AI and IoT the 'next big technologies', says Hakuhodo
The penetration of smartphones in the last decade has dramatically changed the lives of people worldwide, especially in Asean which is one of the most mobile-connected regions, the Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living Asean (HILL Asean), said in a press release issued on Friday.
An in-house think tank of Hakuhodo Inc, Japan's second largest advertising and communication agency, said the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) have been in the spotlight as the next big technologies after the smartphone which are predicted to change lives of people around the world dramatically.
When consumers' behaviour and lifestyles change, marketing approach has to change accordingly, the institute said.
The institute says it is necessary that companies and brands prepare for this future trend by emphasising real-time marketing based on consumer data that is more encompassing in every aspect, not only shopping behaviour but also health history, interests, preferences, purchase history and so on.
HILL Asean's latest research entitled "Think Future-forward: How Asean Lives Evolve as Technology Gets Smarter" covered samples from six Asean countries – Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Philippines. It says the world after the smartphone era will be the world of "Internet of Things" and "Intelligence of Things" where devices will be equipped with self-analytical and self-operating capabilities thanks to advanced technology and AI, thus no need to be operated via a smartphone.
It is being speculated that the amount of IoT devices will grow double the number of mobile phones within the next couple of years, and IT companies are fighting fiercely to develop the IoT and come up with related innovations.
This is clearly seen in the superpowers from both sides of the world, namely the USA with GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, amazon, Microsoft) and China with BATX (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Xiaomi). These companies are competing to develop smart assistant systems that are more intelligent and interact with users in a more effective manner.