1 Technology Adoption and Emerging Trends
1.1 Introduction
In the last few decades, the world has been changing at a faster rate than before. The immense growth in the global network has left billions of people hyper‐connected to each other. Thus, there has been tremendous growth and spread of new ideas and technological innovations (Desjardins 2018). Due to different technological trends, changes in high‐tech advances, and demographics, it is expected that the next two decades will experience an exponential and historic transformation (Bayern 2019). The advancement of networking and serverless computing is expected to reshape all the business processes in the next few years. Even though technology has been disrupting different industries, it will reshape gradually in the coming decades since players have been forced to integrate technological advances in their businesses (Arnold and Shadnam 2014). New technologies and scientific breakthroughs have been paraded since they are relentless, and they continue to unfold. Technological advancements are achieved every day, and thus it is expected that they will continue to disrupt people, businesses, and the world at large. Policymakers and different societies need to prepare for technology's future since it is expected that our economy's current status quo will keep changing in the coming years. Ad technology continues to grow so the government should create an environment where citizens will continue to prosper even after different emerging technologies disrupt people's lives and businesses (Bayern 2019). In today's world, we are in the middle of the business revolution, where technology is transforming different business entities. Different businesses will continue to focus on different core technological trends such as mobility, cloud computing, and big data (UN 2018).
In the last few years, there has been a proliferation and convergence of mobile networks, devices, applications, and operating systems. Thus, most businesses around the world are willing to take advantage of and expand their mobile technology (Arnold and Shadnam 2014). As a result, the consumerization of Information Technology (IT) devices and trends in BYOD (Buy Your Own Device) has enabled people to use their devices to work while in motion; this has led to an increase in employee's productivity since they can respond to all the market changes and embrace all the opportunities that might arise. The emergence of mobility as a business tech model has played a significant role in reducing equipment costs and has provided the employees with a sense of employment (Desjardins 2018). They have the freedom to work from any location, and they have an increased level of accessing information. Therefore, employees in different business entities can perform more tasks outside their offices than before. The emergence of big data is expected to change business dynamics in various organizations. In the next two decades, the volume of data available to different enterprises will grow dramatically (Kambala 2018). Big data is expected to change insights about the customers, operational costs, and all the relevant aspects of different business models worldwide. The emergence of cloud computing has enabled businesses to compete at a higher level since the traditional software and systems are no longer required. In the next two decades, cloud computing is expected to grow at a higher level since organizations will focus on business models that they can use to reduce operational costs. In today's world, cloud technology enables organizations to segment and use diverse resources easily and at a lower cost. It has also enabled the implementation of high‐performing infrastructures that can be accessed by using mobile devices, and thus they have had widespread adoption.
The future of business technology is expected to get better. In the next two decades, different trends will define business and change all the dynamics of business operations worldwide. Some businesses have already begun integrating their core business process and products with Artificial Intelligence (AI) (Kambala 2018). This indicates that AI will be used to influence and run different business resources in the future. The emergence of cloud computing has fueled the automation of the business process, and thus the outcomes of business processes are expected to change in the next two decades. The connectivity of tomorrow is another key aspect that is expected to transform businesses shortly. The establishment of different technologies such as 5G networks, mesh networks, and edge computing is expected to enhance new products and services whereby they will be completed efficiently and reliably. The presence of intelligent interfaces is expected to transform how people interact with different machines and data while, at the same time, moving beyond marketing will contextualize customer experience and establish closer relationships between customers and the organizations. It is essential to acknowledge that technology is proliferating and more breakthroughs will be realized. The presence of disruptive technologies is a demonstration that there will be a rapid rate of changes. Organizations should identify different approaches to enhance their performance and implement changes due to technological changes. Change is inevitable, and thus organizations should be flexible and be ready for the ever‐changing technological advancements (Makela 2012). This research paper will focus on the future of business technology and how adopting different technology trends will define the next two decades. Figure 1.1 is a Gartner Hype Cycle depicting some 30 technology profiles that will significantly change society and business over the next 5–10 years (Panetta 2020).
1.2 Trends in Business Technology
There have been many technological breakthroughs in the last decade, including advanced smartphones, Internet of Things (IoT), AI, self‐driving cars, and now 5G and 6G cellular technologies. Development of IoT, 5G, and AI continues to evolve to the point of convergence on preexisting tech and future technologies as a whole, evolving to the point of everyday life, which encompasses everything from health to industrial systems. The implementation of 5G coming into place allows devices to push data across networks at bigger capacities. However, with devices and systems converging, security implementations need to be in the for‐front for IoT, 5G, and AI, which will play a huge role in the future of communications of systems and continue to evolve for a more sophisticated and efficient system throughout the world.
Figure 1.1 Hype cycles for emerging technologies, 2020 (Panetta 2020).
1.2.1 Trends that Could Disrupt the Industry
Various vital trends will disrupt the industry in the future. In this case, some of these trends include AI, where it is expected to benefit businesses and society at large, extended reality, data veracity, frictionless business, and the IoT. The emergence of AI has promised to change the world, and in the last few years, it has positively impacted people's lives. Different businesses are currently capitalizing on the potentials of AI; hence they acknowledge that it will revolutionize many different businesses in the next two decades. AI is more than a tool, and has changed the functionalities of different businesses (Kambala 2018). AI will continue to revolutionize digital marketing and ads based on a business or an organization's core values. The presence of extended reality aimed at ending the distance has transformed the way people work and live. In the next few years, this form of technology is expected to limit people's distance, information, and experiences. As a result, the business will benefit from these changes since employees can work from any location, resulting in higher productivity and turnover (Manyika et al. 2013). In two decades, data veracity will transform how people run data and help businesses deal with different vulnerabilities.
Data veracity is an emerging trend meant to determine if business insights may be corrupted and help the management avoid skewed decisions. It is essential for the organizations to address the issues associated with data bias, inaccurate and manipulated data trends, and ensure they run the organization effectively. Organizations need to redesign themselves as they get ready to embrace frictionless businesses to build to a partner