Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
Strategic decision making is complex:
• Forecasts and predictions are
often overemphasized
• Trends are often viewed in isolation
• Leaders may lack the time to see the
bigger picture
WHY DOES THE FUTURE SURPRISE US?
We are more connected and informed than ever

Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
TRY CHOOSING FORESIGHT OVER FORECASTS
Avoid “if only” by asking “what if”?
OUR NEW APPROACH
Focus on the collision
of individual trends
and their interplay
to determine
business futures
Data-driven evidence
Creativity
Plausible business futures combine:

Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
WE COMBINED:
ACCENTURE RESEARCH HAS IDENTIFIED
A SERIES OF BUSINESS FUTURES
LET’S EXPLORE FOUR FUTURES:
#3
EXPERTS
#2
DATA
SCIENCE
#1
HORIZON
SCANNING
THE WORLD OF
“TECHNO-POLITICS”
REDESIGNING
LIFE
THE IMAGINATION
ECONOMY
THE AGE OF
(IN)SECURITY

Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
THE WORLD OF “TECHNO-POLITICS”
Strict state control of cross-border data flows
4602010
RAPID INCREASE IN TRADE-RESTRICTIVE MEASURES1
401997
COUNTRIES WITH DATA PRIVACY LAWS2
X71980
>2,0002016
>1002017
X102017
INCOME INEQUALITY (RICHEST 10% VS POOREST 10%)3
BUSINESS FUTURE
Economic and data
nationalism is rising.
As technologies connect the world,
cross-border data volume grows.

Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
HOW TO ACT?
THE WORLD OF
“TECHNO-POLITICS”
Draw on geopolitical and technological savvy
“OVERHEARD” IN 2023
Being a digital business
means our services are
being offered under
completely different
brands in a variety of
markets.
• Work closely with governments to shape national
ecosystems
• Develop new partnerships to better understand
local markets
• Use technology for the social good

Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
REDESIGNING LIFE
Personal and professional boundaries are blurred
BUSINESS FUTURE
531960
GLOBAL LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH (YEARS)4
122M2017
WEARABLE DEVICE SHIPMENTS WORLDWIDE5
$600M2014
692017
230M2021
$6.7B2021
MARKET SIZE OF AI-ENABLED SOLUTIONS IN HEALTHCARE (US$)6
Individuals are more empowered to
take control of their well-being.
Technology is essential to promote
human longevity and productivity.

Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
HOW TO ACT?
REDESIGNING LIFE
“OVERHEARD” IN 2023
My wellness avatar at work
taps into my medical
history and genetic code
to give me really accurate
personal medical advice.
• Redesign products and services to serve a
population that is interested in human
enhancement
• Address the ethical and privacy concerns around
introducing performance-enhancing wearables
and apps
• Use technologies to improve productivity, safety
and performance
Boost performance with wearables and apps

Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
THE IMAGINATION ECONOMY
BUSINESS FUTURE
Developments in virtual reality,
smart objects, robotics and haptics
are combining to overcome the
constraints of distance and
physical infrastructure.
Fundamental change in how we work, produce, consume
78%
650%
$150B
OF MILLENNIALS REPORT THEY
WOULD RATHER SPEND MORE ON
EXPERIENCES THAN MATERIAL GOODS7
EXPECTED GROWTH OF DATA
CONSUMPTION OF VIRTUAL REALITY (VR)
HEADSETS IN THE NEXT FOUR YEARS8
FORECAST GROWTH IN THE
AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) AND
VR INDUSTRY BY 2023 (US$)9

Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
HOW TO ACT?
THE IMAGINATION
ECONOMY
“OVERHEARD” IN 2023
I don’t worry about
business travel constraints
any more. Our virtual
board meetings are just
like being face to face.
Transform the business using
extended reality (XR) technologies
• Collaborate across borders with teams of
“holoployees”
• Use XR to improve productivity and agility
(e.g., instructions for first-day hires)
• Reach consumers in new ways (e.g., VR
kiosks offering a shopping experience)

Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
THE AGE OF (IN)SECURITY
BUSINESS FUTURE
Cybersecurity breaches increase vulnerability
$2T
22B
300K
ESTIMATED COST OF DATA
BREACHES GLOBALLY BY 2019 (US$)10
NUMBER OF SENSORS THE AUTOMOTIVE
INDUSTRY IS EXPECTED TO INSTALL BY 202011
COMPUTERS AFFECTED BY
THE 2017 WANNACRY
RANSOMWARE ATTACK12
This data deluge is making organizations
more vulnerable to cyber attacks.
In a world where everything is connected—
from refrigerators to air conditioners to
self-driving cars—data flows are immense.

Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
HOW TO ACT?
THE AGE OF (IN)SECURITY
Reevaluate cyber strategy, business
model and operations
“OVERHEARD” IN 2023
Our company puts
security first—it makes
sense now that it’s illegal
to connect our devices
without the right malware
protection.
• Use AI to improve cybersecurity (e.g., machine
learning to analyze attacks)
• Seek opportunities to lead the development of
industry-wide standards and approaches
• Use security as a competitive advantage to attract
and retain consumers

Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
ASK YOURSELF?
HOW CAN YOU
BETTER PREPARE
FOR THE FUTURE?
Employ a business
futures framework
• Are you accounting for the collision
of current trends?
• What changes would you make if you
had more insight into the future?
• Is your strategy disruption-proof?
Market strategy Product development
InvestmentTalent strategy
Partnership Ethical & privacy concerns
AS TRENDS COLLIDE, EVERY AREA
OF THE BUSINESS IS AFFECTED

Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
TAKING THE NEXT STEP
TO LEADING IN THE NEW
Organizations must continuously
reinvent to stay relevant.
As well as being decisive
today, they must look ahead
to the future.
INTERESTED?
JOIN OUR WORKSHOPS
Find out which business futures
are influencing your organization
and what steps you can take.

Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
ABOUT THE RESEARCH
100 CROSS-INDUSTRY
TRENDS
7,000 CEO
SPEECHES
300 SOURCES
OUR APPROACH
#1 HORIZON SCANNING
Economic, political, technological, social and policy developments
#2 DATA SCIENCE
Innovative techniques to analyze and cluster trends
#3 EXPERTS
Interviews and workshops with leading commentators
WORD ANALYTICS
Academic
papers
CEO
speeches
Social
feeds
Venture capital
spending
Research
blogs
PatentsNews
stories
Word
buzz

Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
TELL ME MORE
Mark Purdy
Thought Leadership Research
Managing Director, Chief Economist
London, United Kingdom
mark.purdy@accenture.com
Athena Peppes
Thought Leadership Research Manager
London, United Kingdom
athena.peppes@accenture.com
Bill Lesieur
Technology R&D Principal
Silicon Valley, United States
william.lesieur@accenture.com
READ
VISIT
“The rise of the
imagination economy”
www.accenture.com/businessfutures

Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
SOURCES
1 https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news16_e/trdev_09dec16_e.htm
2 Greenleaf, Graham, Global Tables of Data Privacy Laws and Bills (4th Ed., January 2015) (January 30, 2015). (2015) 133 Privacy
Laws & Business International Report, 18-28; UNSW Law Research Paper No. 2015-28.
3 http://ufm.dk/en/publications/2016/files/an-oecd-horizon-scan-of-megatrends-and-technology-trends-in-the-context-of-future-
research-policy.pdf
4 https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN AND https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
factbook/geos/xx.html
5 https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS43058317
6 https://ww2.frost.com/news/press-releases/600-m-6-billion-artificial-intelligence-systems-poised-dramatic-market-expansion-
healthcare/
7 https://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/05/millennials-are-prioritizing-experiences-over-stuff.html
8 https://www.iot-now.com/2017/08/08/64670-wireless-vr-will-strain-data-networks-creating-extra-21000pb-traffic-2021-says-
juniper/
AND
http://about.att.com/content/dam/innovationblogdocs/Enabling%20Mobile%20Augmented%20and%20Virtual%20Reality%20wit
h%205G%20Networks.pdf
9 https://www.chinamoneynetwork.com/2016/09/14/virtual-and-augmented-reality-market-will-reach-150b-in-2022
10 https://www.juniperresearch.com/press/press-releases/cybercrime-cost-businesses-over-2trillion
11 http://www.automotivesensors2017.com/
12 http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/15/528451534/wannacry-ransomware-what-we-know-monday

Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
ABOUT ACCENTURE RESEARCH
Accenture Research shapes trends and creates data-driven insights about the most pressing issues global organizations face.
Combining the power of innovative research techniques with a deep understanding of our clients’ industries, our team of 250
researchers and analysts spans 23 countries and publishes hundreds of reports, articles and points of view every year. Our
thought-provoking research—supported by proprietary data and partnerships with leading organizations such as MIT and
Singularity—guides our innovations and allows us to transform theories and fresh ideas into real-world solutions for our clients.
Visit us at www.accenture.com/research
ABOUT ACCENTURE LABS
Accenture Labs incubates and prototypes new concepts through applied R&D projects that are expected to have a significant strategic
impact on clients’ businesses. Our dedicated team of technologists and researchers work with leaders across the company to invest in,
incubate and deliver breakthrough ideas and solutions that help our clients create new sources of business advantage.
Accenture Labs is located in seven key research hubs around the world: Silicon Valley, CA; Sophia Antipolis, France; Arlington, Virginia;
Beijing, China; Bangalore, India; Herzliya, Israel and Dublin, Ireland. The Labs collaborates extensively with Accenture’s network of nearly
400 innovation centers, studios and centers of excellence located in 92 cities and 35 countries globally to deliver cutting-edge research,
insights and solutions to clients where they operate and live. For more information, please visit www.accenture.com/labs
Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
ABOUT ACCENTURE
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy,
consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40
industries and all business functions—underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network—Accenture works at the
intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their
stakeholders. With more than 435,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to
improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com