THE WORLD will see “smart” becoming the new “green” in the next decade, according to a new study of “mega trends” which also forecasts that some people will have their own personal robots in 2020.
The study, completed by London-based corporate advisers Frost Sullivan, predicts the emergence of 30 mega-cities, 15 mega-regions and at least 10 mega-corridors with over 20 million people each by the end of the decade.
Increasing urbanisation will lead to new “hub-and-spoke” business models for healthcare, logistics, retailing and many other functions, forcing organisations to rethink their “urban” business models, it suggests.
Urbanisation will also drive more integration of core city centre areas with suburbs and satellite cities, resulting in expanding boundaries from the current metropolitan average of 40km (25 miles) to around 64km (40 miles).
More social networking will be enabled by “geocoding” and “geotagging”, as user-submitted data with profiles and interests is matched with location-based services to connect with surrounding people or events.
Meanwhile, “e-mobility” will redefine how we get around, the study says. “Over 40 million electric vehicles, including electric pedal cycles, scooters, four-wheelers and buses will be sold annually around the globe in 2020,” the study says.
“The opportunity in the e-mobility market is not in making cars but in its value chain, batteries (including second-life and recycling), charging stations and packaging innovative mobility solutions such as ‘pay by electrons’.”
Another trend identified by the futurologists is “innovating to zero”. This envisages a brave new world of zero emissions, zero accidents, zero fatalities, zero defects, zero breaches of security and carbon-neutral factories.
But if sustainability was one of the mega trends that shaped the last decade, the study forecasts that health, wellness and well-being of body, mind and soul will be the most important factor of differentiation in this decade.
The study, “World’s Top Global Mega Trends to 2020”, predicts the empowerment of women will reach new heights, with one in three workers and up to 40 per cent of boardrooms in some countries becoming female by 2020.
“The world will also witness a reverse brain drain, wherein the vast vacancies for top executives in countries like India will be filled not only by returning Indians, but also by Americans and Europeans seeking better prospects.”
Mega trends are defined as “global, sustained and macroeconomic forces of development that impact business, economy, cultures, careers and personal lives, thereby defining our future world and its increasing pace of change.”
Frost Sullivan says the objective of its visionary innovation research programme is to provide companies with special reports to focus on the evolution of these global trends to help them drive growth and innovation in the changing environment.
Partner Sarwant Singh said its programme could translate trend opportunities into everyday business and personal life.
“We are not just throwing out forecasts for the future, but showing organisations immediate opportunities and threats in the here and now,” he said.