Digitalization

• [New] Among the highest likelihood risks of the next 10 years are extreme weather, climate action failure and human-led environmental damage, the report states, as well as digital power concentration, digital inequality and cybersecurity failure.
• [New] Cruise will use cloud computing for self-driving vehicles by leveraging Azure, Microsoft's cloud and edge computing platform, to commercialize self-driving cars.
• [New] If challenger banks are to succeed, they must not forget that the most sophisticated technologies in the world will not mean a thing if they can not be trusted by consumers - and right now trust in digital services is at all time low.
• [New] With quarantines and lockdowns looming for much of the year, millions of consumers turned to digital channels to purchase items and conduct business, opening new opportunities for fraudsters.
• [New] More than two-thirds of companies that the EIU surveyed in 2018 said their profitability had increased over the past three years thanks to their digital strategy and nearly three-quarters expect it to rise in the next three years.
• [New] While certain individual and car lobby groups (London and Berlin) have limited access to active transport measures, investments in digital and physical infrastructure will continue in 2021 to support long-term urban sustainable shifts away from the private automobile.
• [New] WTDC-21 will forge a global plan for digital development over the next four years, providing future direction and guidance to the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector.
• [New] In the year ahead, organizations will increasingly seek a new way to accelerate digital transformation.
• [New] On the heels of the all-digital CES 2021, Smart Cities Dive has identified six core trends that experts said are expected to influence the smart city space in the year ahead.
• [New] In 2021 will see a new-generation of digital technologies, including Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and cloud computing being applied to the agriculture industry - from the production process to retail.
• [New] Across the globe, Hitachi is developing solutions and working with companies to use digital technologies in the agricultural industry to address the challenges of individual farms in a way that will benefit all of society.
• [New] The United States will not effectively defend its IT and digital interests, nor effectively promote the superior U.S. approach around the world, unless Congress and the Biden administration put in place a robust, national developmentalism-based IT and digital strategy.
• [New] COVID-19, a jobs crisis and extreme weather are expected to be the most serious risks facing the world in the next two years, followed by cybersecurity threats and digital inequality.
• [New] In October, Telecom Advisory Services released a 10 G economic impact report, which demonstrated that new the broadband platform will generate at least $330 billion in total economic output and create more than 676,000 new jobs over seven years.
• [New] Promoting regional economic and trade ties on the RCEP platform will open new frontiers for economic growth in China and provide new impetus to regional and even global economic recovery and growth.
• [New] The wider adoption of digital tools is the big opportunity for the apparel industry, not only in 2021 but also in the years to come.
• [New] With the world becoming more digital, and with businesses utilising the immense opportunities the internet has for profit, the increase for cybercrime will grow steadily on with the increase of businesses trading online.
• [New] To unlock the potential of cloud computing for self-driving vehicles, Cruise will leverage Azure, Microsoft's cloud and edge computing platform, to commercialize its unique autonomous vehicle solutions at scale.
• [New] Manufacturers recognise that digital tools and technology are essential to remain competitive, cut costs, increase growth, and enhance the customer experience, and without capitalising on the opportunities digital technology offers, risk getting left behind.
• [New] One of the new framework programs - Horizon Europe (2021-2027) with a budget of over 100 billion euros - aims to precisely support the digital transformation and, along with investment in supercomputers, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity, will stimulate skills development.
• [New] The digital exclusion of billions of workers worldwide increases the risk of livelihood crises and is likely to exacerbate social cohesion erosion - two of the highest likelihood and highest impact risks of the next 10 years.

Last updated: 24 January 2021