Gartner's 10 Technology Predictions for 2018: The Good, the Bad & the Obvious

Gartner believes that (1) “Consumers

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Favor Visual and Voice Search.” They feel so strongly about this prediction that “by 2021, early adopter brands that redesign their websites to support visual and voice search will increase digital commerce revenue by 30%.” This prediction is good, unverifiable and obvious. There’s nothing new here. We’ve known for decades that users love talking to machines, searching and transacting with graphical interfaces and immersing themselves into video. It’s not the preference that’s important, it’s the state of the technology that matters. How will augmented reality (AR) help this process Not nearly enough on AR or VR here.

Gartner also predicts that (2) “Digital Giants (Will) Self-Disrupt,” and that “by 2020, 5 of top 7 digital giants will willfully self-disrupt to create their next leadership opportunity.” Yes, Gartner, Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook, among others I assume, will continue to innovate as best and fast as they can. I’m not really sure what Gartner is telling us with its use of colorful phrasing like “self-disrupt.” This prediction redefines the word, “obvious,” though why is it only "5 out of 7"?  Who are the two that don't plan to innovate?

The third prediction speaks to cryptocurrencies and blockchain, which Gartner believes will become legitimized: “by the year 2020, the banking industry will derive $1B of business value from the use of blockchain-based cryptocurrencies,”which, Gartner believes, is a “the tacit endorsement of cryptocurrency as a legitimate option by the banking industry” – which it already is. This prediction is good – and obvious.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveandriole/2017/10/13/gartners-10-technology-predictions-for-2018-the-good-the-bad-the-obvious/#2997bf72155d