Information and communication technologies are leading to a real revolution in the way companies see their business and relate to their audiences. Therefore, being aware of the innovations that are coming is crucial to take the lead and stand out from the competition. To give you a little push at the start, we highlight five trends you need to follow in the coming years.
Integrated communication
Social media have caused a real stir in P2P communication (person to person), imagine, then, the communication between company and people? No wonder a lot of people are freaking out with so many channels of communication, a team to run Facebook, a team to manage Twitter, a team to develop videos for Youtube, and so much more.
The trend for the next few years is that this babel of communication channels take a turn towards an integrated communication, where all channels have the same line of action, communicating with the same language and taking advantage of it to leverage the business. This will only be possible with the help of information and communication technologies, which try to consolidate solutions to give the same flow to all that virtual racket.
Enterprise Virtualization
Cloud computing is out there, but not everyone has realized it. Transporting the entire operation of enterprises to the cloud is one of the major trends for years to come, having in mind that globalization is increasingly influencing the lives of people and of the organizations.
With a virtualized enterprise, it will no longer be necessary to have a physical structure, with a facade, a proper address and rent to pay. The professionals will be working in their homes and will have more flexibility at work, while many companies will earn money with the optimization of resources and lower expenses. The main barrier for a more massive adoption of the cloud is still the concern for the security of information. Several different models are being tested to eliminate this obstacle.
Going further with Big Data
Every company generates a gigantic amount of information, but knowing how to deal with this information and use it as a raw material for decision making is a whole different story. Big Data is already available, but the trend is that companies, in the coming years, start to structure themselves based on intelligence – in the cloud – for business integration to occur instantly, waiving meetings, reports and swollen staff to deal with corporate knowledge.
Cloud Collaboration
We have already said that companies will become virtualized, working directly in the cloud to optimize resources and cover the largest possible market share. In this same line of thought, you can share the knowledge with your supply chain, i.e. all its intelligence and competitive advantage will be hosted in the cloud, and may be shared with companies and people who contribute with their business, forming a true value-added chain. After all, why not assist your customers and suppliers to be more competitive? You only have to gain from it.
Self Apps
How many new apps appear every day? Countless, isn’t it? Well, in the near future, in addition to the countless new apps, we shall have customizable applications, tailored to each clients’ needs. For example, you download an application and customize it according to your preferences, creating a completely new app.
