The challenge of digital is not one of technology. It is that it is relentless.
From December through January each year, we look back over our shoulder at what has happened and then look ahead, towards the horizon, seeking to map out the future. It’s a time honoured ritual that happens on a range of scales – from the personal “New Year’s Resolution” to the enterprise level “Strategy/Planning” sessions. But predictions are notoriously difficult to make. And disruption has a way of changing the conditions of our personal and professional lives at a moment’s notice.
Think back to the beginning of 2014. What were your personal resolutions? What were your professional goals? Did you keep your resolutions? Did you see the changes in yourself or your circumstances that you were hoping for? What about your professional life? How well did your ambitions match your achievements?
Chances are the things that you predicted, wanted or expected, changed through the course of the year. After all, the one certainty we have is change.
However, business trends and predictions can be very helpful when prioritising your limited time and resources. And if you are involved or interested in the technology, media or telecommunications industry, the Deloitte TMT Predictions for 2015 make for interesting reading.
Some of my favourite predictions include:
- The Internet of Things really is things, not people. The prediction is that 95% of the IoT devices to be purchased in 2015 will be bought by enterprises. This marks a substantial shift away from the consumerisation of IT that has driven innovation for the last few years – with technology finding a home again in the corporation. Of course, there will still be plenty of human involvement in signing the cheques for that $30 billion in contracts.
- The re-enterprisation of IT. In a similar vein – and perhaps not quite a prediction on its own, but a substantial shift in the role of technology in the business. I have a feeling that for this to actually happen, we’ll need whole new ways of imagining not just transformation but the foundations of innovation.
- The “generation that won’t spend” is spending a lot on media content. Rather than a generation of content pirates, Gen Y are proving that they not only value content but are willing to pay for it. This is driving growth in subscription platforms from Spotify to Netflix. It may even account for the shift away from assets like cars to use of services like Uber and GoGet. And that means – for me at least – that the shift is less about media content and more about the EXPERIENCE of consumption.
You can read the full report and predictions here. What catches your fancy? What’s next on the horizon for you and your business?