What’s Next: New forces of a fuzzy future

Just quarter or so left for 2020 to end, and here we are looking back at which has been perhaps the most tumultuous period of our lives and in the last 100 years. We all know what has changed, but we are keen to understand things that are about to change. The future looks fuzzy and yet there are markers which are signs of exciting periods ahead. There are shapes of remarkable things which are emerging from the fog of the future.

At times there have been conflicting signals – while we see unprecedented global cooperation among research institutes, countries, pharmaceutical companies and healthcare professionals to work together, share insights to find a cure for this deadly pandemic, at the same time, economic divisions between powerful economic forces have never been as sharp as before. This has created fresh challenges for global companies to navigate through this geopolitical battle for supremacy. Strategists must factor the interplay of global politics into their roadmaps for The Next.

Technologies which were to have matured over the next three years, have now happened in three months and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The digital economy is upon us. In June 2020, global retail e-commerce traffic stood at a record 22 billion monthly visits. Frost and Sullivan predicts B2B ecommerce sales to reach $12 trillion globally by end of the year. It is estimated that 95% of purchases will be made online by 2040 — ecommerce is opening the doors of opportunity to countless entrepreneurs.

All companies had to make this shift to being digital. This is testing the digital maturity of organizations which is now a mission critical survival tool. In one sweep, the need to upskill employees have assumed the highest priority in the CEO to-do list; digital dexterity of people is a business imperative. Utmost importance will need to be attached to user experience of customers and every stakeholder interacting through digital channels. Within digital channels, mobility will have the highest traction as most transactions are already happening via mobile devices and is poised to grow exponentially.

While these are opportunities, the risks too are looming ahead of us. From dramatic impact of climate change, to social unrest across the world, impending water crisis, threats to globalization, capitalism and the established economic order, will usher in unprecedented changes. The global economy is faced with a “synchronized slowdown”, the past five years have been the warmest on record and cyberattacks are expected to increase this year— and all the while citizens are protesting the political and economic conditions in their countries and voicing concerns about systems that exacerbate inequality.

This means consumers in every country are worried about the future and they will think not twice, but several times, before consuming anything but essentials. Every social problem we had before the pandemic has been exacerbated by it. We have rising inequality in many places. Many frontline workers are low-income, while better-paid people stay at home and work remotely; this is increasing inequalities. There is a growing digital divide as the poor who cannot afford connectivity and devices are being left behind as everything goes remote. Organizations will be forced to rethink shareholder value maximization and instead focus on societal value increase. Technology has to be for good, to connect the unconnected to take the benefits to those who need it the most will shape our future, only then we will be able to able to stay relevant in the future.