Last summer, Intuit created a report titled “Twenty Trends that will Shape the Next Decade.” It listed various trends broken down by category that will be more relevant in the coming years. Reading through these expected trends is a real eye-opener! We’ve listed a few key trends below straight, or you can view it directly by clicking here.
Here are some of the key trends:
Big and small businesses will collaborate. Big companies will get even bigger, but they’ll also reach out to small ones in new ways. “Small firms will contribute innovative practices with market agility and customer knowledge that big firms can’t easily achieve. Big firms will offer small businesses marketing and distribution power, enabling them to penetrate broader markets more effectively.”
Small businesses will become more flexible. Credit shortages will continue to affect small businesses, but they’ll be able to work around and find cheaper methods of operating, including “enhanced cloud services, a broader contingent workforce and greater options for plug-and-play manufacturing. Small businesses will rely on variable cost business models to adapt, respond and adjust.”
Niche businesses will rise. As niche businesses become more prevalent, “Small businesses will proliferate,” the authors write. “The Web and mobile technologies will become the great equalizer of big and small, with customers no longer knowing – or even caring – about the size of the firm that provides their goods and services.”
Business and life will go mobile. “As technology prices fall, highly sophisticated mobile technologies will become pervasive,” the report predicts. “Smartphones and other mobile devices will emerge as the new standard for everyday computing, often replacing or completely bypassing desktop and laptop computing.” Not only will your business be able to take advantage of smartphone and mobile computing power, but you’ll also need to adapt to the many ways your customers—whether businesses or consumers—are using mobile in their lives.
Innovation will increase. With equipment and technology costs dropping, it will become easier and cheaper to test new ideas, launch new products or expand your business into new markets.
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