The rapid pace of evolution of technology in the last few years has made it difficult to correctly predict the future of technological work style. In an age where newer versions of technologies are launched even before previous ones have been assimilated, the future is an uncertain place with several unanswered questions. Dell EMC conducted a survey to explore the impact that technology will have on the society by 2030, to understand the futuristic changes brought on by technology.

Overview of Dell EMC Survey

The survey, undertaken in collaboration with Vanson Bourne from June to August 2017, surveyed 3,800 global business leaders, including 300 from India. The research explores the changing relationship between technology and people, emerging technologies’ impact on business, the way businesses work and how business leaders and CIOs plan to succeed over the next 10 to 15 years. With respondents spread across 12 sectors and 17 countries and consisting of a healthy mix of IT leaders (40%) and business leaders (60%), the results displayed a real sense of different global and domain perspectives. 

“In India, businesses are more mature than their global counterparts, which came as a surprise to us...We’re entering an era of monumental digital change. In spite of the multiple challenges faced by businesses to go digital, leaders are united in the belief that they need to transform. It is encouraging to see how Indian leaders believe strongly in the importance of providing customer experiences which are not only holistic but also engaging. In today’s age of digital uncertainty, it is imperative for enterprises to prepare for the future, focusing on the workforce, security and IT transformation, in order to stay ahead..."-Rajesh Janey, Managing Director, and President, India Enterprise, Dell EMC

Some Challenges and Perspectives Highlighted by the Dell EMC Research:

• Indian organizations are doing well in technology preparedness, as nearly 38% of the local firms have “already achieved” human-machine collaboration.
  
  
• Despite being more prepared than their global peers, 47% of the Indian respondents believe that the biggest challenge in implementing technology is data security and data privacy.
  
  
• 57% of the Indian firms were in favor of establishing clear lines of responsibility and protocols. Besides, 56% felt that computers will need to decipher between good and bad commands.

56% Indian respondents agreed with the statement, “The more we depend upon technology, the more we have to lose in the event of a cyber attack.” On the other hand, 55% expressed the view that capturing and storing higher amounts of data could violate the public’s right to privacy. 

• 42% of the Indian leaders were of the view that inventory management as a task would be most likely to be moved to machines by 2030.
  
  
• Countries like Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore are expected to reach technological preparedness in the next two years. Chinese respondents estimated that they may take 2-5 years to achieve it.
  
  
• The most significant challenge in implementing digital business across all geographies (barring China) was lack of budget and resources.
  
  
• A few Indian barriers to the issue were detailed as Lack of budget/resources (47%), lack of senior support and sponsorship (36%), lack of skill (36%), lack of buy-in (30%), and lack of coherent vision (29%).

“We are on the horizon of an emerging digital future which is going to open newer and better business possibilities. As our dependence on machines increases, it is becoming imperative for businesses to plan and equip themselves for a collaborative human-machine future. A truly mutually beneficial partnership is on the cards - if businesses prepare accordingly.”-  Alok Ohrie, Managing Director & President, India Commercial, Dell EMC

• In China, however, the biggest obstacle to implementing a digital business was lack of senior support and leadership. 
  
  
• 40% of the overall respondents think that administrative tasks like scheduling meetings and data inputs will be taken over by machines.
  
  
• 50% of the companies are of the opinion that they are already catering to the evolving needs of their customers. Another 66% think that their organizations currently (or in the coming 5 years) struggle to offer equal opportunities across different generations due to different digital skill sets.

“You can understand why the business community is so polarised. There tend to be two extreme perspectives about the future: 1) The anxiety-driven issue of human obsolescence and 2) The optimistic view that technology will solve our greatest social problems. These differing viewpoints could make it difficult for organizations to prepare for a future that’s in flux and would certainly hamper leaders’ efforts to push through necessary change.”- Jeremy Burton, Chief Marketing Officer at Dell