Understanding the opportunities and challenges of emerging technologies
When the pandemic hit in early 2020, technology development and deployment accelerated to help us adjust. Back then, we surveyed business leaders as part of our Trendlines research to get a first look at what was happening. The results were exciting — and illuminating.
We asked the same questions (and others) in 2021, and the results have only become more interesting. Our new EmTech Index report details those year-over-year findings related to 12 key emerging technology categories (next-generation connectivity, IoT/edge, AI recognition, blockchain, extended reality, wearables, quantum computing, advances in machine learning, conversational AI, robotics, augmented humans and digital twin). It also provides new insights and recommendations for how best to navigate the road ahead.
The findings make it clear that there are both opportunities and challenges when you consider the emerging technologies that make sense for your business and your people. We hope that with the right context and perspective, you can feel more confident than cautious as you consider the promise of emerging tech.
|
30% |
44% |
52% |
|---|---|---|
|
of respondents’ 2021 tech budget was spent on emerging technologies – 2x as much as in 2020. |
of companies are busting silos and getting value from testing emerging technologies in combination. |
of respondents said they tested or adopted IoT/edge, with 40% of those receiving “significant value” in return. |