Accenture_Technology_Vision_2014

TREND 1: DIGITAL–PHYSICAL BLURcommissioning systems that make use of sensorsthroughout a building’s workspaces and mechanicalequipment to collect data with millisecond resolution onbuilding performance. Four years ago, Microsoft reliedon a team of reactive operations staff traversing theenormous corporate campus in trucks responding tohot and cold calls. Today, the company uses a softwareoverlay which visualizes the existing 500 million datatransactions every 24 hours and is managed by a staff ofhighly skilled engineers who is harnessing big data andusing it to improve Microsoft employees’ experience anddrive down energy costs. 12 Schneider Electric is goingone step further by incorporating some of the world’smost advanced weather modeling data into its buildingautomation systems, allowing facilities managers tofactor external climate conditions into their decisions andmaking it easier to automate many of those decisions. 13Industries from warehousing to agriculture are seeingsimilar advances. With robotic systems for orderfulfillment enabling big reductions in shipment times,warehouses can process more orders in less time withfewer employees. Taking robots to the skies, the use casesfor autonomous drones are abundant and are disrupting“The more that users have access toamplifying technology, the more theywant access to real-time analyticsto inform their next experiences,everywhere.”19ACCENTURE TECHNOLOGY VISION 2014