| | A wave of disruptive
technologies is
reshaping industry,
triggering new business
models and altering
consumer and employee
behaviours, according to
a report issued by CSC's
Leading Edge Forum
(LEF).
The report identifies
seven "digital
disruptions" that 21st
century businesses must
understand to position
themselves for success
in an emerging economy
that places value
predominantly on the
production, enhancement
and sharing of
information and cultural
content.
These disruptions
represent the next phase
in the information
revolution precipitated
by the launch of the
Internet toward the end
of the 20th century.
They will stimulate the
formation of new
industries, extend the
tremendous gains in
productivity brought
about by the Internet
and challenge existing
social, economic,
political and cultural
norms.
"The 'Networked
Information Economy', to
use Harvard Professor
Yochai Benkler's term,
will come to be defined
by waves of digital
disruptions that
continue to reshape the | |
|
| | way we work, the way we
socialise and what we
value," said Alex Fuss,
LEF associate and the
report's lead
researcher. "The latest
disruptions are powering
the formation of this
new economy and may be
the greatest challenge
to the status quo the
world has ever seen, and
ultimately the greatest
driver of productivity."
The seven digital
disruptions that will
reshape business are:
● New media:
media is becoming
increasingly
consumer-driven,
interactive, social,
customized and personal.
Today's consumer is a
"proviewer", a source of
new content and
potential threat to
traditional media.
● Living in a new
reality: we
increasingly live in a
blended reality that
combines physical and
virtual reality,
improving both.
Augmented reality helps
businesses manage data
centres virtually,
students learn about
weather patterns by
"flying" through them,
and consumers shop for
clothes by building, and
fitting, virtual selves.
● Social power:
social sites are
becoming the starting | |
|
| | point or hub of our
cyber experience. In the
enterprise, social power
has revenue power,
enabling businesses to
quickly tap into
expertise to make more
informed decisions
faster.
● Information
transparency:
information that was
once not available now
is, shedding light on
previously opaque
people, places and
things. Businesses will
be able to "see" all
their assets, bringing
new levels of safety,
efficiency and
innovation. Consumers
will benefit from highly
tailored services such
as, eventually,
personalised medicine.
● New wave of
waves: new hardware and
software tools are
refining our ability to
control radio wave
signals. Old business
models, like traditional
broadcast AM/FM radio,
are becoming obsolete.
Technologies such as
software defined radio
and cognitive radio are
shattering the need for
spectrum allocation. New
opportunities and
architectures are
emerging, such as "viral
radio," enabling
infinitely scalable
networks with no central
backbone.
● Platform | |
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| | makeover:
virtualisation and
cloud computing are
changing today's
computing model,
enabling anytime,
anywhere accessibility
for users and
applications.
Nanotechnology,
molecular computing,
quantum computing and
optical computing will
take us beyond silicon,
providing greatly
increased speed and
bringing new
applications,
opportunities and
challenges.
● Smart(er) world:
technology is becoming
smarter, gradually
approaching and
eventually overtaking
human ability to
appreciate the meaning
of patterns, proactively
associate and correlate
data, reason and make
decisions. The future
will bring us lifelike
virtual assistants,
semantic Web search,
enterprise applications
that identify
relationships across
data and information
technology systems that
give end users the
ability to define
business processes.
Additionally, predictive
behavioural software is
improving employee
performance, safety and
productivity, and
software that senses
brain wave activity is
leading to improved lie | |
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| | detection and,
eventually, to mind
reading.
While these
disruptions represent
distinct technology
developments, many of
them overlap, triggering
new and more powerful
disruptions. Virtual
worlds are the next
frontier for social
networks. Social
networks have a strong
influence on new media.
Information transparency
is a prerequisite for a
smart(er) world.
Innovations with radio
waves and wireless
applications enhance
information
transparency. New
platforms will
turbo-charge the other
disruptions.
"Forewarned is
forearmed; businesses
must be aware of these
disruptive technologies
if they are to
successfully navigate
the unprecedented
changes we anticipate
over the next several
years and beyond," said
Fuss. "These disruptions
will transform the
marketplace and society
so completely that
businesses cannot afford
to wait for developments
to transpire. They need
to dive in head first
and begin experimenting
with all these
technologies have to
offer." | |
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