Right now, we are going through a turbulent time, when disruptive factors in business are all around us. To paraphrase a well-known saying, we have been cursed to live in interesting times. But while the changes around us may be confusing and definitely disruptive, it isn’t all horror stories and failures. Some of these forces are not only a power to be reckoned with – but could actually give us a world that is better then the one we have now.
The impact these changes have affect everything, often with better results. New technologies have given us everything from immersive entertainment to smarter tech for esoteric needs such as riser analysis for manufacturing. Whatever the cause and however it reaches us, these three big disruptive forces are here to stay.
The Automation of Finance
We are already seeing a huge impact in the financial world as ATMs and online banking make going to the bank a rare occurrence for many. Many are seeing the next step in the trend towards automation eliminating financial advisors and analysts, who will soon be as rare as old fashion bank tellers.
Big data has gone from being something only huge corporations have access to and understand to something many of us will access to from our home computers through online portals. As payments move to online and mobile sources, expect to see more big changes in the world of finance over the next five years.
The Dominance of Mobility
Who would have thought that we would be living so completely on our cellphones, when they first introduced the little flip phones, so many years ago. Today many are foregoing their laptops and desktop computers and instead consulting their smartphones when they need an answer. As more and more of us turn to our phones for shopping, banking, communication and even entertainment, our relationship with computers will change.
Today’s workforce is gradually becoming more and more mobile. One aspect of this is the increase in the “gig economy” where workers pick up various jobs and do them from the comfort of their own computers, be that a laptop in a coffee shop or a smartphone on the run. Upgrades in mobile storage and the ability to increase mobile security will anchor this trend for the future.
The New Green Technology
Another sector to watch is the expansion of marijuana technology as more and more states make it legal. So far, the country has only taken baby steps, but as more states step up to the plate expect greater investment. Since it is already the most researched domesticated plant we know, and Canada is planning to make recreational marijuana legal across the country in 2017, it is only a matter of time before the medical aspects begin to pay off as well.
The plant may well give alcohol a run for its money when it comes to being the after work pick me up of the latest generation. The tech needed to run these high-tech grow operations may contribute to what we know about growing food in such restrictive environments and contribute to the one-hundred-mile movement in food production. Forbes Magazine recently named this development one of the top six disruptors to watch for the coming year.
