Global Survey Outlines the Next Wave of Technology Disruptors

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Frost & Sullivan’s information & communications technology (ICT) team conducted a small-scale survey, Global Next Wave Technology Disruptors, 2018, of 112 thought leaders from around the world to seek opinions on the technologies that will have a profound transformative impact on existing industry dynamics, value chains, and business models across multiple vertical markets in the next 10 years.

In addition to providing quantitative insight, the study also provides a top-level assessment of eight emerging technologies: 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and distributed ledger, human brain-computer interface, human intelligence augmentation, internet of Things (IoT), Natural Language Interfaces (NLIs) and Quantum Computing.

“Numerous technologies with limited adoption/availability at present will rise in relevance over the next 10 years. 5G will play an important role over the next five years as commercial deployments commence, while quantum computing is set to have a huge impact in the coming decade,” said Adrian Drozd, research director, ICT. “However, thinking of these emerging technologies in isolation will limit their effectiveness. For instance, IoT cannot reach its potential without AI, and AI can be powerful only by accessing the data generated by IoT.”

Key findings include:

• 57% of survey respondents noted that enhancing the customer experience (CX) is the key driver for their organization to adopt new technologies, followed by improving productivity (51%) and lowering operational costs (37%).
• The focus on CX is largely powered by AI, with 40% of respondents naming it the most game-changing technology in their industry.
• AI, along with IoT, Blockchain, 5G, and NLIs, were cited by 60% to 70% of respondents as transformative technologies.

“Technologies will reach maturity at different times; while some are already widely used, others are still in the development phase,” noted Drozd. “Technology development should be guided by the use cases and real-life deployments that the solutions promise to enable.”

New technologies are emerging at an unprecedented rate, each promising to be the next transformative force that will drive fundamental shifts across industries and society. Companies looking to tap growth opportunities in their respective industries should:

• Assess the ways in which technologies co-exist and combine to identify optimal ways of enabling specific use cases.
• Engage, experiment and be ready to accept new, better solutions to old problems.
• Stay abreast of the developments in relevant fields of technology to support informed strategic decisions.

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