When people talk about technology, technology changes behaviour and we communicate in different ways; people appropriate technology to address different needs.

However, the question of the use and adoption of technology against productivity is an interesting one: Paul Lee gave the example of the Apollo Guidance Computer that had 64 kb of memory which was used for the first moon landing. Technology has come a long way since then.

The first of Deloitte's predictions in its newly-released TMT Predictions report is the aim to have parity on the spread of employees, i.e. gender balance. In the IT sector, the US has 24% of women in the sector, compared to 18% in the UK.

On the issue of personal computers, the evolution to mobile is a transition, with millennials still pro-PC: 18-24 year-olds consider smartphones, laptops PCs as complementary as each has their own roles. Smartphones in 2016 will do around 1.5 - 1.6 billion units in total.

The trade-in value of (used) smartphones is increasing, with the global business now worth USD 17 billion. Mobile handsets are expected to have four owners with their lifetimes. Around 65% of iPhones have an "after-life".

Mobile Commerce Gets Accellerated

More and more purchasing (eCommerce) will move to mobile, with the adoption of mobile technology continuing its transition as new features become available, including fingerprint readers providing security and authentication. The term "touch commerce" is becoming widely used to describe the new generation of mobile technology where such technological features reduce the number of clicks required to commit a payment.

Described as a wonder material for the future, but still in its R&D phase, Graphene will improve the strength and weight of carbon fibre. It is a million times thinner than a human hair.

Virtual reality is becoming a commercial reality. Fully immersive technology already exists, e.g. Oculus Rift, which could retail for circa €800 in Europe when it arrives here later this year. However, the addressable market may not necessarily be that large, estimated to be around 6 million units. Accessories are being created to go with such VR headsets technology, including VR headsets.

One of the following issues is that with VR cameras, the volume of storage is immense, so technology will need to address this before VR recording technology is commercialised.

Re mobile gaming, this year will see mobile gaming becoming the largest sector of the online gaming market. The challenge is not creating the game, it is getting it known.

Regarding television, the number of Pay-TV subscribers is expected to fall for the first time this year; however, the numbers are still very high. Despite the Netflix CEO predicting that traditional tv broadcasting will be dead by 2030, Deloitte's TMT Prediction report does not agree with this. Premium sport will remain a key revenue generator, with football being the super premium sport in Europe.

The sales of 4K televisions are now starting to out-strip HD+ tv units.

Telecommunications

Internet speed : 2016 will see the dawn of the Gigabit Internet age, with many network upgrades provoking higher and higher speeds.

Security cameras used to just record to a hard drive; they are now being used to stream in real-time, e.g. to watch pets at home while at work.

Like PCs started to use screensavers a number of years ago, televisions will start to adopt screensavers as well as well as security camera feeds.

One used to purchase phones to make phones; nowadays voice transmission is being replaced by data communication, with 18-24 year-olds leading the way. Instant Messaging (IM) is leading the way.

On Tuesday afternoon, Paul Lee spoke at Deloitte Luxembourg to present the annual TMT Predictions of which he is the co-author of the global report and Partner at Deloitte London. He presented a selection of issues addressed in the report.

The 80-page report is available from Deloitte Luxembourg.

Photo by Geoff Thompson: Paul Lee