Immaterial sucks in all businesses

All businesses will go through enormous turbulence within a few years. But what happens after that?

Once there was a pile of papers on top of an office desk. A day later that pile was replaced by a floppy disc. Then the floppy disc was replaced by a compact disc. And that was again replaced by a tiny USB memory stick…

Then something weird happened.
The USB stick was replaced with nothingness.

Poof.

And just like that, the tabletop was empty.

Of course we know this “nothing” is a huge underground cloud server facility cooled down by an enormous solar farm.

But looking at things from the perspective of the floppy disc user, physical objects were replaced by smaller and more capable articles, and finally by something that could not be seen nor touched. To the floppy disc user, subjectively, storing information had become intangible — immaterial.

The same trend can be seen in every business area.

In Nordic countries, bank branches have disappeared, and so have almost all ATMs. Now Sweden is thinking about getting rid of cash altogether.

What about corporate offices? Disappearing.
Car ownership? Disappearing.
Managers?
Factory work?
Magazines?
Banking?
Maps?
Doctors?

Poof, poof, poof…

Things are not what they seem

Some could claim that we are just replacing old things with new, smarter ones. Yes, but this is only the beginning.

As things become digital, they are easier to connect. Physical objects connect to each other. They mutate as services. Services become merged communities of people, and automated and autonomous computer processes.

When various physical, digital, cognitive, emotional, social elements melt together, they form ecosystems that can easily transform to manage multiple tasks that were previously handled by separate independent entities.

To put it simply, old things are not made redundant by new things but by growing ever-changing ecosystems.

What’s next?

We move from the tangible world towards the intangible, from scarcity to abundance, material to immaterial. Before the disappearance of elements, we are overwhelmed with material abundance and disconnected and conflicting platforms that try to connect various elements. Existing structures start to crumble and old ways of doing things no longer seem to work, yet new ways are not fully in place yet. At this point, things will be really complicated and difficult to understand, even painful.

Then, as more organic ecosystems form, things start to feel more natural and simple. Many separate ecosystems become one. And we will all be a natural part of it. And when that happens, this ecosystem is so big we can no longer see it, as we are inside it.

Poof.

The best illustration of this can be found in the graphic novel La fièvre d’Urbicande by François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters.

In the story, Eugen Robick, city architect, comes across this weird indestructible cube. He does not think much of it.

The cube starts to grow connecting parts of the city, disrupting businesses and creating new relationships and opportunities.

Finally, the structure grows so big it disappears from view. But it has changed how people perceive themselves and their community.

Poof…