The Top 10 IT Trends According To McKinsey 2

Given the recent focus on disruptive innovation, I’m currently on a mission to understand more about future IT Trends and how they might impact the payments space. So with that in mind the purpose of this article is to share with you what I have found. Once we know what the IT trends are, we can assess and monitor how they are impacting the payments industry. It was interesting trying to research future IT trends because there are loads of reports and articles about IT trends for 2015, but very little about what to look out for over the next 2, 3 or even 5 years. I wanted to see what the top analysts and industry leaders were thinking beyond 2015. Then I came across a McKinsey article Ten IT-enabled business trends for the decade ahead – and thought wow, these guys are looking 10 years ahead, I needed to check this out. Following are the 10 IT enabled business trends that McKinsey highlighted. Keep in mind the report was published in May 2013…

You can download the full report from Ten IT-enabled business trends for the decade ahead Insight and Publications page. It is well worth a read!

1. Social Networks…

Social networks will extend beyond connecting and enabling interactions between individuals. Social networks will become places where companies conduct business with customers, and will facilitate better interaction within and outside of the immediate organisation(s)

2. Big Data…

‘Big Data’ and Analytics will give companies that leverage this information a competitive edge.

3. The Internet of Things…

The ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) will further digitalise devices and enable amongst other things improved connectivity with and between devices, greater monitoring and with that new business opportunities

4. Offering anything as a service….

This isn’t just referring to cloud based solutions, but at opportunities to ensure that nothing sits idle. So companies offer / utilise a pay-as-you-go-service across various industries

5. Automation of  knowledge work…

We have all seen the automation of manual industries, now according to McKinsey is the turn of knowledge based industries. This has been enabled and will continue to happen through big data analytics, machine learning and through the increasing ability of computers to understand and respond to human commands and instructions

6. The digitalisation of the developing world…

As incomes rise in the ‘developing world’ and the cost of mobile devices (especially smart phones) decreases, this gives rise to a huge business opportunity and enables the financial inclusion of a huge and currently overlooked population. I have covered some of these points in my post, 3 Reasons Why Banks Need to Read The Gates Letter 2015…

7. The digital and physical world’s will converge…

This is where digitalisation of the world around us is presented to us in various ways during our daily lives. For example the ability to order your shopping via a mobile device, or presenting offers to your phone as you approach or walk past certain stores

8. Quick, easy and free…

There is an expectation now amongst consumers that services will be personalised, instantaneous, simple and free of charge. If they are not, or if a consumer is unhappy about a service they may voice their opinions on a social media platform and have the ability to quickly turn to a competitor. This consumer mind set presents both an opportunity and a challenge to companies to offer their services / products in increasingly innovative ways. The ultimate objective is engaging and retaining the customer!

9. The evolution of buying and selling…

The digitalisation, growth of various technologies and mobile internet have transformed the conventional way of doing business. Examples vary from online marketplaces which enable smaller businesses to have potentially huge markets, mobile payments enabling financial inclusion, the growth of virtual and digital currencies through to the ‘disruption‘ of conventional business models by companies such as Netflix, Uber and Airbnb

10. Utilising technology to transform government, health care and education…

McKinsey state that these industries have been slow to adopt recent technology developments and as a result have not realised some of the benefits such as reduced costs and opportunities for improved customer services. McKinsey state and share examples of how these 3 areas can be dramatically transformed through the adoption of technology

IT Trends

Some of the examples that McKinsey cite in the study are quite incredible, and make the report a very fascinating read. The nature and pace of change right now is incredible so it will be interesting to look at these 10 IT trends in lets say 5 years and assess how different (or maybe not) the landscape is. One thing is clear, technology and particularly the digitalisation of virtually everything around us is set to continue. The challenge is ensuring that the digitalisation happens in a way that respects peoples privacy and security.