Written for FutureEnterprise.
As mentioned in one of the previous posts, in FutureEnterprise we released a roadmap of the major technological trends that are expected to affect future enterprises, from the perspective of the company.
As depicted in the figure below, the idea is that these trends are orchestrated, together with new business models (i.e. innovations), in order to allow an enterprise create better capacities and build a competitive advantage, even a new business stream in the digital economy.
Although the aforementioned list of technological trends is particularly valuable for all possible stakeholders (e.g. enterprises, researchers, entrepreneurs), it might seem a bit generic for enterprises that conduct their business in specific domains. To address this need, the FutureEnterprise consortium recognized 5 traditional industries (namely: Agriculture and Fishing, Construction, Fashion and Creative Industries, Food and Drink (Beverage) and Tourism) on the basis of their importance to the European economy (according to desk research and literature review), as well as their relevance to the FutureEnterprise concepts.
Such industries were used by FutureEnterprise as example cases in order to select the most relevant trends and provide simple, concrete examples that demonstrate the possible advancements and offerings.
Agriculture and Fishing
The following table presents the most relevant technological trends for the Agriculture and Fishing industry along with short examples.
| Trend | Example |
|---|---|
| Internet of Things | Sensors deployed in the field/farm exchanging real-time weather data. |
| Smart Machines/Ubiquitous computing | Based on real-time collected and processed weather data, watering mechanisms start operation. |
| Hybrid/Federated/Mobile Cloud | Farmers being able to “manually” start processes from every place. |
| LTE (Long Term Evolution 4G) | Faster uploading of collected sensor data. |
| Big Data | Fast processing of sensor data relevant to the crop’s condition. |
| Wearable/ultra-portable computing | Being able to analyse seawater or crop condition with a smart watch. |
| APIs/ Web of Things | Sensors deployed in the field exchanging real-time weather data. |
| Smart Dust | Small sensors attached to trees in order to wirelessly and remotely monitor the microclimate around them. |
| Prescriptive Analytics | Data insights (e.g. visualisations) relevant to weather conditions, seawater temperature acting as main decision parameters. |
| Autonomous Vehicles | Sprinkler cars, being able to move amongst trees, automatically turning on based on soil humidity levels. |
| 5G | Real-time streaming of high-definition video of the crop, in order to identify abnormalities. |
| Machine Intelligence | Smart watering systems providing the necessary amount of water to each plant, based on computer vision and historical plant’s health and growth data |
| Ambient Intelligence | Based on real-time collected and processed weather data, watering mechanisms start operation. |
| Enterprise Mobility | Being able to run/monitor his/her business from a distance and control his farming activities |
| Drones | Spray drones, being able to spray individual trees, automatically activated based on soil humidity levels. |
The customised hype curve (similar to Gartner’s hype cycle [1]) for the Agriculture and Fishing industry can be seen in the following figure:
Construction
The following table presents the most relevant technological trends for the Construction industry along with short examples.
| Trend | Example |
|---|---|
| Enterprise 3D Printing | Manufacturers being able to print parts such as screws, insulating materials etc. |
| Internet of Things | Various sensors in the construction venue optimising the process and ensuring security. |
| Big Data | Being able to quickly and effectively process large volumes of data can prove extremely helpful in construction projects that need to take into consideration geological, environmental, weather data etc. (e.g. construction of a sea bridge). |
| Gamification | Allowing potential customers experiment with and provide indirect feedback on new types of products (e.g. smart houses), through a reward mechanism (e.g. free “smart” services for one year). |
| Crowdsourcing | Allowing potential customers provide opinions of relevant innovations (e.g. smart houses). |
| APIs/ Web of Things | Architects design tools disclosing design data via APIs, facilitating remote collaboration with manufacturers’ infrastructures. |
| Smart Dust | Tiny sensors embedded in the house providing data for personalised and proactive house-related services. |
| Volumetric & Holographic 3D Displays | Customers being able to preview their house and ask for specific changes and/or ameliorations. |
| Prescriptive Analytics | Prescriptive analytics can aid enterprises related to construction proactively respond to upcoming trends. |
| Autonomous Vehicles | Autonomous vehicles conveying dangerous materials, protecting humans from such procedures. |
| Machine Intelligence | Intelligent machines recognising flaws in the construction process and automatically correcting them. |
| Drones | Drones could facilitate safe delivery of raw materials in places difficult to reach in the construction venue. |
The customised hype curve for the Construction industry can be seen in the following figure:
Fashion and Creative Industries
The following table presents the most relevant technological trends for the Fashion and Creative industries along with short examples.
| Trend | Example |
|---|---|
| Enterprise 3D Printing | Being able to print a newly designed piece of clothing for testing and showcasing purposes. |
| Internet of Things | Various sensors providing the exact conditions of a workspace, allowing the interior designer make a holistic proposal for optimising working conditions (e.g. lighting, air conditioning etc.) in an office. |
| Hybrid/Federated/Mobile Cloud | Securely storing, sharing and being able to seamlessly access your designs from any device. |
| LTE (Long Term Evolution 4G) | Using high bandwidth to stream creativity content to consumers |
| Big Data | Being able to quickly and effectively process large volumes of data (for example media information) that can reveal future trends and needs of customers. |
| Wearable/ultra-portable computing | Smart clothes that allow to perform specific operations which otherwise require the existence of specific equipment. |
| Gamification | Allowing potential customers experiment with designs and provide feedback, through a reward mechanism (e.g. early access to a new piece of clothing). |
| Crowdsourcing | Allowing potential customers experiment with designs and provide feedback, through a reward mechanism (e.g. early access to a new piece of clothing). |
| APIs/ Web of Things | Linking together media data with services for improved customer experience and allowing the provision of side services. |
| Responsive and adaptive web design | As designers utilize all kind of devices from any place, responsive and adaptive web design heavily applies in this industry. |
| Quantified Self | Measuring everything concerning a person might result to very useful input for specific creative industries (e.g. clothing industries). |
| Volumetric & Holographic 3D Displays | Visually reproducing an object can find a large number of applications in the creation of designs, as they leave the 2D paper and can become truly interactive |
| Prescriptive Analytics | Prescriptive analytics can aid clothes’ designers recognize needs and trends and come up with ideas that will prove successful. |
| 5G | High definition content to be reachable by consumers improving their viewing and interactions experience |
| Enterprise Mobility | Advertisers can find benefit in being able to fully perform their activities in any place that might constitute e.g. a customer’s premises or the desirable place for an advertisement. |
The customised hype curve for the Fashion and Creative Industries can be seen in the following figure:
Food and Drink (Beverage)
The following table presents the most relevant technological trends for the Food and Drink (Beverage) industries along with short examples.
| Trend | Example |
|---|---|
| Internet of Things | Various sensors providing insights on the food’s packaging, nutrition value, orientation etc. |
| Big Data | Being able to quickly and effectively process large volumes of data that can reveal future trends and needs of customers. |
| Wearable/ultra-portable computing | Real-time calculation of related values such as calories and/or diabetes level. |
| Gamification | Allowing potential customers experiment with and provide indirect feedback on new types of services (e.g. packaging), through a reward mechanism (e.g. discount coupons). |
| Crowdsourcing | Allowing potential customers provide opinions of relevant innovations (e.g. long-life milk). |
| Prescriptive Analytics | Prescriptive analytics can aid enterprises related to food and drink (beverage) proactively respond to upcoming trends. |
| Machine Intelligence | Automated treatment of sensitive products in order to extend their lifecycle and/or protect their nutrition value. |
| Enterprise Mobility | Mobility in order for departments of food businesses to be as close as possible to the main volume of customers is of the utmost importance. |
| Drones | Drones could facilitate timely and personalised delivery of food, based on customers’ request.1 |
The customised hype curve for the Food and Drink (Beverage) industry can be seen in the following figure:
Tourism
The following table presents the most relevant technological trends for the Tourism industry along with short examples.
| Trend | Example |
|---|---|
| Internet of Things | Various sensors providing insights on the tourists’ habits allow enterprises provide personalised services. |
| Mobile Money | Facilitating tourists’ payments through mobile money. |
| LTE (Long Term Evolution 4G) | Fast networks allowing seamless utilisation of touristic services through mobile devices. |
| Big Data | Being able to quickly and effectively process large volumes of data that can reveal future trends and needs of customers. |
| Wearable/ultra-portable computing | Smart devices offered to tourists serving them with innovative offerings that improve their touristic experience |
| Gamification | Allowing potential customers experiment with new types of touristic services, through a reward mechanism (e.g. free accommodation and/or tickets). |
| Natural Language Search/ Natural-Language Question Answering | Real-time question answering on touristic topics might constitute a service of exceptional value. |
| Crowdsourcing | Allowing potential customers provide feedback, through a reward mechanism (e.g. free trips). |
| APIs/ Web of Things | Multi-channel access to hotel services for improved customer experience and allowing the provision of “linked” side services. |
| Responsive and adaptive web design | Well-designed user-friendly web portals constitute an asset when attracting tourists. |
| Volumetric & Holographic 3D Displays | Visually reproducing an object can find a large number of applications in touristic services. |
| Prescriptive Analytics | Prescriptive analytics can aid tourism-related enterprises proactively respond to upcoming trends. |
| Autonomous Vehicles | Autonomous trips in touristic places can constitute a successful attraction. |
| Virtual Currency | Virtual currencies can facilitate touristic services’ payments. |
| 5G | Fast networks allowing seamless utilisation of touristic services through mobile devices. |
| Enterprise Mobility | Being able to constantly relocate your enterprise would be of the utmost value for tourism-related entrepreneurs. |
The customised hype curve for the Tourism industry can be seen in the following figure:
[1] http://www.gartner.com/technology/research/methodologies/hype-cycle.jsp
