Successful companies in 2018 will know how to balance digital against physical, humans against machines, centralised versus decentralised, speed versus craft, and automation versus control, says global consulting firm Accenture.
Companies that beat out their competition will be those that know how to navigate these tensions and seize opportunities, said Nontawat Poomchusri, country managing director and financial services lead for Accenture in Thailand.
According to Accenture's 2018 Fjord Trends, companies should look to capitalise on consumers demanding experiences that blend digital with physical. Moving forward, computers with more human-like qualities will be instrumental to deliver these experiences.
Computers comprehend our words and understand images without our help. Artificial intelligence might change our jobs, but need not eliminate them, the report said. Humans can collaborate with machines to help us develop.
Moreover, companies will look for strategies that go beyond relying on algorithms, which are immune to conventional branding efforts, that sit between brands and their customers.
The trend towards greater transparency in the digital space will continue. Blockchain has the potential to create transparency that will clear the fog of internet ambiguity, regain lost trust, and repair relationships with the public. Along with this comes an increased emphasis on ethics.
Organisations are being pressured to take a stand on political and societal hot button issues, whether they want to or not.
"Many of the thorny questions ahead of us revolve around human-machine interactions, the consequences of which will be profound for individuals, society and organisations of all kinds. As digital fades from being stand-alone to being embedded in our physical world, our relationships with everything around us will be redefined," said Mr Nontawat.
Fjord Trends 2018 draws upon over 1,000 Fjord designers and developers.
This year, for the first time, it also drew upon the individual insights and perspectives from 85 Accenture clients across five continents.