With technology gaining an ever-growing role in the business world, from major organizational decisions to day-to-day operations, which type of technology is likely to have the biggest impact on product-based businesses, and why?
1. 3D Printing
3D printing has the potential to revolutionize many types of retail businesses. When affordable 3D printers are available, this will challenge the traditional retail business model. People will be able to design products online and print them out at home. Items such as clothing, decorations, artwork, furniture and many tech accessories will be printable. – Kalin Kassabov, ProTexting
2. Automation
Automation has already substantially changed the way in which we produce products. However, it is nowhere near finished radically transforming the entire industry. After automating the manufacturing process, delivering products to customers and retailers will be automated next, thanks to self-driving cars and delivery drones. Even customer support can be resolved through automation. – Bryce Welker, Crush The PM Exam
3. Augmented Reality
Augmented reality is going to be integral for any product-based company. We’re already seeing items like robotics, large equipment and furniture, used in AR product visualization tools. This medium has the ability to overlay a product into your physical environment and see it in your home, office or site. The use case is ripe for the taking and innovative companies are already jumping in. – Annie Eaton, Futurus
4. Virtual Reality
Virtual reality offers great opportunities for product-based businesses. It offers users easy means to explore offerings of businesses in fine detail, while giving them the ability to interact with brands as well. What will also help is that VR works rather well with mobile devices. Despite the slight learning curve, VR is set to have a significant impact within the next five to 10 years. – Derek Robinson, Top Notch Dezigns
5. Frontier Tech
Frontier Tech industries, such as autonomation in warehousing, autonomous cars, robotics and artificial intelligence are going to have a huge impact. Almost half the tasks we do as paid workers can be automated using current technologies. Instead of paying for labor, companies can automate production, quality control and even distribution. – David Ehrenberg, Early Growth Financial Services
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6. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Consumers are increasingly seeking personalized experiences when it comes to finding a product. Businesses that are able to create a relevant experience within the context of a consumer’s life via artificial intelligence and machine learning are set up to surpass their competitors. Those with the largest and most complete data sets to train their AI tools will be the quickest to succeed. – Kevin Yamazaki, Sidebench
7. 5G
There are millions of devices connected to the IoT, but 5G is going to take it to another level. 5G provides increased bandwidth at lower latencies and reduced power requirements. 5G is an opportunity for product-based businesses to build innovative new devices and platforms. We will see an explosion in the number of smart devices, especially in niches where the current technology is impractical. – Justin Blanchard, ServerMania Inc.
8. Voice and Speech Recognition
Voice and speech recognition could begin to play a major role in product-based businesses in the coming years. Think Amazon’s Alexa along with similar versions offered by Google, Apple and Microsoft. It may be more experimental at this point, but when you think of how helpful those types of tech products could be in the business realm, the future is limitless. – Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance
9. Fast Shipping
While shipping sounds boring, anyone who sells products should keep an eye on this. With Amazon opening up local distribution centers in many different cities, customers will start to expect same-day shipping. If you have a product-based business, you need to find distribution channels to get the product to your customers faster or else they will order from a competitor. – Brandon Stapper, Nonstop Signs
10. Done-for-You Service
Businesses have popped up everywhere with one goal in mind: catering to their customer who no longer wants to do the heavy work themselves. More than ever, people prefer ease and convenience. Think Amazon Prime. So what’s this mean for you? Consider embracing technologies that allow you to incorporate done-for-you as a service in your product business. – Zachary Burkes, Predictable Profits