The Smart (R)Evolution – Development from 2016 to 2018

2015 has been a very busy and interesting year. At the end of 2014 I had written down some predictions on how I see the digital world changing in 2015 – some of them turned into reality. For example, I heard Google give its paid Premium version away for free in quite a lot of pitches. They might never confirm that, but it was a part of a big bundle of Google services;  including Premium for free in the package. Not a surprise, since they really do not need the revenue of this small business unit – and on the other hand delivers an enrichment of data for themselves.

Web Analytics is dead – was another another prediction of mine; and yes, this is a very obvious development which was seen in the market and its requirements. No longer will a pure Analytics company survive. No longer is it only about Reporting, although a lot of companies still act on that presumption.

Also, Data has moved into the Board mind. Meaning that Chief Digital Officers and/or Chief Data Officers have been hired like crazy in 2015. Every big(ger) company now has its own CDO within the Executive Board. Hallelujah.

But, what will the digital future bring us? Where will we spend the relevant budget? What should we learn to become stronger towards competition?

Here are some topics I think will grow their importance within the next 1-3 years and to make sure we are all able to put them into perspective, I added a small overview to the scene.

1. Smart Data
   We have heard about Big Data for years now and we will be hearing discussions and insights with Big Data over the next few years. The difference will be the impact and detailed knowledge about that data. The combination is crucial, Data merging is sexy. Turning lots of Data buckets into a bigger bucket and knowing how to read the mix of that data changes the perspective from Big into Smart.
2. Chief Data Officer
   The Chief Data Officer will win over the Chief Digital Officer, and they will even win over a COO or CMO role in general. No other topic is more important than collecting, reading and using own (or enriched) data for the pure survival of a company. If you want to get out of survival mode into performance mode, hire a CDO who knows their and your business. I am not talking about digital miracles here, but pure data performance business.
3. Personalisation
   Yes, the word is not new to you but industries like Travel and Automotive haven`t learned a single piece about personalisation yet. Have they? A lot of industries still do the old AIDA way of marketing. While new models (like the RES Model) pop up, it’s time to change into a personal way of interaction with your customers and partners. It is never too late.
4. Digital Dinosaurs
   Quite similar to the need of a CDO role in the company and the knowledge about personalisation is the general approach of the so called Digital Dinosaurs towards new technology. Industries like Tourism or Pharma haven`t had the need to change their business model for decades. Now they have to. Now they face digital competition in every aspect and business unit. These companies are in a huge transformation mode which will still take years, because they are so big and the changes are so impactful to every department and set up.
5. After Sales
   You think a lot is already done after a person has purchased a product or used a service? Think again. We are just getting started to engage much deeper with our clients after the purchase process than we’re doing right now. It will grow into the most important part of the whole sales cycle, with more and more competitive and exchangable products. Even master pieces like the Apple iPhone feel the need to get closer to their clients with Samsung catching up and new companies like Huawei etc. conquering the market. Keeping and increasing a strong relation as a brand or company to your clients is a key element in the future success.

Those are my predictions for the next few years – where do you see Analytics heading?