TECH TRENDS
to revolutionise enterprise communications, while the podcasting boom will continue, with the industry set to be worth £20m in the UK and £1.1bn globally by the end of the year. 2020 could also be the year electric bikes really make their mark, and Deloitte predicts that over the next three years 130 million of the vehicles will be sold around the world, driven by lower costs and advances in battery technology. Given the volume of bikes already on the roads around the city, it’s doubtful we’ll notice much of a change here. Making predictions is always a tricky business, but if we are to see such advances across a broad range of technology areas, it’s likely Cambridge’s myriad tech consultancies will be behind the most exciting innovations. While much of their work goes on under the radar, the consultancies’ teams of scientists and engineers collaborate with some of the biggest names in business, developing new technologies and improving products and processes.
s a new decade dawns, the pace of technology change shows no signs
It's likely Cambridge's myriad tech consultancies will be behind the most exciting innovations"
of slowing down. Where the 2010s saw the growth of voice-activated technology, virtual reality and a new wave of artificial intelligence excitement, the 2020s are poised to give us dramatic advances in food, medicine and mobility. “The last ten years have delivered multiple, mainstream shifts, from smartphones to subscription video on demand; from cloud computing to biometric authentication; from near-perpetual connectivity to ever broader, deeper data trails,” says Deloitte’s Paul Lee, co-author of the firm’s recently released report on trends in UK technology, media and communications. “The next ten years are likely to be equally disruptive, with some of the most significant technology advances in our lifetimes having their foundations in 2020.” Among Deloitte’s predictions for the year are that 5G is ready
Cambridge’s unique network of tech consultancies has its roots in the original ‘Cambridge Phenomenon’ which began in the 1960s, when Tim Eiloart and David Southward, a duo of Cambridge University graduates, founded Cambridge Consultants to “put the brains of Cambridge University at disposal of the problems of British industry”. Many other consultancies have since sprung up, serving different sectors and bringing different areas of expertise to the table. But what do they expect to be working on in the next 12 months and beyond? We spoke to three experts to find out what they think is in store in 2020.
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ISSUE 05
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