The digital transformation continues to gather pace. In order not to lose touch, it is necessary to keep a close eye on the most important developments. This article reveals which trends the B2B sector needs to keep an eye on this year and what implications they have for business and society.
No trend comes out of nowhere. The application of technologies develops and takes shape over a period of years before new ideas can be put to productive use - Gartner has summed this up in a globally valid formula in its "Hype Cycle". In their trend studies, it is important for all major consulting firms to focus on the long lines of development: Accenture proclaims the beginning of the post-digital era in 2019, Deloitte is already thinking "Beyond the digital frontier", and PwC emphasizes "The Importance of Trust" against this backdrop.
Despite the challenge of predicting the future in these fast-moving technological times, one thing is certain: The battle for attention among trend researchers will not lose its intensity in the coming year. And this battle always has something to do with who comes up with the most succinct terms for complex developments. In 2019, we believe that Accenture is ahead in this respect, declaring "SMAC" to be basic technologies and now seeing the age of "DARQ" dawning. The acronyms stand for Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud (SMAC) and Distributed Ledger, Artificial Intelligence, Extended Realities and Quantum Computing (DARQ) respectively.
In a fitting tone of voice, there is talk of "G-MAFIA" and "BAT" elsewhere: The Future Today Institute uses these two acronyms to summarize the names of the nine (!) major technology companies that are significantly driving research into artificial intelligence: In the USA, these are Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, IBM and Apple (G-MAFIA) as well as the three Chinese companies Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent (BAT). Even if, in addition to AI, topics such as cyber security, privacy and data protection are on the list of current trends at all consulting firms: There is no need to be gloomy when assessing future technological developments. On the contrary, the tenor of the trend studies is quite optimistic and full of expectation: in technological terms, we are facing exciting times (and opportunities!) in 2020.
For German B2B companies, it is important to note: In addition to the big nine from the USA and China mentioned above, there are certainly other innovative technology providers who - because they are based in the EU - have committed to complying with regional regulations and standards. In times of GDPR, it is important to have a choice in terms of data storage and data protection, among other things. It is to be hoped that B2B companies will continue to have these options in the future, especially when it comes to the use of AI technologies.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is not a trend in itself, but represents a new paradigm in information technology: fundamentally, it is about companies using AI and data to transform their IT ecosystem and business processes in a sustainable way. Much of what people do on computers can be automated with AI. And where algorithms are already taking over decisions (partially) autonomously, they are already going beyond the digitalization of processes. Example: AI as a filter mechanism in recruiting. In its comprehensive 2019 report, the Future Today Institute lists 44 (!) trends associated with AI - from "bots" to "ubiquitous digital assistants".
It turns out that AI is not "only" able to increase productivity in companies: Because data is increasingly being generated by machines, the volume of data worldwide has been growing exponentially for years. Using AI, humans are able to analyze this mass data, recognize patterns in it - and draw potentially disruptive conclusions for the business model. Deloitte calls companies that act in this way "AI-fueled organizations".
This trend is not limited to large corporations: With cloud services such as Amazon SageMaker, Google Cloud Platform or IBM Watson, even small businesses are now using AI functions. "Data is the new application" says Frank Bien, CEO of Looker, a company recently acquired by Google. And the IDC report "The Digitization of the World - From Edge to Core" states: "The data-driven world will always be present and up to date, always monitoring, always listening and always watching - because it will always be learning."
There is no shortage of companies that have already mastered this data-driven world. Mary Meeker shows impressive examples and demonstrates how many advantages arise from the combination of AI and data:
B2B companies that are inspired by this and want to get started are best advised to start with a data sprint: within just 2-3 days, data specialists can formulate and answer relevant questions relating to the data available in the company. Statistical to AI-based analysis methods are used, starting points for machine learning are evaluated and valuable insights for the business are gained through data visualization. A data sprint is a cost-effective introduction to the intelligent use of data and the development of smart services.
From PCs to smartphones, from smartwatches to digital assistants, people have learned to deal with ever new, more sophisticated devices. However, according to the American scientist and author Astro Teller, the speed of change in technology has recently clearly outstripped this adaptability. In the future, technology will develop much faster than we humans can adapt to it.
Gartner predicts that this will bring about a significant change in the relationship between humans and computers. The model is being reversed: Until now, people have had to understand how to operate an interface - the classic challenge of human-computer interaction. It is becoming less important. In future, computers will (have to) take responsibility for understanding our intentions and correctly interpreting our natural language, gestures and facial expressions. Deloitte speaks of upcoming "smart interfaces" - from the combination of a whole range of trend technologies such as contextual awareness, machine learning, IoT and robotics.
All the digital assistants and wearables that we equip ourselves with, in which we will be embedded - they will work together better and better in the future and provide us with an ambient or multi-experience that appeals to all the senses. We ourselves no longer have to be "immersive" and actively immerse ourselves in a virtual world; the "smart space" surrounds us always and everywhere like the data cloud in the background. The "synthetic generation" of the future "can no longer differentiate between real life and digital life". In addition to 5G networks and edge computing, the full set of sensor technology will be used, driven by ever greater computing power and - once again - AI. Already interesting for B2B companies in the short term: Garnter also mentions low-code platforms in connection with multi-experience, with which new applications and assistants can be developed more quickly and without in-depth programming knowledge.
According to Deloitte, a new generation of systems is available to play on this digital reality: a personalized, contextualized and dynamic end-to-end experience individually for each customer is possible with such marketing technologies. And privacy? "Privacy is dead" states the Future Today Institute succinctly. The majority of people have come to terms with this and benefit from continuously sharing private data. According to Accenture, customer satisfaction in retail could already be significantly increased today if companies consistently focus on personalization. According to the key findings of a survey of 8,000 consumers in Europe, Canada and the USA, the vast majority of customers are willing to share personal data to improve their shopping experience.
Under no circumstances should customers' openness be interpreted to mean that it doesn't matter what happens to personal data. The scandals of recent years, particularly those surrounding Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, have shown that people's composure can quickly turn into anger directed at negligent companies. To an even greater extent, this applies to personal business relationships between B2B companies. So what can the industry do? Important keywords here are clean identity management, transparency of data use, data transferability and giving customers simple control.
With the increasing spread of networked and data-saturated business-critical systems, the risk of cyberattacks is growing. According to Gartner and others, the trends towards IoT, cloud computing, microservices and smart spaces in particular will massively increase the number of potential points of attack. This also means that as the majority of users are generally willing to exchange their data with reputable providers in exchange for benefits, employees entrusted with data processing have a great deal of responsibility - in the interests of their own company and that of their customers. With regard to technology trends, two different conclusions are drawn from this.
A new organizational approach to meeting the responsibility described is the introduction of so-called DevSecOps: this approach originates from agile software development and was originally just called "DevOps" - for the combination of software development and information technology operations. With the new extension, the topic of IT security, associated processes and tools are moving into the focus of developers. By automating secure practices, DevSecOps aims to ensure that every application delivered is not only functionally tested and reliable, but also secure.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will also play an increasingly important role in this context: They will be used to predict the behavior of potential attackers and thus prevent possible attacks. Experts expect that this will enable a significantly faster and more cost-effective response to attacks. However, it must be added: Attackers also have these tools at their disposal.
The abbreviation PDR stands for risk avoidance from the user's perspective: according to the Future Today Institute (FTI), "personal data records" should enable each individual to handle their personal data independently in the future. What is behind this? A universal data account, possibly set up with a state provider that guarantees neutrality of interest. It would contain all the data that we generate when we use the internet. This applies not only to the internet and cell phones, but also to other sources such as school, work, public authorities, health, etc. We ourselves grant or deny companies access to individual data, we manage our digital identity, we leave this data to our heirs at some point, and before that it belongs to us alone.
The FTI sees Personal Data Records as the beginning of a transition away from email, passwords and social media logins. Market leader Facebook has suffered a massive loss of trust due to the data protection scandals of recent years. Gartner also emphasizes that users now know the value of their personal data and increasingly expect that they alone control the use of this data. According to Gartner, companies will work hard to comply with data protection obligations and their own transparency rules against this backdrop. The end result may be something like a digital ethic that also includes the use of AI and ML by companies.
For decision-makers in companies, how they set up their technology projects will become increasingly important in the future: Internal expertise is important, the days of makeshift solutions are definitely over. When awarding contracts to external service providers, experience and up-to-date expertise will count, especially when it comes to AI and related technologies such as machine learning and data analysis. The partner should also have experience in the agile management of a project. Of course, the daily rate remains important when clarifying the budget, but in view of the increasing complexity of projects, this can ultimately only be one factor in the magic triangle of cost, time and quality.
Accenture: Technology Vision 2019: The post-digital era is upon us
Deloitte: Tech Trends 2019. Beyond the digital frontier
Future Today Institute: 2019 TechTrends Report. 12th Annual Edition
Gartner: Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2020
IBM tech predictions for 2019
IDC: The Digitization of the World - From Edge to Core
Mary Meeker: Internet Trends 2019
.webp)
%20(1).webp)
.png)
%20(1).png)
