WHY IT MATTERS: Digital Transformation

Sometimes the centre of gravity in tech is very clear, but as we enter 2022 there are lots of areas where trillion dollar questions are wide open. These are the questions I wonder about today, from crypto to cars to fast fashion - there are others.

Technology is changing the face of the energy industry. Communities are using blockchain to sell solar power to each other. Big oil and gas companies are using artificial intelligence to map out potential extraction points. Disaster zones and emerging markets are moving directly to microgrids and away from centralized grid models.

In this briefing, we cover:

• Major corporates that are backing blockchain technology to improve energy transactions, like Siemens, which has partnered with LO3 to launch the Brooklyn Microgrid
• The implications of startups like Bidgley that are helping utilities disaggregate the massive deluge of data that has come from a new wave of connected devices
• The role that artificial intelligence can play in the industry, from making grids smarter and more responsive to improving storage efficiency
• What a sturdy cybersecurity offering might look like in the energy industry

The technologies on the list, which is curated by members of the Forum’s Expert Network, are selected against a number of criteria. In addition to promising major benefits to societies and economies, they must also be disruptive, attractive to investors and researchers, and expected to have achieved considerable scale within five years.

This paper examines the essential eight technologies that matter and what business leaders now need to do about them, and emerging technologies in general.

In an evermore connected world, large-scale cyberattacks and online threats to businesses are rising exponentially. The Cyber-Risk & Resilience special report, published in The Sunday Times, features insights into the impact cybercriminals can inflict on organisations and individuals. From chatbots spreading fake news, risks concerning personal data, biometrics and fraud, as well as tackling phishing emails, the potential dangers are unprecedented. Also included is an infographic on why hackers hack and an article on the top five ways quantum computing will change cybersecurity for good.