Covering Disruptive Technology Powering Business in The Digital Age

Written by: Martin Dale Bolima, Tech Journalist, AOPG.

The world of technology is evolving faster than we can imagine, and the advancements made in recent years have laid the foundation for our new reality. This was the focus of Accenture’s Technology Vision 2023 report themed “When Atoms Meet Bits: The Foundations of Our New Reality“, which aims to provide a comprehensive guide to the latest technology trends driving this transformational shift.

In a recent media briefing, Paul Daugherty, Group Chief Executive at Accenture, and other tech experts delved deeper into the report’s findings, highlighting the technologies that are facilitating exponential change. This year’s Technology Vision report offers insights into the steps that enterprises must take to thrive in this new reality, where physical and digital experiences seamlessly converge to create a shared reality.

“This forecast, every year in the last 20 years, has proven to be a remarkably accurate forecast for the trends that are facing businesses and organisations that we all need to prepare for—to prepare our businesses, our organisations, and our people appropriately,” said Daugherty in his opening keynote.

Turns out, there is a lot to prepare for as the world navigates “a rapidly changing world [with] global uncertainties.” Among these uncertainties, as outlined by Daugherty, are geopolitical tensions, the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis. Technology, in this case, will help the world bridge these uncertainties—and more.

“As I say every time I talk about technology, you can’t look at technology in isolation. It’s not technology for technology’s sake,” Daugherty pointed out. “It’s about what’s happening in the context of the world around us [and] the world we live in.”

Taking all things into consideration, Daugherty made this crucial point: “The world will not get any simpler, and this has implications for what we all do.”

The Four Trends That Will Define a Future of Uncertainty

Daugherty is probably right, and the four technology trends Accenture identified in the report only prove that. These four trends are:

1. Generative AI. This artificial intelligence (AI) technology is advancing human capability and is described by Accenture as “a co-pilot, creative partner or advisor.” Business executives seem to agree. In a survey, Accenture discovered that 98% of executives think generative AI will drive creativity and innovation.
2. Digital identity. This means authenticating digital users and assets, and it is the foundation for traversing between the digital and physical worlds. The same Accenture survey found that 85% of executives consider digital identity as a strategic business imperative.
3. My data, your data, our data. Data is the key to unlocking AI and driving it to its full potential. According to Accenture, 90% of executives now regard data as a key competitive differentiator in the business landscape. Ergo, organisations looking to leverage AI must figure out the best ways to derive value from their data. A way to do so is by breaking down data silos and modernising data foundations.
4. Our forever frontier. The feedback loop between science and technology is faster than ever, and it will speed up even more. In fact, each is already accelerating the advancement of the other—and in a blazing-fast manner. And, as Accenture found out, 75% of business executives think this intersection will unlock the kinds of innovation that may solve some of the world’s pressing problems.

Accenture’s research also found that generative AI and other game-changing innovations are paving the way for a bolder future. And it is a future that will see the physical and digital worlds become even more intertwined.

Blurring the Divide Between the Physical World and Digital Sphere

All these trends will ultimately converge into one eventuality: the blurring of the line between the physical and the digital worlds.

“The next decade will be defined by three mega technology trends—cloud, metaverse and AI—which collectively will collapse the distance of our digital and physical worlds,” said Daugherty. “While generative AI will have far-reaching impact, leaders must dive in now to achieve its full promise, as it will require significant investments in data, people and customising foundation models to meet organisations’ unique needs.”

For Peter Yuan, Technology Lead, Southeast Asia, at Accenture, the key will be finding common ground between the two worlds—and learning how one can complement the other. That, evidently, will happen moving forward.

“For years, the guiding pillar of enterprise innovation has been taking processes, even whole parts of the organisation, and digitising them. And while we’ve built a rich and meaningful digital world, we haven’t really reconciled it with the physical one,” Yuan explained. “The next wave of business transformation will erase the demarcation between those worlds to fuse them into a new reality. The goal is not incremental improvement, but a step change towards total reinvention. With almost all ASEAN executives (99%) agreeing that investments in emerging technologies will help their organisations remain resilient, the trends laid out in our report will help enterprises chart the path in accelerating their reinvention, reimagining products and services, and exploring further opportunities for growth.”

The Biggest Question

That reinvention is the kind of exponential change the world will see in the coming years. But there is a big burning question about that massive change.

That question, according to Daugherty, is this: “Are businesses and our leaders ready for exponential change?’

The Accenture executive is a bit unsure, noting how “people, as human beings, do not deal well with exponential change.” Everyone, though, must learn how to better deal with exponential change, as it will be “critical to navigating this uncertainty.”

So, are you ready for that?

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