Rapid technological advancements are altering the world we live in today, provoking both wonder and angst about the possibilities. Whether it’s artificial intelligence, computer vision or blockchain, emerging technologies are uprooting the digital and physical experiences of our everyday lives. These joint forces are simultaneously creating optimism and concern about the unprecedented wave of change that is unfolding, according to new research from Fjord, Accenture Interactive’s design and innovation unit—and all companies need to be ready to act, and react.
Analyzing the pressing forces acting internally and externally on organizations and society, Accenture has released Fjord Trends 2018. Its 11th annual report examines seven emergent trends expected to impact business, technology and design in the year ahead.
“Each of our 2018 trends is born out of a fundamental tension—be it a shift, a collision or a parting of ways,” said Mark Curtis, co-founder and chief client officer at Fjord, in a news release. “Digital versus physical, human versus machine, centralized versus decentralized, speed versus craft, automation versus control, traceability versus anonymity. Winners in 2018 will be those who best navigate these tensions and seize the opportunity to collectively design the world we’ll be living in.”
The report suggests how organizations can navigate these currents and design for positive change. It examines seven trends expected to shape the next generation of experiences:
Physical fights back
Computers have eyes
Slaves to the algorithm
A machine’s search for meaning
In transparency we trust
The ethics economy
Design outside the lines
“We believe this edition of Trends will provoke and inspire but, above all, provide actionable advice for organizations to prepare for the opportunities ahead,” said Baiju Shah, global co-lead at Fjord and managing director at Accenture Interactive, in the release. “Many of the thorny questions ahead of us revolve around human-machine interactions, the consequences of which will be profound for individuals, society and organizations of all kinds. As digital fades from being stand-alone to being embedded in our physical world, our relationships with everything around us will be redefined.”
These trends are very useful for Indonesian businesses, because it provide a view that digital is not something scary to adopt and does not have to be implemented towards the overall business operation,” said Loenard Nugroho, managing director of technology consulting at Accenture Indonesia, in the release. “Creativity with intelligence in designing is key to the implementation.”
Fjord Trends 2018 draws upon the collective thinking of Fjord’s 1,000+ designers and developers around the world and is based on first-hand observations, evidenced-based research and client work. This year, for the first time, it also drew upon the individual insights and perspectives from 85 clients across five continents, whose views inspired the report. Read the complete report here.
