There are thousands of forecasts for the new decade 2020-2030 which you can find on the internet. However, I have found few such trends for the digital or software sector we follow. Of course, I am aware that e.g. Gartner constantly records such trends in their “Hype Cycle”. Nevertheless, I wanted to try to write down a probable future.
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This will probably be my first blog entry, which I will therefore continuously update and work on. On 31 December 2019, I wrote the following two posts on LinkedIn summarising what I thought at that time was a likely future for the next 10 years. These “predictions” came about in about 2 hours of brainstorming and were “not researched” beforehand but written down directly.
So you will understand, its just a list of trends of somebody working in that industry for probably 5 years but making predictions about the future the entire working life.
You can find the LinkedIn post here:
It is of course very difficult to look into the future. Nevertheless, I find that certain points are somewhat foreseeable. Below are 8 digital trends for the new decade. Starting in January 2020, we will continuously update this article and provide background information and explanations. The trends are not subject to any ranking.
Virtual real worlds. Using VR technology to create worlds in which we can see, hear, feel and smell and interact with the world. This is where we will trade in the future. Less business travel and better interaction with our international partners.
Since February 2020, this prediction has taken on a new dimension. Due to the Corona virus, air travel has been reduced to a minimum. In March and April 2020, for example, approximately 98% fewer passengers were recorded at airports in Germany. Around the globe, various initiatives have emerged to continue bringing people together. Currently, most people use video conferencing software. We are convinced that all this will further push the development towards virtual worlds.
An example from South Tyrol of a virtual meeting place is St. Virtual, the virtual village on the internet.
Facebook launched its Horizon application in fall 2021 – giving everybody the possibility to interact together remotely in virtual world. Currently, Horizon is for a business context. We will see how long it will stay only “business”.
More about Horizon you can find here:
And you can also visit the Facebook Horizon page from Oculus Rift to read more about what is coming next. I am still convinced that the 2 billion acquisition, back in 2014, for Facebook was well invested money. Probably older generations are not willing to hang around in virtual worlds, but with better technology younger generations will. I, on the other hand, cannot immagine that younger generations will stay with the traditional Facebook business – sharing all of their life within the Facebook ecosystem. So for me the acquisition of Oculus Rift was strategically well made.
Virtual assistants will make our lives even easier. Glasses or contact lenses instead of smartphones? Difficult to say, but something has to give. A foldable smartphone is still a smartphone. I don’t think we can go on like this.
Apple working on its Apple Glasses: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/apple-glasses
December, 2021: We, Limendo, have launched in fall 2021 our conversational intelligence ELECTRONIC ECHO, which allows business users to automate their conversations with their clients.
The system is already in use in different real-case situations, like in the hotel “Olivenhotel”: https://www.hirzer.com/zimmer-preise/anfrage
Here you can test the assistant “Oliver” and he will be able to answer all of your question.
Actually, the software is able to answer with an F-score of 0,85, which is pretty high.
February, 2022: We are working on a project, where we successfully connected our conversational AI with a “phone” and are now able to get “inbound calls” as well as to make “outbound calls”. Our intention is to solve frustrating task for the consumers (the callers) as well as for the call-center-agents.
Further increase in platform economies. Share. Share. Share. Who needs to own everything? Do you think you will still need to own a car in ten years’ time? Or will you rather use your mobile phone to order a vehicle that will take you from A to B – completely autonomously and 24 hours x 7 days x 52 weeks (see Trend 5).
Instant access to data. With 5.6.7…G, the data is there instantly. We just need the right analytics to interpret it and make actions out of it. The right playing field for artificial intelligence.
And then, of course, we need someone to interpret the data. This is where humans come into play, and with them Business Intelligence (read more about Business Intelligence here). The data must be prepared differently for us humans than for the machine.
Changed mobility. Who needs a car in a world where 60% of people live in cities and AI-driven cars are available. Platform providers will rule in cities.
We will also change the way we transport things. I see AI driven vehicles driving there again at night (long distance) and land & air drones for short distance last mile.
We will change the value of work and employees. How people work, why they work and what they do at work. The standard things will be done by artificial intelligence and people will focus on the important and creative things.
I don’t think much of it if our politicians and our society don’t openly express this change. By the end of the decade, there will hardly be anyone who enters data into a system, for example, a dispatcher who enters an order into an ERP system. Such activities will be automated by a programme. Companies that still rely on manual processing of these activities will be at a competitive disadvantage.
On the other hand, there will be a big wave of retirements and many jobs will become vacant. Therefore, it will become more and more important to bind employees to the company and to clearly live values in the company. Limendo, for example, clearly communicates its values and what is even more important – we also live these value
Access to a longer life span. Gene therapy should be able to cure most of today’s diseases. Printed organs. Enhancement of humans with sensors and devices. The human-brain-machine interface. Implanted RFID chips were the first steps. I’m not saying I would do it, but people will.
We have a unique approach to software development because our work does not end with the consultation, it begins with it. Based on a detailed analysis of your business model, we not only provide process-oriented advice on possible solutions, we also implement them together with you. In this way, you benefit from the successful symbiosis of a consulting and technology company.
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