Introducing Outsell FutureScapes
We live and work in ever-changing times. Pandemic, recession, climate change — all pose external risks to information marketplaces that would have been hard to imagine only a few years ago. However, they are also huge opportunities when we find the right path to growth.
In this environment, tactical decision-making can quickly become focused on the very short term. During the crisis year of 2020, strategy became a three-month forecast — and a quickly adjusted year-end target. Volatility, ambiguity, uncertainty, and complexity (VUCA) became our strategy watchwords.
Our times demand flexibility and agility. Outsell has created the FutureScapes series of video analysis to keep you informed about the future while you deal with the present. Every month, we look at a different area of activity that will have a strong impact on the future success and profitability of businesses in our industry.
In FutureScapes, we deliver videos that interview experts — typically not academics but rather senior executives with particular relevant experience and a viewpoint on the changes ahead. Through debate and discussion, we aim to create collaboration and mutual learning in the community.
What’s on your mind regarding the future of the data, information, and analytics industry? Where is your long-term focus right now in terms of technology, leadership, and talent? Are there any leaders or experts in the field you’d like to see us interview? We encourage suggestions for coverage and any feedback you may have on the series; please send your input to FutureScapes host David Worlock.
Yesterday, we published the first of the series: Outsell FutureScapes — The Future of Workflow Automation. When we look back at the early 2020s, the automation of work will stand out as a key trend. Workflow automation is transforming the workplace, spanning routine robotic process automation (RPA), wrapping clerical tasks in data and software, and addressing more complex solutions to multi-issue problems like drafting legal contracts or solving complex research challenges. Add in advances in AI and greater data handling capacities, and it is easy to predict an even more rapid pace in the next five years.
Where will all this lead? How will systems stay ethical and knowledge workers stay in control? And will these developments eventually lead to hyper-personalization, with interfaces designed to meet the needs of individual users?
In this Outsell FutureScape, we talk with Martin Hyndman, who served as a chief solutions engineer and systems architect in legal information at Thomson Reuters for 20 years. He left Thomson Reuters in 2018 to undertake major RPA projects for Cargill, 3M, Prudential Financial, and currently, Fannie Mae, and currently serves as Associate Director, Intelligent Process Automation at Cognizant. His information industry background, expertise in data science, and experience with major commercial users gives him a unique insight into where we go next in the world of work automation.
Our next FutureScapes video will focus on the future of search. Stay tuned!