These six technologies may already be impacting your business

There are two areas of business that I am passionate about. First, enhancing the customer journey is the best way for a company to increase its profitability. Those who follow me on Turnaround Talk will have read my insights.

The second area I am passionate about is digitalisation and the impact the digital economy will have on businesses in the future.

I have written articles on this in the past. However, I came across a fascinating article on the Harvard Business Review’s (HBR) website that discusses six technology trends impacting business today.

SpaceTech

The HBR article points out that space and aeronautical engineering is a growth opportunity as government agencies continue to yield much of their traditional business and operational domain to private companies, such as flights and launches, and companies invest in new transportation.

Low-Earth orbit (LEO) flights, at altitudes of up to 1,200 miles (the International Space Station’s distance from Earth), enable organizations to build and service communications and security infrastructure for use on Earth. Other private investment areas include deep space research, exploration, and even habitation and supporting Earth-based technologies, infrastructure, resources, and regulations.

BioTech

The HBR article adds that cellular and biomolecular engineering allows scientists to build and dissect cells, tissues, and molecules to produce therapeutic products with optimal outcomes. Molecular-scale research of complex biological systems has already yielded the complete sequencing of the human genome and tissue-engineered therapies.

Emerging applications with commercial potential include synthetic biology, the process of generating biological systems and synthetic life forms; genomics, the function and editing of genomes; and cellular agriculture, the production of synthetic food using cell cultures and new methods of generating proteins, fats, and tissues.

NeuroTech

The HBR article points out that brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) measure and translate brain and central nervous system activity into commands that operate external software or hardware systems to make controlling computers as natural as thinking.

Today, that means assistive technologies, such as non-invasive EEG electrodes that can translate brain signals to AI-trained algorithms and transmit commands to control a device. NeuroTech’s future has revolutionary potential, with research and development (R&D) expanding from restorative, therapeutic, and assistive applications to elective placement that could help enhance human thought, capabilities, and skills and enrich our daily lives.

RobotTech

The HBR article points out that autonomous and precision robots extend AI value from decision-making software to decision-making machines: robots that can understand their surroundings and take actions without special physical infrastructure. Beyond autonomous vehicles—cars, trucks, bikes, scooters—dexterous, multifunctional, intelligent precision robots may play an expanding role in industry, agriculture, medicine, and marine and space exploration. Advancements in traditional manufacturing, transportation, and logistics could grow with developments in tools including AI, Internet of Things (IoT) smart devices, edge computing, digital twins, and satellite and 5G communications.

ClimateTech

The HBR article adds that emerging climate technology may help organizations as they increasingly prioritize net-zero carbon-emissions policies, strategies, and business models with renewable energy, decarbonization, sustainable material development, heat abatement technologies, and supply-chain optimization.

Digital technologies may also play an important role: IoT, AI, and big data can help organizations measure, analyze, and track carbon emissions and manage energy consumption more efficiently.

EnergyTech

The HBR article points out that power, energy, and battery technologies may mitigate climate change while making energy more abundant, safer, or less expensive.

Advances in nanotechnology and materials that are helping to improve vehicle and phone battery life could also reduce dependence on scarce and hard-to-obtain materials such as cobalt and lithium, and energy storage systems, such as pumped storage hydropower and flywheel energy storage, can help stabilize energy grids and make them more efficient.

The future is now

Given the fact that digitalisation is one of the discussions that appears at the top of any company’s agenda, focusing on disruptive IT would overlook a range of emerging and near-future transformational technologies with disruptive business applications.

This has the potential to place a company in financial distress. Digitalisation is neither cheap nor forgiving to late adopters.

The Mystery Practitioner is an industry commentator that focuses on the shifting dynamics and innovative thinking that BRPs and turnaround professionals will need to embrace in order to achieve success in their businesses.