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Tech Brew keeps business leaders up-to-date on the latest innovations, automation advances, policy shifts, and more, so they can make informed decisions about tech.
How’s this for a scenario: Nearly 5,000 C-level executives and directors walk into a bar…and talk about their biggest tech predictions and struggles. Minus the bar part, that’s what Accenture aimed to re-create for its latest global tech survey and report.
With survey respondents from 25 industries and 34 countries, the report predicts which factors will power tech trends over the next decade—including generative AI, digital identity, and data usage. Here are some top takeaways for business.
The value of generative AI: Executives are bullish on generative AI—at least according to Accenture’s report. About 96% of respondents said they were “very or extremely inspired by” large AI models’ newer capabilities, and 98% predicted the models would “play an important role” in their company’s business strategy over the next three to five years.
- One example: CarMax used GPT-3 to analyze 100,000+ customer reviews for every vehicle it sells and create 5,000 summaries, which would’ve taken its editorial team “11 years to complete,” according to the report.
Data practices and processes: The ability to authenticate customers’ identities online seems to be a top priority for executives—85% said it is “becoming a strategic business imperative,” and three in four respondents said that customer authentication issues have negatively impacted their company’s bottom line in the form of abandoned transactions, user frustration, and more.
- On the customer front, data transparency seems to be a popular move: Whether it’s more information about grocery products or clothing manufacturing, nine in 10 executives saw data transparency as becoming a “competitive differentiator for their organizations.”
Advances in computing: Next-generation computing (supercomputers and quantum computers) is beginning to power advancements in energy and material science, leading to the ability to create better simulations for developing biofuels, batteries, and even rocket parts, according to the report. About 95% of respondents said that over the next decade, they believe next-generation computing will be “a major driver of breakthroughs in their industry.”