Peep these five ‘big picture’ tech trends from Accenture

Accenture’s Technology Vision 2017 report, the result of a global survey of execs, yielded some big-picture trends that may come in handy for Philly tech companies.

The 94-page document, put together by the company’s R&D arm, Accenture Labs, was presented last week at Conshohocken’s The Hub.

Accenture’s Philly director, Nicole Tranchitella, said the report represents a call to action for businesses to focus on amplifying human capabilities through tech. Our local tech ecosystem, the executive said, is in a prime position to deliver on that big picture vision.

“Philadelphia has an opportunity to drive this innovation agenda on a national and international level based on the strong momentum in the marketplace and local ecosystem,” Tranchitella said. “We are excited to share perspectives with our local business partners to generate innovative thinking.”

Here are takeaways from the five trends the report found:

• AI is the new UI: “AI is becoming the new user interface, underpinning the way we transact and interact with systems.”
• Design for humans: Technology design decisions are being made by humans, for humans, the report states. According to the team’s findings, 80 percent of execs said organizations need to “understand not only where people are today, but also where they want to be — and shape technology” with that guiding principle.
• Ecosystems as macrocosms. “Companies don’t just need a platform strategy, they need a rich and robust ecosystem approach to lead in this new era of intelligence. Already, more than 27 percent of executives surveyed reported that digital ecosystems are transforming the way their organizations deliver value,” the report states.
• Workforce marketplaces. Eighty-five percent of execs said they plan to increase their company’s use of independent freelance workers over the next year, which may mean “dissolving traditional hierarchies and replacing them with talent marketplaces.”
• The uncharted: Companies are getting into new areas, the report suggest. 74 percent of executives surveyed said their organization was entering “entirely new digital industries that have yet to be defined.”

Accenture employs about 2,100 people in Philadelphia.