Virtualization and Cloud executives share their predictions for 2017. Read them in this 9th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed by Scott Sorokin, Global Head of Infosys Digital
Accelerating Digital Transformation Means Pivot or Perish in 2017
Digital transformation will lie at the center of corporate strategies in 2017, and as consumer behaviors evolve and change, brands will face a critical "pivot or perish" imperative to adapt or fall disastrously behind. AR/VR, IoT and related consumer-facing technologies will serve as the primary drivers behind this change, spurring businesses to pursue new tech initiatives in an attempt to keep pace and compete.
Augmented Reality goes mainstream: Pokémon Go may prove to be a fad, but the underlying AR technology is not. It may be in search of a relevant application, but AR itself is highly viable. What Pokémon Go did is prove its value regardless of the lifespan of the game itself. It showed how experience drives engagement, loyalty and advocacy, while affording brands the ability to play along in a non-intrusive way. AI, VR and machine learning are hardly fads. They are more akin to infants learning to crawl, then walk, then run. They will only continue to evolve into highly effective and vital tools.
Consumer tech will push the enterprise forward: The shift in spending from enterprise-grade to consumer-grade is already happening at a rate the likes of which we have never seen. As a result, most enterprise companies will continue to play catch-up to digital native businesses due to a massive legacy landscape of applications, systems and infrastructure. Driven in part by the dramatically falling relative cost of consumer-grade technology, Box, Google Drive, AWS and others now provide nearly the same capabilities (or more) offered by many traditional enterprise solutions.
IoT will cross new barriers: The Internet of Things will continue to accelerate a future that exceeds consumers' new digital expectations. With the power of digital analytics, automation, and machine learning, consumers are increasingly expecting real-time responsiveness as well as the anticipation of their needs: from knowing when a doctor's appointment is needed or the immediate processing of an insurance claim, to creating more efficient cities and leener, responsive enterprises. No matter what your industry, from automotive and healthcare, to energy and financial services there will be an IoT application for you.
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About the Author
Scott is the Global Head of Infosys Digital. Prior to Infosys he was the Chief Strategy Officer at Publicis.Sapient/Razorfish. Scott has been a strategist and digital partner for senior-level executives at Fortune 100 companies for over 25 years. Providing actionable strategic guidance across the entire digital ecosystem, Scott brings a rare combination of CXO level business strategy, technology and marketing experience in a fast-changing global market.
