Global Next Wave Technology Disruptors, 2018

Uncovering the Technologies that will Transform Vertical Markets and Society

In H1 2018, the author's ICT team conducted a small-scale survey of thought leaders from around the world to seek opinion on the technologies that will have a profound transformative impact on existing industry dynamics, value chains, and business models across multiple vertical markets in the next 10 years.

Survey respondents came from two sources:

• Independent experts, focused on innovation, strategy, technology, and similar functions, engaged in and connected to the author's thought leadership communities from a broad variety of industries.
• The author's own global industry research teams, spanning Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and a broad range of vertical markets (including automotive, manufacturing, energy and utilities, healthcare, and several others).
• The online survey received input from 112 ICT and industry-focused thought leaders. The insight, thus, provides the benefit of the aggregated expertise of the author's engaged global thought leader community to identify perceptions toward a number of emerging technologies that are either already gaining commercial traction or are attracting noteworthy Research & Development (R&D) focus.

Research Highlights
In addition to providing quantitative insight driven by the thought leader survey, the study also provides a snapshot of 8 emerging technologies. It provides:

• An introductory overview of the technology that encompasses related progress to date and a summary of the challenges that may impact deployment and commercialization.
• A summary of noteworthy developments across the technology ecosystem in 2017-18, spanning progress in terms of new product and service launches, technology evolution, and the development of industry consortia, to name but a few
• A brief assessment of the most significant use cases enabled by the technology, spanning both vertical market potential and the ability to enhance horizontal processes such as asset tracking and automation

The emerging technologies covered in this study include:

• 5G Technology
• Artificial Intelligence
• Blockchain and Distributed Ledger
• Human Brain-Computer Interface
• Human Intelligence Augmentation
• Internet of Things
• Natural Language Interface
• Quantum Computing
• Key Features

The key objectives of this initiative are three-fold:

• To uncover the next wave of technologies that will deliver new growth opportunities and support industry transformation
• To provide a succinct overview of the most transformative technologies, spanning market progress and potential use cases
• To shape the direction of the author’s future emerging technology research agenda

Key Issues Addressed

• Technology awareness: What level of understanding do respondents have on the listed technologies?
• Relative impact and timelines: Which technologies will have the most transformative potential and within what timeframe?
• Transformation focus: Specifically, what impacts will the technology have and in what industry sectors?