Chairman and CEO at Avasant, Author of Digital Singularity: A Case for Humanity
getty
We have an opportunity to lead revolutionary change — to disrupt business models, solve global and economic challenges and fundamentally transform human experiences. Technology is empowering us. It enables us to extend not only ourselves and our abilities, but also our connection with the world. Consider the current global Covid-19 pandemic and the way the world shifted online in an instant. Despite the closure of physical borders, we have become more open. Technology has created a boundaryless global community, allowing us to instantly connect and communicate, irrespective of geography.
This is a premise of digital singularity — the point where human experience and technological omnipresence come together. In digital singularity, we will experience technology in harmony with our daily activities, enabling life-changing experiences. We will be merged with technology like a distinct entity, leading to innovations that define the new economy. These innovations are referred to as the pillars of digital singularity — hyperconvergence, digital moments, augmented reality and digital twins — and they are foundational to survive and thrive in the digital economy.
1. Create better, faster and smarter products through hyperconvergence.
Hyperconvergence is a combination of two or more technologies with different uses to create something new. The merging of individual technologies creates something with a new and greater purpose than the original technologies could have had by themselves.
Hyperconvergence can make technology disruption a possibility for all. It is crucial to think ahead and invest in innovation, creativity and the technologies required to continuously improve your product or service — or risk being disrupted. Always question and challenge your teams. How can you integrate automation and artificial intelligence to enhance the function of product X? Does this fundamentally transform the experience for users? How else can it be improved? If you are not leveraging the multitude of possibilities through hyperconvergence, you could soon fall behind competitors.
2. Simplify transactions with digital moments.
Digital moments simplify transactions, allowing us to easily and quickly access the goods and services we want. Consider this: While brushing your teeth, your smart, connected electric toothbrush detects that the brush head's bristles need to be replaced. After analyzing your usage patterns, the toothbrush automatically sends a notification to your Amazon account to order a new brush head without your prompting.
Digital moments produce automatic transactions that can transform lives and free up time. Businesses need to think about the value they could be creating for themselves and consumers as they leverage digital moments as a sales and marketing channel. Consider the life-changing experience of not having to create a grocery list, drive to the store or make a purchasing decision. With digital moments, businesses can better understand consumer preferences based on regular transactions and can modify marketing and sales channels based on users' likes and dislikes. If you are selling a product and do not take advantage of digital moments, you could be set to lose out on a large segment of the market.
3. Enrich experiences with augmented reality.
Augmented reality (AR) enhances, in real time, the information we get through our senses. It improves how we perceive our surroundings and enriches experiences, allowing us to make better and faster decisions through data, inputs, computer-generated images and sound.
The use cases of AR across businesses and industries are continuously growing — from assisting in surgery, diagnosing maintenance issues with machinery or cars, perfecting warehouse distribution systems or even visualizing how furniture can look in your home before purchasing. Companies cannot risk not investing in AR because it is becoming a norm and expectation, enabling people to obtain information rapidly and efficiently.
4. Be protected and secured with your digital twin.
We live in a digital world where our information resides online, and much of our data is insecure. A digital twin is a real-time virtual model of our physical selves that constantly acts on our behalf without ever needing to rest or refuel.
The authentication and security capabilities from our digital twin are imperative for managing, wiping out and regulating fraud and cyberattacks. It will also be the primary channel for selling goods, services and financial packages. Our digital twin will automatically react to advertisements and offers, interpreting our preferences and anticipating our needs through machine learning. As online transactions continue to grow, the need for digital twins becomes increasingly important to look after our business, financial and personal information.
We need to reimagine how we do business and interact with these technology pillars to thrive and succeed.
Technology has rapidly accelerated over the past decade and will continue to do so. With the daily emergence of technology upstarts, enterprises are continually challenged to remain competitive or face disruption. These four technology pillars are not just theoretical; they have real and practical application to our personal lives and our businesses that we are already witnessing. If you do not start thinking about how these technology pillars can be integrated into your business model, you could forgo the vast opportunities they create and the chance to participate in the new digital economy.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
