Forrester Releases 2018 Predictions

Forrester identified the major dynamics that will shape 2018 — dynamics that favor those taking aggressive action and create existential risks for those still holding on to old ways of doing business in an introductory piece to its predictions reports.

Companies are still trying to adapt to wildly different market dynamics that are increasingly affecting financial performance: unmet customer expectations are resulting in churn; the lack of digital transformation gains is translating to loss of market share; industry lines that protected some are crumbling; and longstanding, durable business models are failing.

“In 2018, increasingly demanding customers will force companies to take decisive action,” said Dane Anderson, VP, research director and region manager, at Forrester. “The only business strategy left for companies is to serve their customers at a level that borders on obsession. To be successful, organizations in Asia Pacific must take bold action and focus their strategy, operations, and budget to better understand and engage with their customers.”

The major dynamics that will shape 2018 include:

• Performance expectations for CX.
• Success rate of digital transformation efforts.
• How scarce talent affects the market.
• Intelligent agents’ influence on consumer spending.
• How brands will fare in understanding the lingua franca of platform algorithms.
• The impact of consumers cocooning themselves from “digital noise”.
• The fate of traditional advertising.
• The chances firms will comply with GDPR.
• How open banking will determine the future of many banks.
• How digital platforms will impact traditional retailers.
• The evolution and pace of artificial intelligence.
• The evolution and pace of blockchain.
• How security evolves to confront threats without degrading CX.

To gain more insights on the dynamics that will shape 2018, download Forrester’s predictions guide.

For more details, see this blog post or contact press@forrester.com to obtain a media review copy of Forrester’s 2018 predictions reports. The full set of Forrester’s Predictions briefs for 2018 is also available here.