Sitting at a café with a smart wireless device means global events and your morning latte are within equal reach. Today's business needs to connect across multiple platforms and embrace the rapid developments of smart technology. Mobile devices have changed the technological landscape almost beyond recognition, creating an interconnected world that promises only to become even more deeply connected, mobile and personal. What changes are on the horizon for technology? Here are some trends from a recent EY report worth watching:
Smart mobility means new markets
By 2014, it's likely that more smart devices will be used to access the internet than traditional computers. Emerging markets like the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) already show how mobile technology is changing how people interact with each other as well as businesses. Other areas, like Asia and Africa, are also experiencing incredible growth which will only increase as smartphones become more accessible and connection speeds increase. With all this change in the air, mobile technology is creating new players as well as new markets. All the more reason to consider investing in business translation services.
Analytics will explode
Data is just getting started. For example, the market research firm IDC suggests that the amount of digital information created each year will increase to 35 trillion gigabytes by 2020, requiring 44 times more data storage than in 2009. However, collection and management of data is not enough; businesses will need to organize their wealth of information and use it to make better strategic decisions. Action and a willingness to try new models, not just description, will be a game-changer.
Cloud computing takes off as boundaries blur
Cloud technology has been around for years, but recent indicators show it will continue to transform hardware, software and services. For example, by 2016, Gartner expects all Forbes’ Global 2000 companies will use public cloud services. Along with an increased reliance on the cloud comes a greater union of people and their technology. Technology insiders talk about Web 3.0 or the "semantic web" where machines, the web, and human beings all integrate. Think Google Glass or science fiction.
Social spaces will continue to change
Consumer technologies from Facebook to Twitter to tablets are already reshaping how companies communicate and do business. Collaboration, "social listening" and other integration between consumers and businesses, businesses and their employees, will further develop as a generation that has grown up with new technologies begins to join the workforce. Social networks will continue to change how people communicate both for business and pleasure.
While we can't predict what computers will look like in 50 years, anticipating mobile technology innovations and adjusting growth strategy will be a game-changer of businesses looking to succeed in the coming years. Technology is global, mobile and smart — competitive companies need to be the same.
