Trend 2 GET TO KNOW ME #TECHVISION2019 UNDERSTANDING THE CHOICES AVAILABLE The struggle between privacy and individualization is In the short term, this means that companies may Whether companies opt to compete within multiple the most pressing piece of the growing consumer need to maintain more digital channels to support ecosystems, or forge and focus on their own, is an technological identity, but it is far from the only one. the many combinations of ecosystems found in their increasingly critical question for future strategies. As businesses look to deliver rich, technology-driven customers’ technology identities. Domino’s Pizza, a individualized experiences, they must understand digital leader, demonstrates this by supporting Beyond ecosystems, the direct availability of specific the complexities around the technology each orders through the traditional avenues like a technologies is the other side of the access consumer has access to in the first place. webpage and smartphone apps, but also expanding equation. Just look at the reach of mobile networks. its capabilities to support ordering through Amazon Despite being nearly 10 years into the 4G rollout (and From toll tags to baby monitors to smart meters, Alexa, Google Assistant, Slack, Twitter, Ford’s SYNC with the 5G standard completed in 2018) consumers various technologies from different companies connected car platform, and many more.20 in just five countries have access to an 4G 22 pervade people’s everyday lives. Increasingly, those connection more than 90 percent of the time. If a experiences are delivered through other companies’ In the long run, the expanding choices of technology consumer in an area without 4G coverage isn’t using devices and ecosystems: app-based interactions are ecosystems and services will affect product strategy. a smartphone, it may not be a strict “choice.” distributed via Android or iOS; voice-driven services Like Domino’s, some companies will go after every Companies will have to deal with a spectrum of are accessed through a preferred digital assistant; ecosystem; Philip’s Hue, iRobot’s Roombas, and access levels as they attempt to reach a global smart appliance purchases depend on compatibility Belkin’s Wemo devices all work in concert with a market with technology-driven experiences. with a consumer’s existing smart home management range of digital assistants, maximizing their reach. system. Individual customers will be involved in Others may follow Samsung’s Family Hub refrigerator Connectivity might seem too “nuts and bolts” for many different ecosystems, and to deliver strategy instead: eschewing the horizontal approach, business strategy, but it can have a serious impact. experiences that fit seamlessly into their lives, Samsung introduced its own smart assistant, Bixby, Take Netflix. Initially serving the US market, the companies must navigate all of those relationships. as an inextricable part of the refrigerator itself.21 service was built on the pretext of ubiquitous high- 39 TECHNOLOGY VISION 2019 THE POST-DIGITAL ERA IS UPON US