prove to be the greatest obstacle to how consumers use technology in the future. Technology innovation will continue to progress at light speed and regulators will remain challenged to keep pace. As new ground breaking technologies emerge and become more commonplace, such as autonomous vehicles, drones, robotics, artificial intelligence and biomedical implants, governments and regulators must be become more agile to address an increasingly complex legal and ethical landscape.
What tech companies are saying?
Ease of use and consumer-centric design will be even more important in the future as technology becomes increasingly more complicated. As technology becomes seamless and pervasive, the underlying applications and systems that support it will become more complex. Technology companies must address the paradox of – the more complex things become, the simpler and more intuitive they must be to use. Providing a system that is easy to navigate and operate will be essential in creating a differentiated user experience. The perceived value of the technology will not be its complicated algorithms, but in the simplicity of its interface and application.
For technology companies, core capabilities and solutions will remain their strongest assets, however technology alone without content will be meaningless in the future. Content will become even more critical in how these companies differentiate themselves in the market, as the overall ways in which devices work will not be much different in the future.
Technology companies will need to decide their place in a rapidly changing and competitive market. Traditional proprietary, vertically integrated companies will need to invest in new digital capabilities to increase their reach with consumers, to add value and provide more open, connected, and seamless interactions. Success will not only be driven by how efficiently and effectively they make these strategic decisions, but the imperative to also own, develop, and manage content that offers a differentiated user experience.
How consumers use technology in the future will be more than just accessing a service through a device. The experience attached to the interaction also will need to leverage proprietary content or data such as media, weather data, retail consumer reviews, etc. through a unique and engaging platform.
The influence a few major technology, internet and social media companies have on the market due to the amount of revenue they generate and innovation they drive, will have a significant impact on the competitive environment and how different industry ecosystems come together. The growing influence of large global industry conglomerates will further require a layer of regulatory scrutiny and oversight to ensure systems remain open and integrated for new market entrants.
Most importantly, technology companies must understand the value of being good stewards of the systems and devices they offer and the customer data they house, with the level of brand trust that goes with it. It will be imperative for technology companies to not only keep those devices and information secure, but also to maintain public trust in how they deal with it. How their products are kept secure, trusted and always connected will ultimately become the key buying criteria for consumer and business in the future.
Summary
To succeed in the future, technology companies will need to develop their place in the market and figure out how to own, develop, and manage content that offers a differentiated user experience.