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Future of Tech: Today’s Innovation. Tomorrow’s Tradition.

The technology industry today is barely recognizable from the fifties and sixties when the arrival of computers and gadgets heralded the dawn of tech giants

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PCQ Bureau
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Kulmeet Bawa 1

By Kulmeet Bawa, President & MD, SAP Indian Subcontinent

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The technology industry today is barely recognizable from the fifties and sixties when the arrival of computers and gadgets heralded the dawn of tech giants as we know them today. With each passing decade, the dizzying pace of advancement gets even faster, the technology even more complex, and the industry even bigger. It is not a surprise, then, that McKinsey & Company predicts that we will experience more technological advancement in the upcoming decade than we did in the last 100 years.

Predicting the future of the technology industry has always been a tricky matter, even for the biggest and brightest minds in the industry. Nevertheless, let me try and crystal gaze into the future and look at what promise technology has for us:

Smart machines to be our co-workers

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As cognitive computing systems advance and become more common, we’ll see businesses deploy virtual assistants, robotics, and data-driven avatars alongside their high-performing staff, putting the man vs machine debate to rest. With the use of Artificial Intelligence software and equipment, employees will be able to create personal toolkits of virtual doppelgangers – virtual counterparts, making team-based tasks easy and enjoyable even under remote working settings. Furthermore, using cloud-based applications and personal digital assistants, they will be able to take their personal workplaces with them, wherever they go.

Taking customer experience to new heights

Although in its initial phases, the futurists and gaming geeks have been enthusiastic early adopters of Web3 technologies. Years from now, as Metaverse goes mainstream, we’ll see brands put culture and design at their core, enabling new modes of expression and immersive experiences for customers. For instance, fashion brands could offer digital clothing and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to their customers, who’d eventually visit the physical stores to purchase items they become interested in shopping in the digital verse.

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Sustainability is the business challenge of our lifetimes

CEOs today agree that sustainability is a critical aspect of the future success of their organizations. Citizens are also increasingly educated and are demanding products and services that minimize negative environmental impact. Just like any other core business function, sustainability performance must also be managed in real-time, reported, eliminated, and integrated into wider business decision-making, and this is where technology will continue to play an enabling role. Steering a company holistically – by looking not only at financials but also at the social and green bottom lines – leads to better decisions and more resiliency. Together, let's aim to make sustainability profitable and profitability sustainable. This can be achieved with a shift in mindset, leveraging innovations that create a positive impact on both Society and Business.

I can imagine if someone were to update tech predictions in the near future, on the 50th anniversary of PCQuest, the author would possibly be tapping this article out on a Hand Terminal device, a la the popular sci-fi series, The Expanse, while operating out of a remote workstation and downloading the latest upskilling program over a machine-neural exchange. Here’s looking at and to the future.

This is part of our PCQuest 35 Years Series on the Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow of Technology.

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