7 Technologies That Will Change Your Business

THE EVER-INCREASING PACE of technological change is a fact of our times. Each year, advances impact individuals, businesses and nations in various—and not always anticipated—ways. To help CEOs prepare for the threats and opportunities new technologies will bring, Chief Executive talked to experts to identify and explore the seven most significant technological trends shaping business today.

1. 3D Printing

The ultimate disruptive technology, 3D printing cross-pollinates traditional printing with advanced manufacturing, revolutionizing the manufacturing process. Today’s 3D printers extrude products made from materials ranging from titanium to human tissue, allowing companies to custom-produce jet engine components and human prosthesis, human cells and hydroponic gardens.

By producing prototypes without tooling, 3D printing enables multiple product configurations, slashes R&D costs and truncates launch times. Low-cost mass customization becomes possible. 3D printing is poised to upend the supply chain by transforming aftermarket service. Why maintain a warehouse full of spare parts for legacy products when a third-party printer will license your specs, take over logistics and generate positive cash flow?

Gartner says worldwide shipments of 3D printers will double in 2015 over last year, exceeding 217,000 units, driven largely by enterprise demand. Overall, sales of 3D printers will reach $1.6 billion this year, on the way to exceeding $13.4 billion in 2018. The transformation from niche to mass printing has begun; industry giant HP announced plans to enter the market next year with a new technology, Multi Jet Fusion, hyped as 10 times faster than the quickest 3D printer today.

2. Internet of Things

The most aggressively hyped tech buzzword of 2014, the Internet of Things (IoT)—a.k.a. the Smart Web of Everything, a.k.a. the Internet of Everything—will go right on buzzing through 2015 and beyond. ABI predicts more than 30 billion devices with Internet Protocol (IP) addresses will be connected by 2020.

“Growth has been in the increasing digitization of all businesses,” notes Gartner vice president Joe Skorupa. “The value is getting different systems to work together and getting and using real-time data more advantageously.” IoT means manufacturers’ integrating more (and better) data about inventory supply, customer demand and manufacturing processes and then delivering it to more tablets, laptops and smart phones. In the process, this approach will reduce manufacturing waste and accelerate production cycles.

IoT essentially involves brand managers’ instituting demand-responsive pricing to better align supply and demand and public-sector transportation officials’ untangling traffic jams by integrating real-time data flow into flexible road directionals and implementing smart traffic-signal timing. On the consumer level, homeowners are upgrading to smart locks and reducing energy costs with smart devices like the Nest, which Google acquired last year for $3.2 billion. To preview the future, head over to one of five IoE Innovation Centers that Cisco has opened around the world. The latest opens in Berlin later this year.

3. Wearable Electronics

Google Glass’s introduction in 2014 launched Wearable Electronics into the stratosphere. After years, this sleepy category, laden with fitness bands and medical devices, was suddenly leading the news stream. Media coverage went gaga over Glass’s “Suddenly-the-Future-Is-Now” functionalities: Get GPS directions, record and transmit your voice, view weather information and of course, the Big One: take and transmit photos and video with just the wink of your eye. Google touted Glass as ideal for mobile work processes, such as automotive repair functions and even medical surgery.

Not surprisingly, public questions about privacy shadowed the launch and will continue to shape R&D and production in the category. Google is said to be exploring a contact-lens version of Glass, perhaps an end-run around privacy issues. Got the time? Apple’s entry into the Smart Watch market, expected early this year, will likely raise the bar. Early-to-market products, such as the Pebble Steel Smartwatch, Motorola Moto 360, Samsung Gear Live and Sony SmartWatch, won over early-adopters. By late October, Apple and Microsoft had launched competitive products.

Smart clothing, or e-textiles, continues to hold promise. Researchers continue to develop wearables that enable health-monitoring and behavior-adapting technologies. Misfit has introduced what it calls the high-performance technical t-shirt. Microsoft is working on a bra that can send bio-feedback information to help suppress appetites. Other products focus on tracking your sleep, diet, heartbeat, glucose levels and more. Expect products like haptic shoes, which will incorporate GPS systems using vibrating-sole interface and customized fitness systems designed to each user’s specifications.