Everyone likes technologies. It is cool and it is inspiring. We are all trying to following technological trends to stay up to the speed of changes. Sean Moffitt, Managing Director of Wikibrands (McGraw-Hill) created an ultimate top 30 emerging technologies list. Check this article – The Top 30 Emerging Technologies (2018–2028).
I sniffed the list and got a bit disappointed. The top five tech in the list are all well know technologies, companies, press and media are buzzing around for the last 5 years. Here is the list:
#1 Artificial Intelligence #AI /Machine Learning / Deep Learning
#2 Internet of Things #IOT / #IIOT & Sensors & Wearables
#3 Mobile & Social Internet — Advancements, Social Networks/Media, Search, Messenging and Livestreams
#4 Blockchain — Cryptocurrencies, Distributed Ledger Systems, DAOs, DApps
#5 Big Data — Apps, Infrastructure & Predictive Analytics
However, the overall list is very impressive and gives you an opportunity to validate your technological radar to insure you didn’t miss anything big that can smash your strategy, career or business in the next 10 years. I found few interesting pieces of tech for myself that worth paying attention. These are my 2 favorites: MESH apps and CX (customer experience).
#10 Cloud Computing — Software-as-Service (SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Servcie (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) & MESH Apps
MASA is a new architectural model introduced by Gartner which stands for Mesh app and service architecture. It reflects what has emerged over the last five years, as organizations have experimented several digital projects.
In the race to digital transformation, MASA focuses on enabling rich, fluid and dynamic connections of people, processes, services, content, devices and things. It enables the digital business technology platform within organizations. This model is in many ways similar to the Axway Customer Experience Networks.
MASA mesh is based on a multidimensional model where an application is an interconnected mesh of independent and autonomous apps and services. Hence the name… It often incorporates functionality from other applications to create its own functionality that is shared in turn with external systems via APIs.
A MASA application covers a specific process or activity. It is made of several apps and services. Each app serves the need of a specific user persona within the process/activity. For example, if you take the Uber application, there are two different apps: “Uber for travellers” and “Uber for drivers”. We should also consider how the different channels – such as mobile, connected things, social media, partners … – interact with those apps and contribute to the global application.
#12 CX — Customer Journey, Experience, Personalization & Commerce Tools
Customer Experience (CX) is a big deal. Here is what you can learn about it in Wikipedia:
In commerce, customer experience (CX) is the product of an interaction between an organization and a customer over the duration of their relationship.[1] This interaction is made up of three parts: the customer journey, the brand touchpoints the customer interacts with, and the environments the customer experiences (including digital environment) during their experience.[citation needed] A good customer experience means that the individual’s experience during all points of contact matches the individual’s expectations. Gartner asserts the importance of managing the customer’s experience.[2]
Customer experience implies customer involvement at different levels – such as rational, emotional, sensorial, physical, and spiritual.[3][need quotation to verify] Customers respond diversely to direct and indirect contact with a company.[4] Direct contact usually occurs when the purchase or use is initiated by the customer. Indirect contact often involves advertising, news reports, unplanned encounters with sales representatives, word-of-mouth recommendations or criticisms.[5]
What is my conclusion? 30 emerging tech tech list is your sanity check. Whatever crazy buzzword you can think about future PLM stories, following this top 30 check list can guarantee that you will stand up to the speed. At the same time, don’t get too much excited about new tech – PLM still has too many unsolved basic problems. Just my thoughts…
Best, Oleg
Disclaimer: I’m co-founder and CEO of OpenBOM developing cloud based bill of materials and inventory management tool for manufacturing companies, hardware startups and supply chain. My opinion can be unintentionally biased
