10 GLOBAL TRENDS THAT WILL SHAPE 2015 Date:   Thursday , January 08, 2015 Established in 2008, Above Solutions is an IT Services company with offices in U.S. and India. As we peek into 2015, I wanted to share some thoughts into some of the key trends that will probably play a key role in value creation in the global economy. When I look at the year ahead as a technologist, I find it very hard to just talk about technology trends or trends related to a certain industry vertical. I believe that we have to take an integrated look at trends since there are micro and macro factors that contribute to the adoption and eventually the value creation of a trend. Here are my predictions for ideas and trends that will shape 2015: 1.Emergence of value based innovation in the outsourcing industry and premium for verified results � The technology and outsourcing industry has primarily been competing on \"price arbitrage\". In 2015, customers will pay a premium for verified results. Savvy organizations that are looking to scale their operations via outsourcing, will not just look for the \"lowest bidder\", but will expect to see their outsourcing partners demonstrate innovation in both their product & delivery capabilities and also business models that are rewarded based on verified results. 2.Pervasive adoption of branded content in engaging audiences � Quality branded content that is firmly rooted in strategy will be adopted by organizations to engage their audiences and create immersive experiences. Top performing companies will probably include links to branded content in virtually every interaction with their target segment. 3.Hyper local Content Will Gain Momentum � Companies that rely on creating deep relationships with their customers will look at producing content that is written by an author who lives in a specific geographic area. This will be an important strategy brands to build deep engagement with consumers in new geographies/culture. This will pose new challenges in their content creation/curation strategy since they will have to work towards a distributed approach to content development. 4.Emergence of the Context aware service provider and analytics to drive contextual experiences -- With consumers fully embedded in mobile, digital, and social media as a way of life, interaction expectations are changing. Organizations will look at context aware platforms to enable them to leverage rich analytics-driven insights to enable a more personalized approach to targeting and engaging with consumers. 5.Computing everywhere and new interaction experiences � With the proliferation of smartphone, tablets and wearables, new interaction paradigms will emerge. These devices will offer connected screens in the workplace and in public, will allow seamlessly connected and immersive user interactions paradigms. 6.The Internet of Things will go mainstream and optimization of the cloud via FOG based computing � IOT will be propelled by the ubiquity of user-oriented computing. With the emergence of low power silicon and optimized IOT based protocols, we will see a deep integration of these touch points with consumers in their day to day activities. We will probably also see the emergence of FOG computing to optimize communication between the sensor/IOT devices and the cloud. 7.Companies will make health and wellness and integral part of their HR strategy � Employees will be attracted to work with organizations that are not just about profit, but have a strong purpose. Companies that enable employees achieve \"happiness\" as part of their HR strategy will see better retention, productivity and economic value creation. 8.Sharing Economy will develop in 2015 � The sharing economy will grow exponentially and impact most of the industries. Airbnb and Uber are the most obvious examples, but other sectors such as municipal, logistics, services, utilities and education will be disrupted by new and nimble startups in these sectors. 9.Design Thinking will be hygiene to launch a product or service � The demanding market conditions and rapid introduction of products and services will require the adoption of a structure design thinking principle of \"ideate and iterate\". Organization will start to rely on the design thinking approach of \"rapid prototyping\"� transforming ideas into tangible objects or experiences that users can interact with. 10.The Hottest place to hangout will be the great outdoors � The local clubs and leisure travel sector will probably see increased traction in 2015. Those who have been confined to traditional desk jobs will be looking at avenues to get out of the urban jungle and enjoy the great outdoors. This should be a good opportunity for entrepreneurs to create hyper local clubs and social networks that allow people to connect and maximize their downtime to discover the outdoors from running, hiking, biking or yoga in the park.