The Future of Digital Products: Trends and Technologies Shaping Our Tomorrow

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April 10, 2024

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The Future of Digital Products: Trends and Technologies Shaping Our Tomorrow

Explore transformative trends in digital technology, from Sustainable Technology to Democratised Generative AI and Digital Humans, shaping the future of how we work, interact, and innovate in an increasingly digital world.
 


Introduction

In an age of rapidly advancing technology, digital products are at the forefront of driving growth and innovation in all facets of our lives. These products of the future seamlessly blend technology with human experience, creating new and exciting possibilities.

As we navigate an increasingly connected and digitalised world, digital solutions are poised to enhance every aspect of our daily lives.

In this article, we explore the key trends and technologies set to shape our digital landscape in 2024 and beyond, highlighting how they will transform the way we work, interact, and innovate.

 


Key Trends Shaping our Future

Sustainable Technology

The concept of Sustainability has evolved into so much more than just a trendy topic in recent years. It’s become a measurable, non-negotiable aspect of many companies and industries, reaching far beyond the tech sphere.

Sustainable Technology encompasses a holistic approach. Technology is used to assist in achieving sustainability goals by investing in innovations that reduce carbon footprints, improve energy efficiency, and promote sustainable practices in technology design and usage. In essence, it’s about the integration of environmental considerations into technology development.


By 2027, it's expected that 25% of CIOs will have their compensation linked to sustainable technology impact.

With stats like this, it’s no wonder that tech giants like Google and Apple have been heavily investing in renewable energy projects to reduce their carbon footprint.

Examples of Sustainable Technology in action include process automation, carbon data transparency, circular product design, and sustainable business models, with a view to reducing emissions by 45% to 70%. Technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), The Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain play key roles in creating sustainable operations and products​​.
 

The Augmented Connected Workforce

We’ve all become a lot more familiar with digital collaboration tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams over the past few years – that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Tools like these are already facilitating remote working and improving employee productivity in increasingly complex work environments, and the addition of interactive technologies is set to enable even more immersive and effective remote collaboration and training.

This trend signifies a shift towards a more interactive and connected work environment, blending physical and digital experiences.

The integration of technologies like Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), The Internet of Things (IoT), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the power to enhance employee capabilities and productivity. Applications include remote collaboration, workflow automation, and monitoring of facilities. This concept has the potential to significantly improve operational efficiency and innovative problem-solving across a number of industries.

 


Democratised Generative AI

The ability to create new content (images, speech, text, code and more) and its
widespread availability is set to democratise access to information and skills, making
this one of the most disruptive trends of this decade, if not century.

By automating and personalising content generation, Generative AI technology has the power to enhance productivity, creativity, and efficiency in various industries, from product design and development, right through to sales and marketing. 


By 2026, more than 80% of enterprises will have utilised generative AI APIs, models, or deployed generative AI-enabled applications in production environments.

ChatGPT is just the beginning. We can expect this trend to truly explode in the near future, making generative AI technologies accessible to a broad range of users. Democratised Generative AI promises increased innovation, fosters rapid ideation, and opens up access to advanced technology for small businesses and individuals​​.



Intelligent Applications

AI-driven applications are becoming increasingly sophisticated, capable of learning, adapting, and sometimes operating autonomously. They are enhancing customer experiences, optimising operational efficiencies, and driving intelligent decision-making.

In particular, their use in the personalisation of customer experiences, illustrates a shift towards more intelligent and efficient business operations.


It’s predicted that 30% of new apps will use AI to drive personalised adaptive user interfaces by 2026.

Within this trend, one of the key developments is Automated Machine Learning (AutoML). This aspect of AI focuses on automating the process of labelling data and tuning neural network architectures, making AI more accessible and cost-effective. It's anticipated that improvements in semi- and self-supervised learning will minimise the need for manually labelled data. Additionally, multimodal learning is gaining traction, allowing AI to support multiple modalities within a single model, such as text, vision, speech, and IoT sensor data.

This advancement enables AI to perform a wider range of tasks more efficiently, such as document understanding in healthcare, combining machine vision and optical character recognition for optimised information presentation​​.



Industry Cloud Platforms

The emergence of industry-specific cloud platforms is providing tailored tools and services for distinct sectors. This trend indicates a move towards more specialised and industry-focused digital solutions, enabling businesses to address unique challenges more effectively.

By 2027, more than 50% of enterprises will use industry cloud platforms to accelerate their business initiatives.

Industry Cloud Platforms (ICPs) blend software, platform, and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) to offer tailored solutions for specific industries. These platforms enhance the agility of businesses, enabling them to rapidly adapt their processes and applications.

ICPs stand out by not only providing predefined solutions but also offering modularity and composability, supported by a catalogue of industry-specific packaged business capabilities. This approach facilitates easier integration of technical and business innovations from one industry to another, and a robust industry cloud ecosystem enriched by independent software vendors and system integrators is key to their added value​​.



Digital Humans

AI-driven avatars, or digital characters, are creating more engaging and personalised user experiences. Used in customer service, entertainment, and as virtual assistants, these digital humans are redefining interactions in the digital realm.

The trend of digital humans and AI avatars, especially generative AI avatars, is revolutionising digital interactions. These avatars, which can be 2D or 3D models, are designed to mimic human-like personas and are increasingly being used across various industries for applications like e-education, virtual assistance, medical care, gaming, media, and customer service.

They are particularly valuable in enhancing user experiences in online retail, offering personalised interactions and improving customer service. The technology behind these avatars involves several phases, including accumulation, analysis, language processing, and visual shaping.

Despite their benefits in task automation and interaction, challenges like maintaining human likeness to avoid the uncanny valley (the sense of discomfort or unease we experience when we encounter a robot with human-like characteristics), and ensuring proper training for teams to use these avatars effectively, persist.


The global AI market, fuelled by these advancements, is expected to reach $1,811.8 billion by 2030, indicating the significant potential of AI avatars in transforming customer engagement and interaction experiences​​.



Soft Skills and the Human Touch

As technical tasks become increasingly automated, the value of human-centric soft skills like emotional intelligence, communication, and problem-solving is rising. This trend highlights the growing importance of these skills in complementing technological advancements.

In the age of automation and AI, soft skills such as critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and effective communication are becoming increasingly important.

These skills are key for humans to add value in ways technology cannot, focusing on thinking and emotionally connecting in ways beyond the capabilities of machines.

Businesses and HR leaders are encouraged to develop these skills among employees to stay competitive. Concrete behavioural definitions of soft skills, such as humility and empathy, and training strategies are essential for embedding these skills in the workplace culture​​.



The Customer Experience Revolution

Companies are focusing more on ensuring every interaction with customers is positive and personalised. This involves tailoring marketing efforts, streamlining delivery and setup processes, and efficiently resolving issues, all aimed at enhancing the overall customer experience.

The Customer Experience Revolution trend highlights the importance of AI-powered customer experiences and personalised interactions.


AI's role in customer support is growing, with many businesses using it for 24/7 customer support and predictive analytics.

This enables businesses to anticipate customer needs and offer solutions proactively.

Additionally, there's an emphasis on data security, as customers are increasingly concerned about how their data is used. Businesses must balance automation and human interaction, understanding customer perspectives, and offer omnichannel support. The trend also involves every part of a business in shaping customer experience, not just customer-facing roles​​.



Conclusion

The evolving landscape of digital products is being profoundly shaped by these emerging trends and technologies. They reflect a significant shift towards more innovative, efficient, and sustainable digital solutions. As these technologies continue to advance in 2024, they promise to transform various aspects of our lives, from the way we work, to how we interact with each other. 

The future of digital products holds immense potential for driving growth, enhancing user experiences, and addressing key challenges in our increasingly digital world.

Sources: 

Gartner – Gartner Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2024
Gartner – Gartner Identifies Five Technologies That Will Transform the Digital Future of Enterprises
Deloitte – Tech Trends 2024
Forbes – The Top 5 Tech Trends In 2024 Everyone Must Be Ready For
TechTarget – Soft skills key to employability in age of automation
CDOTrends – What Are Industry Cloud Platforms?
IBM Newsroom – IBM Explores the Future of Cryptography
DaveAI – The Rise Of Generative AI Avatars: How Virtual Avatars Are Revolutionizing Digital Interactions
HubSpot – How Customer Experience Has Evolved Over the Last Decade [+ 2024 Trends]
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