The pace of technology innovation continues to accelerate, and companies continue to find navigating the business strategy, business model, workforce, customer interaction, and business operational changes necessary to compete effectively to be a significant challenge.
We’re now in the second generation of digital transformation (DX), which is focused on the business as a platform that enables agile and flexible global operations. The companies that are the most competitive and have the best chance for long-term survival are able to build and maintain a business strategy that can adapt to changing business and technology conditions.
Explore the 2019 Digital Transformation Essentials
Last year, G2 introduced predictions for 2018’s major digital trends. These trends are powerful and will support the continued expansion of DX, but this year the focus is on trends in specific industries and how digital transformation will affect them in 2019.
Machine learning as a service (MLaaS), robotic process automation (RPA), and machine learning data catalogs (MLDCs) are becoming necessities to businesses that are embracing the data-driven business world. Their impact will only continue to grow in 2019.
Like any other industry that’s transformed by tech, the agriculture space must keep up with changing work styles, updates in equipment and mobile devices, and the demand for speedy results. Agtech trends will be heavily influenced by millennials in 2019, and will have the biggest impact on small farms.
Virtual reality (VR) has been on the outskirts of technology for years, but has been inching toward breaking the barrier into the mainstream. However, augmented reality (AR) has been quickly rising in VR’s shadow. AR technology is set to outpace VR’s growth drastically in the next few years.
As every industry adapts to new and emerging threats, 2019 will see increased focus around the “zero trust model,” biometric authentication, IoT security, and information compliance technologies.
Businesses have always been concerned with team cohesion and effective, efficient content marketing. In 2019, their efforts will turn toward increased adoption of productivity tools, less conventional web content management systems, and artificial intelligence in content creation.
In the near future, ERP buyers and vendors will need to adjust their strategies to adapt to the new reality of pervasive automation. Traditional software is starting to be replaced by RPA, and the transition from old to new technology—as well as increasing economic instability—will make companies realize that governance software and services are more than a necessary evil.
Fintech is transforming the financial services industry, and will continue to do so as the industry makes the shift to fostering innovation. In 2019, fintech will be bolstered by RPA, mobile banking, insuretech, open banking, smart contracts, and more.
The HR technology trends that will have the biggest impact in 2019 include solutions that will promote employee engagement, diversify companies, rethink sexual harassment training, expand corporate wellness solutions, and employ AI to improve HR operations.
Retail, restaurant, and hospitality are all spaces set to see huge technology gains in the year to come. Between omnichannel and e-commerce in retail, mobile payments in restaurants, and AI personalization in hospitality, 2019 is set to see huge improvements in these customer-facing industries.
