Banking, education sector, and healthcare under the microscope
UK innovation foundation, Nesta, has published its first set of annual Business Insights, examining the trends which will come to define 2016 in a variety of sectors, from alternative finance to healthcare tech.
The insights, launched at Bett 2016, are accompanied by illustrative case studies and guidance on the impact of these trends for business. Put together by experts in the field, they highlight Nesta’s belief that this will be another year of rapid growth and change.
Geoff Mulgan, CEO of Nesta, said: “At Nesta we have the privilege of working with some of the most talented and exciting innovators and entrepreneurs – funding them, supporting them and learning about what they do. We’ve identified key trends and opportunities that will matter for businesses in 2016, and show, in particular, how the combination of digital technology and people power is set to have a huge impact in big sectors like finance, health and education.”
Nesta’s business insights for 2016 are:
The Rise of the ‘Bank-That-is-Not-a-Bank’: Over the past five years peer-to-peer finance and crowdfunding has drastically changed the way banking looks. With the launch of app-only bank Atom and e-commerce giant Amazon entering the lending market, the expansion of the sector is only set to continue in 2016. From taking advantage of the growing international appetite for peer-to-peer (P2P) products to giving customers a stake in their companies, this year Nesta forecasts there will be a wealth of alternative finance opportunities for business.
People-power Plus Technology: a New Business Opportunity in Healthcare: Health tech is beginning to go mainstream, as wearable exercise trackers like Fitbit make the transition from specialist novelty to everyday item. The challenge for the industry is how best to use the information gathered by these devices. Nesta believes that in 2016, it will be the companies that successfully combine this technology with open data and people power who will drive innovation in the sector.
Educational Technology: Will the Bubble Burst?: Large scale investment is fuelling an edtech boom, but is a bust on the horizon? Nesta has found that it is not enough just to introduce technology into the classroom, companies need to become better at tapping into student motivations. For 2016 to be the year of edtech, providers need to address the desire of young people be creators, rather than simply consumers, of digital products.
Collective Intelligence: an Evolving Resource: With more people than ever before skilled in communications, research and content production, collective intelligence is one of the great untapped resources of our time. Nesta predicts that, using the right analytical tools, businesses will be able to harness the views and expertise of the crowd in order to tailor their products of individuals or specific communities.
The Business Insights series follows on the heels of Nesta’s popular and influential Predictions series, which since 2011 has anticipated some of the biggest technological and social breakthroughs of recent years including the rise of crowdfunding, the growth of 3D printing and the increasing prevalence of the virtual wallet.
