Sources: Kinga Warda¸ PKF Malta¸ January 2014

 

The 2014 is going to be definitely a year of mobile. Companies will discover new ways to target mobile devices and users. Organizations will begin to build on their understanding that the mobile user needs information as soon as possible¸ without clicking or scrolling. Customers will gravitate toward businesses that use mobile technology proactively to solve their hardest problems.

Changes on Facebook. Previous year was the year of the social media. From 2011¸ Facebook has grown from 600 million to 800 millions users. However¸ Facebook’s popularity among teenagers really falls down: according to research by RBC Capital Markets¸ 41 percent of Facebook users between the 16 and 18 spent less time in the social network last year¸ and 35 percent stated that it would be used less in the coming year. In 2014¸ Facebook may become as main source of information about the brands¸ products and services. Individual person will seek there information but will less likely post or share his/her private pictures neither communicate with friends via Facebook.

Retail stores will start to get personal – “2014 will be the year in which you walk into a store and it ‘knows you’ and customizes your visit¸” J.P. Gownder predicts. In 2013¸ some shops decided to use a technology that scans customers against a database of celebrity photos and alerts store clerks when a match appears. In 2014¸ stores will experiment with tech ranging from things like Apple’s iBeacon¸ which can send offers to smartphones as you shop¸ to potentially facial recognition tech.

Intelligent personal assistants. In 2012 Apple introduced Siri and it became a big success just from the beginning. This application uses a natural language user interface to answer questions¸ make recommendations¸ and perform actions by delegating requests to a set of Web services. In 2014¸ intelligent assistants will become more useful and easier to use.

Security. In 2013 we were witnessing many security breaches¸ phishing attacks and digital takeovers. With the technology developments¸ hackers and their cyber-attacks are becoming more sophisticated. Experts at Neohapsis¸ a security and risk management consulting company specializing in mobile and cloud security services¸ said organizations and vendors will be stepping up their security¸ though cyberattacks will become more comples.

Wearables: will come to the enterprise¸ often in customer-facing situations. Google Glass could be the next big App Platform.