I was just reading Deloitte Research’s Technology Predictions for 2006, a 20 page pdf report. It is quite inciteful and it’s free. Here are Deloitte’s 10 emerging technology trends / predictions.
- Search engines will challenge email as the leading digital application.
- Research and development will become more collaborative as business, government and academic institutions increasingly work together on new innovations.
- Offshoring as a way of minimizing costs and optimizing efficiencies will continue to grow in popularity.
- Classrooms of the developed world will incorporate more digital aids in their instruction.
- Open source will pose an ever-greater challenge to the established software model, impacting both providers and end users.
- Governments will increasingly regulate the Internet.
- Technological advances such as speech recognition and voice synthesis, along with improvements in artificial intelligence, will change the way humans interact with computers and computers interact with each other.
- Products will become less static with the launch of many more devices, from cameras to cars, that can be upgraded remotely.
- The gap between those with digital technology and those without will widen and put undeveloped countries at an even greater disadvantage.
- Those technologies that permanently change human behavior will continue to be the most profitable.
The report includes recommendations from Deloitte’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications industry group on how to take advantage of these emerging trends. I really like the last one. Perhaps it is time I came up with a new idea that permanently changes human behavior. Or at least find the opportunity to work closely with someone that has such an idea.