About

Once upon a time, during the Space Age, mankind imagined a future. This imagined future was characterized by several new technologies like rocketry, robotics, computers, material science (plastics! Teflon!) and other areas that seemed to be in rapid development. If we look at retro-futuristic images from this era, we can easily be fascinated and think about the contrasts of what we see and what we get today. This future has never become true – just in parts. On one hand, the visionaries of that age were wrong: after all, we haven’t ended up with flying cars, colonies in space or anthropomorphic talking robots in households (yet). On the other hand, they were ultimately right: those key technologies have not only converged, but much of the technology originally developed for space applications has been spun off and found revolutionary uses in everyday life.

When we created our first report on trends affecting our industry, we knew that we would be set for a similar fate: we would certainly be ‘wrong’ about the final form and ultimate context of many technological developments. But we could also be ‘right’ about pointing to certain technologies that have the potential to impact our disciplines, economies and industries. We are certain that we live and work in a time where there are spellbinding shifts and disruptions. Some of the emerging technologies have the potential to connect people in new and meaningful ways, improve the efficiency of organizations dramatically, and manage assets in smarter ways.

We wanted to create a trend report, which is not overly assertive and leaves room for uncertainty, doubts and even freedom for debate within our organization regarding the potential and merits of certain technologies. We wanted to show that there are great promises but potentially also great pitfalls. We wanted to avoid the trap of over-zealous technological evangelism while also retaining a keen eye and healthy curiosity about new technology. The result is a trend report that is centered around debates, a diversity of opinions and perspectives. We hope you will add yours too!