Deep Digital Transformation — what is coming?
…and will your Gran ever wear a VR headset?
Before I go further, I want to be transparent and say that I listen and read a lot from people who are miles further ahead of the curve than me — they are creating the curve! I am learning and recanting, adding my own spin and using their knowledge, combined with my experiences in Product and Transformation, to shape and write.
Peter Diamandis (diamandis.com), Derek Sivers (sivers.org), Amy Webb (amywebb.io), Jim Collins, Matthew Syed, Bruce Daisley (Eat Sleep Work Repeat), nancygiordano (nancygiordano.com) and Stephen Duneier — all on my regular reading list (and quite brilliant), have shaped my views over time. One additional influence is the incredible team around me that inspires my vision, and a new extended leadership team to stimulate our work. When I am able to, I will reference each of them, immensely inspiring as they are.
We live in a transformed world. Whole industries have paused, or, in some cases, stopped for extended periods. Customers and users’ expectations and interactions have changed dramatically, and as a result, we are in a place where Deep Digital Transformation is required for many industries to accommodate and ultimately, survive by presenting services and experiences in very different ways.
I do not want to go on about COVID — it’s all we hear about (and of course it is, we are still in the midst of a Pandemic), however, looking past the very real and raw trauma and disconcert, it is and will remain a catalyst for change and accelerated digital metamorphosis… more on that driver in a moment.
There are two questions posed in my title and the extremely short answers are:
- Lots.
- Probably. (But you will for sure).
To put some more context to these super short answers, what we are already experiencing and what will continue to come forth from all angles in both B2B and B2C, is around 100 years’ worth of advancement in technology, over the next 18 months.
Think about that for a second.
This relates of course to Moore’s law, but stop and think about how far we have come in the last 10 years… and then think 10x that. I watch incredibly smart and articulate people from MIT, Stanford and Imperial as well as all the super tech-enabling enterprises out there, and what they are saying is:
We literally have the capacity and power to form what our future digital landscape looks like.
Both awe-inspiring and incredibly scary!
The key for me here is that this progression according to Moore’s law is happening in any case, we can’t and won’t stop it. What we have right now is a forging point, the pinnacle of global communities looking for and requiring change, combined with the technology and design ability to make it happen.
Although this is about consumerism to some extent, it’s more than that. The Pandemic has forced people to think about core services differently, societies have been shaken to their foundations. Core elements such as Education, Health, Finance, Travel and Logistics, Culture and the Arts, Sports and Recreation — all affected to the point where experiences are literally being reshaped.
This isn’t just about a few large and important events being cancelled or postponed, it's about our ‘normal’ lives being adversely affected in a very short span of time, the realisation of what has transpired and the interactions and experiences to be created according to this realisation.
We are in a position where progress meets necessity. This is forging the aforementioned accelerated Digital Change. This has happened before, think the Industrial Revolution — and look where that took us!
The Global situation is making us rethink from the inside out and the results so far have been fluid and at large.
Deep Digital Transformation as a requirement
Digital Transformation used to be something only those businesses who had the money, the insight and the drive would undertake. Many businesses functioned very well trading as they had always done, once in a while going through a brand refresh, web/app overhaul and new marketing messaging. As we stand at the end of 2020, these rules don’t really apply.
The ‘Deep’ attached to Digital transformation means business cores are changing — without transformation many businesses wont survive, let alone thrive.
In order for industries to deliver experiences and services differently and in-line with the changing, heightened and expanded requirement-driven mentalities of users and consumers, generated by this forced change, utilising technology and smart UX will be at the forefront of our society, now and ongoing.
Moving on to our earlier question of ‘will our grandparents wear a VR headset’?
Yes. More than likely! And for sure you and those in your immediate family, friends, colleagues, kids and generations beyond. Of course, headsets, as we know them, will and are changing already, soon they will be smaller and akin to sunglasses much like the famed Google glass we have all heard so much about.
If your Grandma wants to watch a documentary about a Country she lived in as a child, or animals she is fond of or even interact with her grandkids in an immersive virtual world surrounded by happy memories, this will be possible and its very likely that the tech is so easy to use and personalise as well as light-weight that all ages will feel super comfortable. It’s also very likely that services your Grandma and all generations use now such as cable TV and internet providers will have an offering as standard and this means every generation will interact easing into new experiences.
So what is coming?
I count myself fortunate to be in the middle of a business that is helping to create and forge this exciting digital future. The possibilities are huge and they must be pointed not only toward consumerism but also squarely in the face of socio-economic issues globally such as water shortage, land degradation, food waste, poverty, famine, failing education and health systems and unemployment/retraining.
We have a chance to re-balance, educate and provide for those who are most in need. Although I am not placed to make sweeping statements about global action effectiveness, we cannot just go ‘back to the norm’. This will not be the last defining turning point event — we have to learn and progress for humanity and the planet. We have the ability to overcome any challenge, this cannot solely be profit-led, we have to look into our motives. I have a feeling we will see a lot of change for good — people are stepping up and a lot of noise is being made with resulting actions.
Education
We will see a huge change. The teaching systems around the world will change — the delivery framework and the content. Access to content will become easier and technology will provide access in new formats to more people than ever. Immersive and ‘mixed reality’ through VR and AR will flourish. Standardisation and democratisation will start to happen.
Healthcare
Procedures, quality and accessibility will change and progress. Synthetic biology, sensor and nanobot tech with data underpinning decisions and actions will result in ongoing and accurate monitoring for most of the world population.
AI & Automation every day
They are becoming the drivers of procedures across many of the industries we interact with on a daily basis. AI is only as good as the data the system is fed, and one thing we have collected over the last 20 years during the computer revolution is data!
Cryptocurrency, Blockchain and Big Data
Personal Finance and Investment will move to ‘De-centralised’ (DeFi) with far less institutional involvement. Lending and Credit will be efficient and more secure. Core financial and Insurance services will be automated yet more personalised.
Utilities and Everyday Processes
We are expecting advancements and simplification using AI, Blockchain, 5G, Quantum computing and enhanced mobile technology. There will literally be an App for everything — they will get more intuitive with personalised UX and integrated almost seamlessly.
Culture, Arts, Sports and Recreation
Including gaming, hobbies and key entertainment industries such as Music -all will be more interactive through XR or Mixed Reality (VR and AR). The possibilities around training, experiences and social interactions will become almost never-ending.
Operations
Contracts and purchases, from mortgages to phones, ordering online and money transfers will all be underpinned by Blockchain while Cybersecurity will focus on personal data — on the flip side, Cybercrime will become more strategic and complex.
Logistics, Travel and Tourism
Keeping momentum as they have been, with companies like Tesla and Arrival pushing to ensure that CO2 levels drop and sustainability rises. Movement of people will change, industries such as Aviation changing dramatically and a curve for VR and Immersive experiences.
These examples are some small statements about what are very complex and progressive areas where change is already in-flow.
Personally, I am excited to say that I can be involved. What is important is that this reflection point, the point of convergence I mentioned earlier is leading us as users, consumers as a small part of a much bigger mechanism to not just want the normal back. The future can be better, for everyone, and although we will eventually be able to socialise as we did in the past without the two metres between us and a mask on our faces, the options we have for much of our life will be better, more effective, safer, at better value, affordable and most importantly available to more people everywhere, regardless.
An interesting problem to be solved for example would be how we preserve, clean and distribute drinking water to every single human on the planet! I think consumerism will actually drive this change through brand selection and allegiances, as clearly some enterprises are better and more committed and work more towards achieving this goal than others while customers can help to shape enterprise behaviour — more on this in the next part.
