The survey identifies five technology trends that have fuelled the business success in the digital economy.

 

The first technology is intelligent automation, a technology that is powered by artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and augmented reality – to fundamentally change the way their business operates and drive a new, more productive relationship between people and machines.

 

The survey reveals that 70 percent of respondents acknowledged increased AI-related technology investments compared to two years ago, and 55 percent revealed that they plan on using machine learning and embedded AI solutions like IPsoft Amelia extensively.

 

Liquid workforce is the second technology that is in trend among entrepreneurs. By exploiting technology to enable workforce transformation, leading companies will create highly adaptable and change-ready environments that are able to meet today’s dynamic digital demands.

 

Respondents for this technology indicated that “deep expertise for the specialized task at hand” was only the fifth-most-important characteristic they required for employees to perform well in a digital work environment. Other qualities like ‘the ability to quickly learn’ and ‘the ability to shift gears’ were ranked higher.

 

Third technology in trend according to the survey is platform economy. Platform-based business models to capture new growth opportunities, driving the most profound change in the global macroeconomic environment since the Industrial Revolution, says the report, substantiating it with 81 percent of survey respondents who agree that platform-based business models will become part of their organization’s core growth strategy within three years.

 

Fourth trend-driven technology is predictable disruptions, with which forward-thinking leaders can proactively predict these ecosystem trajectories to gain a competitive advantage. “81 percent of survey respondents indicated the rise of the technology in industry,” the study says.

 

Lastly, digital trust that focuses not along on maintaining security but also the digital ethics as a core strategy, on which 83 percent of the respondents agreed.

 

Accenture conducted the survey on the technology vision external advisory 

board, a group comprising more than two dozen experienced individuals from the public and private sectors, academia, venture capital firms and entrepreneurial companies.

 

In addition, technology luminaries and industry experts, as well as with nearly 100 Accenture business leaders were interviewed for the survey. 

 

In parallel, Accenture Research conducted a global survey of more than 3,100 business and IT executives across 11 countries and 12 industries to capture insights into the adoption of emerging technologies.

 

Respondents were mostly C-level executives and directors, with some functional and line-of-business leads, at companies with annual revenues of at least US$500 million, with the majority of companies having annual revenues greater than US$6 billion, as per the Technology Vision team.