_Futurization
Author: Dr. Stephan Blankenburg, Automotive Expert at WAVESTONE
Experts agree that the pandemic has accelerated momentum for digital transformation. One thing is now clearer than ever before: companies need to continue to leverage the technological advancements available to them to ensure an efficient and effective workforce that delivers great results. Going forward, these 5 technology trends should be high on their agendas:
Hyperautomation:
When bots mimic human language
Process automation in corporate IT environments is being driven by a variety of technological approaches. Rule-based processes that have been used for some time, such as workflow management systems or robotics process automation, have recently been combined with artificial intelligence methods such as natural language processing. This falls under the term hyperautomation. Hyperautomation can be used to streamline and automate complex and cognitively demanding business processes. One prominent example for this are intelligent voicebots or chatbots that are able to recognize user requests and move customers through the resolution process while also guiding it in an almost humanlike conversational experience. Customer acceptance of this is particularly high wherever simple processes –e.g., ordering and scheduling – and a strong desire for convenience come together. With this in mind, it is only logical that the analysts at Gartner view hyperautomation as one of the ten most influential technology trends today.
Cybersecurity mesh:
A new security architecture for the era of hybrid work
Cyberattacks are the biggest threat to businesses everywhere, even more so than the damage inflicted by the pandemic or climate change. This is one of the findings of the latest Risk Barometer published by industrial insurer AGCS . But any company that wants to stay efficient and competitive in a world that increasingly favors hybrid work has no choice but to embrace remote work and the cloud. This in turn calls for increased emphasis on cybersecurity. What makes this so challenging in this context is the fact that data could reside just about anywhere, rendering conventional approaches to security inadequate. The solution: cybersecurity mesh, a security architecture that protects a company’s data assets regardless of their location, while providing secure access to everyone who needs it. Cybersecurity mesh strengthens the overall security posture by seamlessly integrating industry-leading disparate security services. At the same time, it provides companies with a quick and reliable way to verify identity, context, and compliance across cloud and non-cloud environments. Cybersecurity mesh should therefore be another item high on the technology agenda for businesses to ensure their teams can work efficiently and securely.
Decision intelligence:
Faster solution delivery
Our world is growing more complex and less secure while information and data is becoming ever more readily available, eroding our ability to make decisions. Working in this environment, employees are increasingly struggling with decision making and putting their organizations on the right development track. ‘Decision intelligence’ will be one way for companies to get out of this dilemma. Intelligence and analytics will be combined to model processes that take into account a wide range of variables. This will create a foundation that will accelerate and augment human decision making – and do so across all business functions. One application would be to use AI to pick up on and analyze market trends that are not immediately obvious to decision makers but will have a major impact on future investment decisions. In this way, collaboration between decision makers and smart machines will not just drive faster, more efficient decisions, but also give businesses a decisive competitive advantage going forward.
Data fabric:
A foundation for efficient data management
Data scientists spend much of their day on tasks that have nothing to do with the actual analysis of data, as data sources and data volumes are constantly increasing and data quality is often lacking. This makes it virtually impossible for them to work efficiently. And this is despite the fact that efficient data use could deliver significant competitive advantages. A ’data fabric’ helps companies better analyze and manage their data. It is a design concept that centralizes data management and makes it more efficient, enabling companies to leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to optimize a wide variety of business processes. This in turn simplifies data management and frees up resources for data scientists to focus on their actual tasks: using data to add value to their businesses and move them into the future.
Metaverse:
Digital twins to eliminate mistakes
The metaverse somewhat blurs the lines between reality and the digital realm. From the factory floor to the meeting room, this technology will shape the corporate world of the future. New work realities will not just include remote work, but the metaverse as well. Here, employees will hold meetings or trainings using avatars or even with true-to-life images of themselves through holoportation. This will make worldwide collaboration more efficient and, even more importantly, more sustainable by cutting down the need for business travel. And it has already begun: Mesh for Microsoft Teams is allowing users in different physical locations to join shared holographic experiences using personalized avatars in immersive spaces.
According to futurologist Amy Webb the metaverse holds even more potential especially when it comes to virtual planning. New solutions, such as the Omniverse platform by graphics and AI chip maker Nvidia, allow virtual representations of processes and designs from a wide range of applications to be combined in a joint simulation and analyzed in real time.
This not only streamlines collaboration across different project teams, but also helps increase efficiency in virtual planning and design. According to forecasts by Canadian market research company Emergen Research, the global market volume of all metaverse-related technologies and services will increase from just under $50 billion in 2020 to as much as $800 billion in 2028.
Conclusion
These five trends make one thing clear: new technologies are the key to working efficiently in the future. And this is not limited to specific business units or divisions but applies to every step along the value chain of an organization, from products to processes to management decisions. Companies that make the most of these 5 technologies can turn them into much more than just cost savers for a particular business function. They have the potential to increase corporate efficiency across the board, ensuring the future success of the company.
Author
Dr. Stephan Blankenburg
Automotive Expert
Dr. Stephan Blankenburg is responsible for the Automotive division at WAVESTONE. Before joining WAVESTONE, he worked for many years in the areas of strategy, organization and process consulting as well as for business development and technology development at and for various companies. In addition to his consulting focus in the areas of strategy, cultural change and digitalization, he is interested in topics such as leadership and future technologies.
