HP Innovation Journal Issue 02: Spring 2016 | Page 7
Megatrends at work
As technology components mature and
become commoditized, they become the
building blocks for new breakthroughs
to emerge. And this is why the rapid pace
of change we are experiencing today is
only going to accelerate moving forward.
Electricity evolved from standalone gener-
ators to utilities, that now power computing.
Computing evolved from standalone serv-
ers to cloud computing. Cloud computing
enabled Big Data, which more and more is
now also evolving to a utility model. And as
that happens, Big Data is giving rise to new
technologies like Intelligent Assistants. It’s
technology’s equivalent to the Circle of Life.
As technology leaders and innovators it will
be up to us to look out for new emerging
technologies on the horizon, that will them-
selves one day become the future building
blocks for huge new markets.
At HP we look at these Megatrends through
the lens of our Blended Reality vision. This
allows us to identify new technologies and
business models that will help fuse our
physical and digital worlds, reinventing and
creating new experiences for everyone, ev-
erywhere. The emerging technology areas
that we believe will be the building blocks
for our future success are HyperMobility,
Immersive Experiences, 3D Transformation,
Internet of All Things and Smart Machines.
Business teams across HP are starting to
use an understanding of these Megatrends
combined with our technology vision to
identify new opportunities for market
transformation and future success.
And while Megatrends won’t give us all the
answers, they can be a beacon for where the
world is headed, giving us the opportunity to
adapt, chart, and reinvent our own future.
The opportunity is ours.
For article references see back cover
Andrew Bolwell is VP, Global Head of
Technology Vision and HP Ventures,
responsible for driving HP’s long-
term technology vision, and for
corporate venturing activities,
working across start-up and venture
capital communities to identify,
source, commercialize and invest in
early-stage disruptive technologies.
Big-picture
building blocks
for HP strategy
There are many considerations that in-
form the development of an overarching
strategy for the new HP, and the product
and services models we are creating.
What can we build, based on the amazing
technology capabilities unfolding every
day in our own labs and elsewhere across
our industry? What should we build, to
help our customers realize their immedi-
ate and future business objectives? What
must we build, based on where the world
is headed demographically, economically,
environmentally?
The latter question is where our
Megatrends effort comes into play most
directly. Megatrends research was a crit-
ical point of input in the strategic process
this past winter, leading to a pivotal gath-
ering of HP leadership at the start of this
year. We looked at strategic choice points
based on megatrends as well as core as-
sumptions around factors including mar-
ket outlook, customer and industry direc-
tions, investor perspectives, competitive
dynamics. We debated and established
priorities around our product direction,
service models, geographic focus, and
more. As this issue goes to press, teams
across the new HP are putting forward
their ideas and proposals for projects and
areas of investment going forward.
The strategic leadership will evaluate pro-
posed areas of investment and consider
the anticipated trade-offs and advantag-
es in each. Megatrends will help inform
both the projects presented for consid-
eration, and the decisions as to which
projects to prioritize. The Megatrend
Rapid Urbanization, for example, might
lead us to look at devices tailored to urban
populations: smaller, lighter devices for
denser environments, and more mobility
solutions for people moving around cities
and coming into enterprise. For each
Megatrend, we review the service model
and product roadmap that will allow HP
and customers to meet challenges and
capitalize on opportunities.
Also, as we focus more on the commercial
space it’s important to reflect on how
megatrends will shape manufacturing
and business processes across industries.
We consider megatrends relative to our
focus on emerging markets as well—in-
vesting in India and China, for example.
As we think about some of our tech-
nologies most relevant to Accelerated
Innovation—Sprout and Blended Reality
for example—we see special opportu-
nities in a services model that allows us
to innovate even more rapidly, with the
ability to deploy updates and not wait for
an overall product refresh.
Across the new HP, there is a sustained
excitement about our future as a focused,
agile and innovative competitor in the
global market. At the “world’s largest
startup,” our work on Megatrends is not
only about predicting where the world
is headed, but about boldly ensuring a
successful and relevant place in it for HP
and our customers.
Philipp Jung is Chief Strategy
Officer at HP, responsible for
developing profit-generating
strategies, devising and
evaluating new growth
opportunities, and leading the
strategic planning process.
Innovation Journal Issue 2
7