I’m finally back in London, with a loads of stuff to do and many people to meet again. After having spent some time abroad, it’s always good to be back and keep in mind why you’ve actually chosen to live in this super competitive, tiring but also forward-thinking city.
(If you’re curious to learn more about what I thought about the 6 weeks I spent in Italy click here, it’s public!)
I’ve spent the first few weeks on writing stuff, so I blogged out and there, and read a lot about what will be the technology everyone will talk about in 2017.
What do you think will be the technology trends of 2017? We’re just a few weeks away from Christmas, it’s time to get your say!
Smart car? Smart cities? IoT? I know, those replies are super generic, and, in other words, all of them can be the most important tech trends. So, let’s try to be more specific.
Cars are starting to talk to each other so we’re not very far away from plugging more technology into this “more than 100 years old” invention. But still far from a very innovative product. 
AI virtual assistants are coming to our houses, whom you can talk with, to ask questions about everything, get details about your daily schedule and interact with your Home. Google Home has been announced a couple of days ago but Amazon Echo has been launched last year and it’s still niche, I guess. (When I say niche, I always benchmark Italy, as my beloved country is very slow and conservative to adopt new technologies)
IoT and Wearables are growing industries but there are still a lot of barriers in terms of privacy and data ownership, let’s see how this is going to develop in the next few months.
So, what’s left? Virtual Reality!
PlayStation VR is here soon, and soon as all the hard-core gamers will start using it massively.
So here what I think:
Virtual Reality will finally be applied to a few more industries and not just gaming, film, sports and entertainment.
Massive adoption means a massive opportunity for a lot of other industries, as the technology is already here and you just need to apply it to your specific product.
So, if your business is in one of the following industry, roll your sleeves up and be ready to catch the opportunity!
- Real Estate
How about having the chance to walk through the house/flat you want to rent or buy instead of spending time going there or meeting builders to approve plans on paper you don’t really understand? Super interesting, especially when you’re spending millions on renovating works. - Travel
Would you try an immersive experience around the country you’re planning so hard to visit if you would have had the chance? I would, especially if committing to that holiday is not very affordable.
- Journalism
Thanks to ad-blocking, publishers and editors are facing difficult times. How about delivering a very immersive value-driven experience for their paid subscription? Members are not very keen to pay to have access to content, but I bet it depends on the kind of content. - Education
I already approached that topic when I talked about the first surgery operation filmed on VR and used for education reasons on my Linkedin Pulse (it’s in Italian though). But, would you imagine how many more startups are doing the same, providing tools to teach kids about space, science or history? - Shopping
How big is the opportunity for e-commerce store and fashion brands? Imagine shoppers using a VR set not only to choose what they’d like to buy but also immerse themselves in the store and attend fashion shows, living immersive experiences around it.
I will be really keen to know what you think, hit me up around and tell me what you think!
alessiacamera 