By 2025, 10 disruptive technologies are expected to generate trillions of dollars of economic impact. As a leader in these technologies, Panasonic Corporation of North America decided to delve deeper into this massive economic opportunity, and how it’s impacting the way businesses think about technology adoption.

In this sixth article from the Moving Forward research series, we summarize some of the key findings from our surveys of 400 senior technology decision makers across 13 industries in North America. We take a closer look at their view of various disruptive technologies, as well as their current and future plans for adoption.

Our study reveals that adopting disruptive technology is now seen as a necessity, causing two of three businesses today to think and behave like “early adopters.”

Technology is no longer just a useful tool to efficiently manage operations. It’s become fundamental to the way companies create value and is increasingly integrated into core offerings.

Our research identified a number of strategic challenges that arise from delaying investment in disruptive technologies. Nearly two in three businesses see a risk in competitors pulling ahead. And one in two believe they could be impacted by falling revenue, the failure of products and services, and loss of market relevance.

For all these reasons, nearly two in three have embraced a classic “early adopter” mindset. While they may have concerns about a weaker ROI from adopting too soon, they believe the bigger risk is adopting too late, leading to a weaker competitive position.

Enthusiasm for disruptive technologies has already translated into decisive action. On average, organizations have adopted four of 10 disruptive technologies, with nearly half adopting five or more, and one in five adopting seven or more.

When decision makers were asked to identify the disruptive technologies most critical to their companies’ future success, three stood out: 

• Cloud: 77% of businesses surveyed have already adopted it, and that number is expected to increase to 87% in the near future 
• Mobility: 75% have adopted mobile devices, apps and commerce, increasing to 88% in the near future
• Internet of Things: 61% have adopted IoT, increasing to 79% in the near future

Artificial intelligence: the emerging “must-have” technology Yes, only two in five companies have adopted AI. But the same number believe it will be one of the three most critical technologies for their business moving forward. And adoption is expected to grow by more than 50% in the near future. Industries where we expect to see significant growth in artificial intelligence include:

As one retail executive stated, “It will be a huge game changer for whoever can use it most efficiently."

Three technologies stand poised for rapid growth, as evidenced by the gap between current and future adoption.

Driven by strong interest from manufacturing, automotive, education and retail, robotics adoption will grow +24 points overall to 61% adoption in the near future. 3-D printing adoption will also grow +24 points to 56% adoption, thanks to bullishness from education, aviation and manufacturing, plus sports, entertainment and media.

Following close behind is energy storage adoption. It’s projected to double in automotive, where it will play a central role in the shift to electric vehicles. (Panasonic is leading this transformation through strategic partnerships with Tesla and Toyota, among others.) Energy storage will also double in retail, government and public safety, building and construction, and logistics. In addition, almost two in three organizations believe battery storage of solar and wind energy will be mainstream within 10 years.

At least half of the companies in 11 of 13 industries surveyed expect to adopt renewable energy. Overall, adoption will increase from 44% today to 60% in the near future.

One of the big drivers in the future could be net-zero energy building codes, which require residential and commercial buildings to produce their own electric energy. Seven in 10 organizations surveyed expressed interest in adopting technologies that create carbon-neutral or net-zero energy buildings.

Of course, progress doesn’t come without some setbacks along the way. A full 35% of organizations cited lack of expertise as a major challenge in effectively implementing disruptive technologies. And, in certain industries, more than a third of respondents lamented the lack of a partner with the necessary knowledge.

As a company with a innovation heritage and leadership in these technologies, Panasonic is uniquely positioned to help. Across key industries we are working with customers to help them embrace the changes that these technologies bring and enable them to evolve and enable their businesses. And we look forward to helping more customers create advantages for their businesses and customers in this digital future.

Increasingly, consumers are defaulting to online experiences for shopping, sports and entertainment events, even learning. Organizations that have invested in physical venues to attract shoppers, fans, entertainment seekers and students are now convinced they need to step up their game to compete. Today, these Immersive Experience organizations are enhancing physical spaces with digital information, adopting a wide range of disruptive technologies in the process. And that adoption will only accelerate.

In this fifth article in the Moving Forward research series, Panasonic Corporation of North America assesses how senior technology decision makers view the technologies driving us forward and their impact on customer experience in industries like Retail, Education, and Sports, Media and Entertainment.

By 2025, 10 disruptive technologies are expected to generate trillions of dollars of economic impact. Our new study reveals that Immersive Experience industries have already adopted just under five of these technologies on average. And four technologies appear to be at the top of their innovation agendas – artificial intelligence, robotics, 3-D printing and energy storage. Panasonic is deeply engaged in each of them.

Along with the cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) is seen as the technology most critical to the future success of experience-oriented organizations. Four in five have either adopted or plan to adopt AI in the near future. Why? It will enable them to enhance the customer experience through:

• Better customer insights and new products based on those insights
• Better ability to predict customer behavior and the operational advantages this foresight enables
• The opportunity to design for customers in a more seamless, personalized way

While organizations (especially retailers) see the importance of personalizing content – in part through insights from AI – they also see the need to strike a balance between personalization and privacy. When asked to choose between protecting consumer privacy and using consumer data to develop better products, slightly over half prioritize privacy.

In fact, consumer privacy/security concerns are the biggest obstacle overall to adoption of disruptive technologies, ahead of stagnant budgets, lack of skilled employees and government regulation.

In addition to AI, a trio of technologies – robotics, 3-D printing and energy storage – also have great potential in Immersive Experience industries. Each shows a gap of around 30 points between current and near-future adoption, indicating strong opportunities for technology solution providers in these areas.

Intent to adopt varies among industries. Retailers expressed strong interest in robotics and energy storage. Educators also have robotics on their tech adoption shopping list, along with 3-D printing.

If there’s one area where almost everyone sees potential, it’s enriching physical environments with digital information. An overwhelming 19 of 20 organizations focused on customer experience believe it’s important.

Retailers especially see this capability as a must-have, with seven in 10 considering it very important. They identified a number of game-changing benefits, including:

• Visualizing merchandise as it would appear in real life through applications like digital mirrors and digital space design 
• Viewing inventory or alternate product options (e.g., sizes, colors, materials)
• Securely dropping off and picking up merchandise for servicing after hours
• Purchasing merchandise at the point of display, eliminating the need for checkout

Sports, media and entertainment organizations think integrating digital and physical worlds can get customers off the couch and into their venues. They envision an enhanced experience that may include:

• Previewing and pre-purchasing merchandise, food and beverages, and premium services prior to arrival 
• Providing turn-by-turn wayfinding directions in the venue
• Allowing access to behind-the-scenes data and information that enriches their audience’s perspective, such as augmented reality projections of player stats

Panasonic recently brought a lot of this technology together in the Atlanta Braves’ new baseball stadium, SunTrust Park.

To bring immersive experiences to life, nine in 10 customer experience-oriented organizations expect to invest in advanced display technologies within three years. The most interesting of these, in their view, is a display that projects not only images but information. Panasonic’s LinkRay solution uses visible light to transmit content to mobile devices and has been embedded in mobile apps for venues like the iconic Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Other advanced displays of keen interest to customer experience experts are screen sharing between displays and mobile devices, virtual reality, projection of 3D images and augmented reality.

Many customer experience-oriented organizations have already experienced the disruption of e-commerce retailers and media streaming services. Not surprisingly, six in seven agree that “embracing disruptive technologies is not a ‘nice to have.’ It’s the price of doing business – and staying in business.”

A large number of these organizations realize they need a strategic partner to get the most out of disruptive technologies. As partner to many of the world’s best entertainment experience organizations, including Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and the Olympic Games, Panasonic can be a great resource for those looking to bring together our digital and physical worlds.