in

These 14 technology trends matter most

The Shortlist

Share this email

OUR BEST IDEAS, QUICK AND CURATED | SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

View in browser

Edited by Barbara Tierney
Senior Editor, New York

This week, we look at what executives need to know about tech innovation across industries. Plus, how the US government is addressing poor marks in its customer service, and Arianna Huffington on why investing in employee health should be a bottom-line priority.

Image of a outstretched finger touching colorful computer cables

Which technology trends matter most for companies in 2022? New analysis by the McKinsey Technology Council highlights the development, possible uses, and industry effects of advanced technologies—from bioengineering and quantum technologies to sustainable consumption. The council, a mix of internal and external experts, conducted research and dozens of interviews to identify and interpret 14 of the most significant technology trends unfolding today.

Search for innovation. According to partner Michael Chui and his team, the goal of the analyses in the McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2022 is to help executives understand the factors that affect innovation and adoption across industries. Which advanced technologies are undergoing the greatest advances in innovation? Generating the most intense interest? The greatest investments? For each question, the answers were unique.

‘Mature’ technologies. The greatest technology advances, measured by patents and published research, came in applied AI and advanced connectivity. These were among a host of technologies that we call the Silicon Age group. Along with cloud and edge computing , they are based on proven and mature technologies and tend to have viable applications in more industries, from agriculture to aerospace, which places them closer to a state of mainstream adoption than other trends.

Machine learning. For instance, models trained in machine learning can be used to solve classification, prediction, and control problems to automate activities, add or augment capabilities and offerings, and make better decisions. Companies are developing and adopting more applications for AI, but organizational, technical, ethical, and regulatory issues must be resolved before businesses can realize the technology’s full potential.

Investing in sustainability. A second group, which we call Engineering Tomorrow, encompasses several trends that are in earlier stages of development, many of which are closely aligned with sustainability priorities. These display increasing levels of innovation, interest, and investment. This group includes two areas, future mobility technologies (think autonomous transfer of people and goods) and future clean-energy technologies (wind and solar, but also hydrogen power), that attracted the highest investments—$236 billion and $257 billion, respectively.

Reshaping society. These changes will not only alter the competitive landscape but also exert ever-more powerful effects on society: reshaping markets, boosting productivity, and spurring economic growth. When we look at these trends, what impresses us more than anything else is the massive effect that technology will have on every sector . The next few decades promise to be a time in which technologies progress even more quickly from science to engineering to impact—at scale, and around the world.

OFF THE CHARTS

The government will see you now

When it comes to customer satisfaction, Americans rank government services dead last compared with their experience with airlines, banking, or even shopping for car insurance. A recent White House executive order seeks to change this perception by prioritizing customer experience for federal agencies.

Chart of average US customer satisfaction toward various commercial services

Check out our chart of the day here.

INTERVIEW

‘S’ is for success. But first it’s for sleep.

Arianna Huffington, the founder of the Huffington Post and the author of 15 books, including Thrive and The Sleep Revolution, has long been an advocate of improving people’s physical and mental health. She launched Thrive Global in 2016 “to help individuals, companies, and communities improve their well-being and performance—and debunk the collective delusion that burnout is the price we must pay for success,” as Thrive’s website puts it. In a recent interview with McKinsey partner Erica Coe , Huffington discusses burnout, resilience, preventive care, the essence of a fulfilled life, and the importance of sleep. “Investing in employee well-being and mental health is not a warm and fuzzy benefit,” she says. “It is essential for sustainable business success.”

More on McKinsey.com

Accelerating zero-emission freight transport | The freight transport sector has an opportunity to speed up decarbonization by moving from compensating for emissions to abating emissions. Key options include those that are backed by industry-compliant sources.

Can e-commerce help customs agencies fix old problems? | Revenue leakage and illicit goods flows have long bedeviled customs agencies. Three steps can help them boost their capacity to facilitate smoother cross-border e-commerce as the flow of goods continues to soar.

The digital reinvention of enterprise tech go-to-market | In this new era of accelerated digital disruption, tech companies need to rebuild their GTM models from the ground up. Those that embrace the challenge now will position themselves to outperform in the long run.

INTERVIEW

WHAT WE’RE THINKING

Lareina Yee

Lareina Yee, a senior partner in McKinsey’s Bay Area office and a leader in the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Practice, advises companies on strategy and operations to achieve above-market growth.

Internet searches for the term “metaverse” rose 7,200 percent in 2021. Those aren’t media mentions; that’s individual curiosity—a clear signal of how much people want to understand the term. The metaverse is confusing, because at this point it isn’t just one thing. For now, it’s a combination of elements with the potential to create a vast virtual environment where new kinds of interactions and new kinds of B2C and B2B commerce are possible.

This integrated physical and virtual experience will have three core characteristics: immersive, interactive environments that use technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality to give a sense of presence and mimic the realism of the real world; a modifiable but persistent state where you can build, create, and interact similar to the way you interact in the physical world; and a digital identity that is as valuable and unique as your physical identity.

For now, I’d say we have just the glimmer of the metaverse. Given that, companies are asking tough questions: Is this all hype and a distraction? Should I pilot an experiment to learn about it? Is this an investable thesis that I should take seriously now? Is it such a serious pivot that I should worry about my core business? And if I can’t answer those questions with confidence, what should I do now?

For almost everyone, learning about the potential of the metaverse is a no-brainer. One great way to do so is to follow venture capital (VC) funding. Seeing where the VC money goes can give companies a helpful perspective on what the metaverse might look like as it scales into something bigger.

For experiments in the metaverse to work, companies may need to embrace open-ended investments, even small ones. In many cases, the people pushing for metaverse experimentation, who often come out of IT, haven’t tied the effort to a business case. Leaders may have to give them some leeway by expanding their tolerance for small failures. But the experimentation crowd must make more of an effort to think through the potential business value.

There are many obstacles and much uncertainty. It may well take a decade or more to fully build out the potential of the metaverse. Once again, technology is driving innovation into something that’s just around the corner, that could transform our experience in some unforeseen way. It reminds me that the potential of technology is infinite. That’s so humbling, and so inspiring.

Share this What We’re Thinking

BACKTALK

Have feedback or other ideas? We’d love to hear from you.

Tell us what you think

Follow our thinking

Share these insights

Did you enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to colleagues and friends so they can subscribe too. Was this issue forwarded to you? Sign up for it and sample our 40+ other free email subscriptions here.

This email contains information about McKinsey's research, insights, services, or events. By opening our emails or clicking on links, you agree to our use of cookies and web tracking technology. For more information on how we use and protect your information, please review our privacy policy.

You received this email because you subscribed to The Shortlist newsletter.

Manage subscriptions | Unsubscribe

by "McKinsey Shortlist" <publishing@email.mckinsey.com> - 02:34 - 16 Sep 2022

Archives

in

info@learn.odoo.com

Did you or someone you know break into technology from a different field?

‘If you’re going to build something from scratch, this might be as good a time as in a decade’

These 14 technology trends matter most

The government will see you now

‘S’ is for success. But first it’s for sleep.

WHAT WE’RE THINKING

Lareina Yee

Archives

in

info@learn.odoo.com

Did you or someone you know break into technology from a different field?

‘If you’re going to build something from scratch, this might be as good a time as in a decade’

These 14 technology trends matter most

﻿The government will see you now

﻿‘S’ is for success. But first it’s for sleep.

WHAT WE’RE THINKING

Lareina Yee

The government will see you now

‘S’ is for success. But first it’s for sleep.