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What are the future predictions for the Information Technology services and product based industries and how are they supposed to impact other dependent industries?
Hello, and thank you for asking about future predictions for the Information Technology services and product-based industries and how they will impact other, dependent institutions. The short answer is that the future of IT capabilities in service-based industries include integration, 24/7 capabilities across multiple platforms, green technologies and accelerated innovations. Product-based industries will continue their focus on digitization, multi-system/multi-disciplinary product development, cloud and mobility, and comprehensive product innovation platforms, and include virtual reality, 3D printing, and Internet of Things (IoT) products.
A deep dive of my findings follows.
SERVICE-BASED INDUSTRIES
According to a Dataquest article, IT experts predict the greatest changes to service-based industries such as those providing financial services will be delivered in the next five years, and will impact everyone in the chain, including end-users, IT professionals and investors. Outcome based models will be key and will directly impact business performance as they are increasingly being used to drive financial gain-sharing among IT partners.
A cloud-leveraged enviroment continues to increase in populatiry and provides customers with "scalable, flexible, pay-per-use service delivery." Similarly, agile-based delivery enables rapid prototyping and development, enhancing opportunities for greater project success.
The on-demand economy continues to flourish and will become the norm, disrupting eCommerce in a way that has been compare to the introduction of the internet in the 1990s.
MAJOR CONCEPTS
The accountants at Barnes Roffe have identified four major areas of impact for IT professional service-based industries. They are:
1. Engagement in Technology - Clients will want to access their own data and processes that have been limited to professional engagement in the past. For example, they want to be able to be brought into bank and accounting IT systems to allow them access to their own data and enable them to provide information for processes (such as providing information for tax returns).
2. Integration - Using technology to automate processes that have been handled manually. Examples include scanning and processing invoices, direct capture of data from bank accounting systems, and automatic invoice processing. Integration of reporting and forecasting capabilities will be in demand.
3. Market Disruption - A number of new products will become available and accounting firms will need to adapt in order to stay competitive and relevant.
4. Millennials - Millennials demand multi-platform, 24/7 availability and require smooth operations regardless of device. IT will need to adapt to this requirement by creating platforms that provide high levels of integration and consistency. The popularity of mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, and wearables will likely continue this trend towards flexible, mobile access.
"Environmentally-sustainable computing and information technology (IT) optimization are two things that make up Green IT." As sustainability continues to be a major factor in all aspects of our lives, green technology will continue to grow and is forecast to exceed a billion dollars by 2020. Green technology stresses conservation of products used in computing system, such as electronics, plastic, ink, and paper.
Businesses want to upgrade their hardware to environmentally-friendly models and short technological cycles. Small and large businesses alike will reap increased savings through Green IT services, and tech leaders such as Google and Microsoft are already building green data centers."
Experts predict that the overall pace of innovation in the IT industry will accelerate, and could soon include "talking machines, 3-D telepresence, and real-world robotics." These changes will completely transform service industries such as healthcare, urban planning, eCommerce, and entertainment, to name a few. Optical computing (through the use of optical processors) will replace microelectronics, and will impact developments in memory and processing speeds and capabilities, allowing for processing of larger amounts of data at faster speeds.
Managed IT services - a third-party or outsourced IT department - will become more common as the future of digital transformation continues rapid growth. The cost of outsourcing such services are minimal when compared to maintaining in-house IT departments. These companies already have the skill and strategic solutions in place. Some of these companies provide value-added services such as equipment leasing, 'round the clock support and maintenance, and data sanitization and destruction.
PRODUCT-BASED INDUSTRIES
Generally speaking, digitization, multi-system/multi-disciplinary product development, cloud and mobility, and comprehensive product innovation platforms will lead the way in product-based IT industries. Virtual reality, 3D printing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and community-based product innovation are on track as major trends for the coming years. "All of the world’s built environment and physical products will be designed, engineered, visualized, simulated, validated, managed, made, and used in the cloud." Augmented reality and IoT will likely also change the methods for product documentation and training.
CLOUD-BASED ARCHITECTURE
As previously noted, cloud-based architecture continues to develop and evolve, with new applications developed frequently and expected to continue for at least the next 5 years. Easier fraud detection products are already highly in demand and will continue their growth trajectory. These products have been created as a response to ongoing needs across all industries.
The tremendous amount of consumer data is growing, and software is needed to process it. Future applications will need to sync multiple sources of data in order to provide context and real-time analysis. These products may use a combination of data from calendars, geolocation services, historic clickstream data, and more. Leverage data will be paramount to staying relevant and competitive. ,
SERVICE-BASED PRODUCTS
An evolving “mega-trend” highlights the demand for service-based consumption models (XaaS). Under this arrangement, customers are focusing on individual services and outcomes rather than products. "Product-based companies are experiencing declining product revenues, while their services revenues are on the rise." Thus, our research demonstrates that IT services will grow at a much faster pace than IT products in future.
CONCLUSION
To wrap up, the future of IT capabilities in service-based industries include integration, 24/7 capabilities across multiple platforms, green technologies and accelerated innovations. Product-based industries will continue their focus on digitization, multi-system/multi-disciplinary product development, cloud and mobility, and comprehensive product innovation platforms, and include virtual reality, 3D printing, and Internet of Things (IoT) products.
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