Today’s business world is all about connectedness. The connection between people and things, the connection across geographies, and the connection across markets and industries. Gartner tracks emerging technologies in its annual Hype Cycle reports that enable organisations to increase this interconnection, allowing for the real-time exchange of vast quantities of data, and for increased intelligence, complex analysis and decision making in real time.  

To help IT leaders understand significant technology trends, Gartner analysts looked across all 109 Hype Cycles and noted four high-level megatrends trends that track the evolution of digital business technologies, services and business models.

“New digital business models require ecosystems of people, businesses and technologies that must scale beyond the enterprise,” said Betsy Burton, vice president and distinguished analyst.

Megatrend 1: Nexus technologies move to and through the trough

Since 2008, cloud, data, mobile and social (the Nexus of Forces) have dramatically affected people’s lives, business interactions, social change and global economies. These massive collections of technologies and the resulting changes in business models and human behaviour have accelerated the interconnection of technology, business and humans, and given rise to digital business.

Megatrend 2: Early digital business technologies evolve beyond the hype

In 2016, the future of business technology has come into sharper focus with the emergence of digital business — the blurring between the digital and physical worlds that is revolutionising life for people and gives enterprises unprecedented opportunities. While over 90% of large organisations are pursuing digital initiatives, we estimate that fewer than 30% of businesses have fully realised their digital potential to scale.

Megatrend 3: New approaches to design and innovation

Digital business is about more than technologies; it is about creating new business models and new ways to engage with customers, partners and suppliers in your business ecosystem. To drive this innovation, organisations look to strengthen their design and innovation capabilities.  Approaches such as human-centric design, design thinking, agile, DevOps, architecting innovation and other iterative, experimental approaches underpin digital business.

Megatrend 4: Artificial intelligence adds new dimension to digital business

The early signs of this evolution are expanding with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning or smart technologies. Technologies are emerging that can learn and evolve based on information they gather and analyse, and produce unanticipated results. The old automation model moved at the speed of code development; the new model will move at the speed of data. Early versions of this technology are beginning to appear, including smart apps, conversational interfaces, predictive analytics and virtual personal assistants.

The Hype Cycles will be further discussed by analysts at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo in Cape Town later this month.