FusionExperience forecasts top trends for Dreamforce 2013

The rise of behaviour economics, Big Data, market consolidation and gamification top list of key trends that will dominate the agenda

London, U.K. – 14 November 2013 – FusionExperience, the business and data solutions company, has today announced its forecast of the top trends that will dominate the agenda at Dreamforce 2013. Key trends will include mobility, the app eco system and the way that data is being used both inside and outside the enterprise to influence behaviours in customer-focused companies.

“Data will influence all areas of discussion at Dreamforce 2013,” explains Steve Edkins, chief executive officer of Fusion Experience. “As organisations focus on rethinking data, there will be a renewed drive to extract maximum value from the growing volume and diversity of data that is available within the enterprise. Only then, can businesses gain a better understanding of investors, employees and consumers which can be used to develop innovative solutions designed to truly impact and shape society.”

FusionExperience has identified the most prevalent trends at the event to be:

The rise and importance of behaviour economics

The biggest issues in society – everything from obesity to climate change – are either dependent on, or seek to effect, the judgments and decisions that people make. Currently, too many organisations rely on siloed data provision, often falsely assuming that raising awareness of key facts will change behaviour. Over the next year, there will be more focus on analysing the data available within enterprises to more effectively understand behaviours and create solutions that truly impact society and markets by influencing the way that people act.

Gamification

Real-time behavioural incentives, popularly known as enterprise gamification, will start to become prevalent across all areas of the organisation. Early adopters will be driven by the sales function, followed by enlightened human resource directors. The ability to understand people and drive a set of specific actions is becoming the future of business productivity as digital natives – those that have grown up with an inherent understanding of technology – enter the workforce and readily accept a mobile-centric business experience. For example, a few years ago, annual reviews were conducted through face-to-face interviews and forms. Now, organisations, such as Spotify and LivingSocial, are introducing goal-based apps with gamification to replace annual reviews. The introduction of mobile apps that incentivise employees through earning badges for recognition, constant feedback, and goal tracking, has been adopted as a more pervasive tool for getting mobile employees engaged within the organisation. This combination of game mechanics and psychology is likely to become more prevalent over the next year as enterprise mobility continues to mature.

Explosion of apps

The mobile enterprise is still in its infancy but Dreamforce will be dedicated to exploring how it will mature over the next year with the rise of app ecosystems which transform traditional business processes. Organisations have long-accepted the benefits of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) schemes and the evolution of an app ecosystem will help enterprises adopt a truly mobile approach. Creating enterprise app stores not only enables a safe user experience but also allows the business to maintain control of corporate data and how it is accessed across a range of devices, environments and operating systems.

Mobile

With more organisations accelerating the introduction of mobile working, there will be a renewed focus on ensuring that users can access data across any device, at any time and from any location. As a result, enterprises will debate how to create mobile backend services, developments tools and integrate with third-party service providers to support a mobile workforce.

The journey towards data driven business

Businesses are placing more focus on using structured and unstructured data to understand customer behaviour. The next stage will be using this data so that organisations can create engagement models that identify how customer needs, interactions and outcomes map to the marketing, sales and service processes. Using this data, organisations can translate consumer interactions into inbuilt workflows that are driven by customer demand.

War for data science talent

As more companies aim to gain maximum business value from the explosion and diversity of data, more businesses will create new opportunities for scarce skills and competencies that can handle the rise of both structured and unstructured data. However, candidates will be problematic to source and larger organisations will look to develop their own capabilities in the key fields of data science such as analytics, visualisation and predictions to drive business value. In parallel to these developments, organisations will also adapt to the challenge of ‘Big Data’ by creating new structures and employee or partner relationships to harness technical skills and employ imagination. This will allow for the ability to create insight via data automation and will crucially help organisations to retain the capability to maximise the impact of human decision making.

Big Data market volatility

The current Big Data market generates approximately $12 billion in revenues a year and is expected to reach $52.4 billion by 2016. However, Big Data is currently only generating $0.55 value for every $1.00 spent. As the market goes from hype to disillusionment, a better understanding will emerge of the true Big Data players. Over the next year, there is likely to be increased merger and acquisition activity in the Big Data space as the services sector recognises the value of information as a competitive differentiator. The convergence of cloud, mobility, collaboration and Big Data will combine with market uncertainty, and drive existing services companies to enhance their market capabilities through Big Data acquisition and R&D investment. In the long-term, data driven businesses will become the norm supported by on-demand capabilities, as a subscription and through the cloud.

About FusionExperience

FusionExperience is an innovative business and data services company. We fuse our deep domain expertise in the investment, insurance, telecommunications and complementary markets internationally, with technology from our group companies and industry leading partners such as Salesforce.Com and SAP, to build platforms and applications to meet specific business needs. Our purpose is to add value to every one of our client’s businesses through services and solutions. We operate across multiple sectors, working fast and smart in a world where time is the scarcest resource.