Sunday 4 December 2011

What The Future Holds

Global think-tank, Future World, has predicted some bold scenarios beyond 2020.
The end of 'products' and 'manufacturing'.
A quarter of retail products are manufactured (3D-printed) at the point of use. Many expensive 'products' have morphed into free 'services'.
Retail and professional services reinvented.
Three-quarters of all retail is online. Malls are entertainment for the rich. Most business processes are audited in real time.
Business on digital steroids.
Everything that can be automated is. And customer service has been 'outsourced' to the people who know it best - customers themselves.
Size means nothing.
Being connected is everything. Even the smallest business has access to virtually unlimited computing power and sophisticated software, in the cloud. New competitors are turning old industries upside-down.
The third youth revolution.
Age and experience no longer equals power. Youngsters commit the largest crimes (mostly electronic), are fighting virtual wars and managing the most complex investment portfolios.
Everyone is connected - and it's a basic human right.
In this world of 'digital plenty', the idea of the 'haves' and 'have-nots' is out-dated - there are only the 'haves' and the 'want-nots'.