“An iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator – are you getting it?” Today, referring to Apple’s moment of Wow feels a bit like talking about good old times, way back when. But in fact, it’s only been seven years since the launch of the first iPhone. Meanwhile, we are rather unimpressed when connecting to high speed Internet on the fly – even in ICE trains. Metropolitans are used to convenient car sharing; Uber and MyTaxi are about to disrupt an entire market. And even my mother knows that Google is far more than a search engine. Clearly, things that astonished us a few years ago have become ‘The New Normal’.

We’ve embraced them, adapted to them, wouldn’t want to live without (most of) them any more. But this is just the tip of the iceberg, just the beginning, as Peter Hinssen stated in his book ‘The New Normal’ (2010):

Don’t even think for a moment that we have arrived in the Digital World. We’re probably, at best, halfway. The past 25 years were about technology getting into the hands of consumers. The next 25 years will see consumers, young and old, making technology part of everyday life.

At NEXT14, we’ll draw a picture of what ‘The New Normal’ will look like in the near future, we’ll explore what astonishing ideas and technological innovations will mean for tomorrow’s business and society. Ideas that currently make our jaws drop, but will become normal in no time. Ideas that will change the way we interact with machines, cars, devices, people and will even change the way we see ourselves. New technological trends will continue to unfold enormous disruptive powers. Constant disruption is the new normal.

Companies in all business sectors need to embrace this ongoing change. They cannot merely adapt to new market situations or add some social media into their marketing plan. They’ll have to rethink their structure and strategy altogether, as the new normal means everyone being digital, everywhere, always. This has vast consequences for the way businesses talk to their customers, and also on the way they invent, produce and distribute their products.

NEXT Berlin will introduce game changing tech inventions and successful solutions to tomorrow’s challenges. The conference focuses especially on trends relevant to marketing executives, business developers and entrepreneurs. This year’s conference programme will therefore highlight innovations and transformation processes that are likely to impact on us all in the forthcoming three years, in the areas of:

• Interfaces and wearables
• Money and payment
• Cars and connected devices
• Big buzzword Data
• Production in an Industry 4.0 age and
• Companies’ organisational structures and C-Level-suites.

New Interfaces.

New technologies like gesture, voice, eye tracking and brainwave control are still in their infancy but have nevertheless already revolutionised the way we interact with machines, affecting all areas of our lives from mobility and health to shopping and entertainment. Imagine what our lives will look like in the future, when innovations like MIT’s shapeshifting display and wearable interfaces will be highly developed and become part of the new normal!

New Money.

With so many start-ups and global players like Google and Apple developing new forms of payment, cash might soon become obsolete. Innovative approaches like micro payment, electronic credit cards and various digital wallets promise to make our lives more comfortable. They are a huge challenge for established marketers, but at the same time open up so many possibilities to create better shopping experiences and stronger customer relationships. They will also allow companies to truly offer value through customer loyalty programmes, and to market products and services in more immersive and contextual ways. The question is: Which way will we be heading? Will alternative currencies like Bitcoin sustain and succeed in times of turbulent financial markets around the globe? Or will new (or even old) players disrupt the way we pay?

New Cars and Connected Devices

Services are the best, if not the only way, to set a brand apart from its competitors. The Internet of Things offers vast opportunities in this regard. It is going to revolutionise every area of our lives with all kinds of machines and devices (even analogue ones) being connected. At the moment, this industry branch has a global revenue of about 200 billion dollars, but it is said to be one of the fastest growing in the next few years, with an expected revenue of 1.2 trillion dollars by 2020. And that number won’t be reached solely by talking fridges that automatically replenish your milk supplies.
There are billions of possibilities. But they require rethinking how we design services and products. They have huge implications on business models and on all steps of the production process, making them more efficient, sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Big Buzzword Data

Right now, at this very moment, thousands of companies are collecting huge amounts of data about us. Everyday, we visit hundreds of websites, apps, social networks, shopping platforms and search engines. The question is, what do they learn from our online behaviour? How do they unleash the wisdom within the statistics? People like the Amazon whisperer Chaim Pikarski show examples on how Big Data can be used to successfully produce on demand for niche markets. At NEXT14 we’ll present Big Data success stories that have implications for every business, from design to strategy to development.

Production in the Industry 4.0 Age

Automation doesn’t end with robots on an assembly line: As machines and whole factories get connected with the internet and one another – and are further improved by the use of Big Data – we see whole industries change towards agility in production. This will impact strongly all the way up and down the supply chain, from sourcing to design and production to strategy and marketing.

Transforming Companies and New Leadership

How can companies re-invent themselves to remain relevant in the New Normal? Most of them will have to re-set their structure and strategy, that is for sure. At NEXT14 we will address the leadership transformation we see in companies – big and small – around the globe. Flexible structures and new C-Level positions mirror the ongoing change. NEXT attendees will learn from those who have already adopted this new style of leadership, and experience how organisations can adapt to gain from the changing tides.

So will there ever be a moment when we will go back to the old normal, the normal normal? At the end of Anab Jain’s inspiring talk at last year’s NEXT Berlin conference, we got the obvious answer.

Join us at NEXT14! We are looking forward to embracing The New Normal with you.