We all recognise how quickly things can change in the world of business. Yet technological change can make businesses appear almost glacial in speed.

With the drive for digital transformation one of the most pressing priorities for companies in all sectors and markets, it pays to keep up with the pace of developments.

Here’s a quick summary of where we are on the tech trends in business today, and where digital transformations are likely to be focused.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The big priority in AI is to deliver more personalised customer experiences on great scale. There is significant investment currently in marketing automation, personalisation, chatbots, behaviour pattern recognition, automated customer service, predictive marketing, predictive content management and AI driven research tools.

Blockchain

Companies have globally spent over £1 billion on blockchain technology already, and this spending is predicted to continue and potentially rise towards£10 billion by 2022.

Likely trends in blockchain are to deliver new business models—for instance Kodak’s blockchain-based image rights management platform. There is also talk of ‘Blockchain as  Service’ where companies can use cloud-based services to build, host and use new blockchain apps.

Smart contracts is another area of focus, where blockchain is used to verify or enforce an agreed contract between parties.

Internet of things (IoT)

While the Internet of Things (IoT) poses some tricky questions around whether they can actually generate revenue rather than adding to the cost of a company’s operations, the growth of ‘smart’ operations is driving the uptake of IoT. At this stage it’s often about adding sensors to assets or products, to locate individual items or report on performance.

But the number of connected devices owned by consumers is steadily increasing, helping to generate new and insightful streams of data, enabling companies improve equipment performance and deliver good customer service.

The Cloud

Cloud computing is well established today, but with the growth of quantum computing and public clouds this is a rapidly changing IT environment. Companies must keep a close eye on developments.

The rise of PaaS (Platform as a Service), IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), and SaaS (Software as a Service) show that there is a real demand for the simplicity that the cloud can offer. Open source developers are making all kinds of new things possible.

Voice

It’s estimated that 40% of all Google search queries are now made by voice and smart speakers are becoming commonplace in our homes. Accordingly, the attention is turning to the marketing and operational potential of voice queries, and improving accuracy in what’s delivered back to the  consumer.

Digital transformation of course spans all kinds of area: B2C, B2B and beyond. With the technological possibilities becoming almost endless, businesses must focus on both defending their market space and seeking the next big thing for their sector. It’s no easy task.

If you need truly world class external digital expertise to boost your potential, speak to your local WIL Group member today.