Smart homes, facial recognition software, self-driving cars – each of these and other emerging technologies bring unprecedented changes in the ways we live and work together.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have come to a better understanding of the significance of digitalisation and how both companies and consumers have come to rely on it.
Rapid technological advancement encourages companies to keep up with the culture of innovation to stay competitive in the market. Yet at the same time, these innovations demand that companies adopt new responsibilities in the areas of ethical standards, privacy, and the environment.
Meanwhile, new norms are emerging. On the one hand there are social movements, such as Black Lives Matter or Fridays for Future, which urge companies to position themselves politically. On the other, there are new legal frameworks and standards, such as the European Data Protection Regulation or the ARGUS automotive cyber security requirements, that push companies to rethink the ways they develop products and services.
While companies around the world see these new norms and obligations as threats to their services, they can also be translated into valuable business opportunities – this is because they indicate the emergence of new markets, the necessity for resilient business models, and point out unexplored terrain for digital products and services. What follows is a deeper dive into three of these new opportunities.