Here are the top tech trends that will shape the next 24 months. All people must be ready for fast change, many disruptions but innovation at the speed of light

San Francisco, CA -- (SBWire) -- 06/25/2013 --Massive innovation, as new tools go up into the cloud, from mobile to nano to quantum — This about new era of fast change that will reshape business and society.

Innovation Drives a Prosperous Planet

Dr Canton, a leading futurist, stated that creating a prosperous and sustainable planet is in the interest of everyone. Business needs prosperity to make and sell. Innovators need prosperity to invent the future. Government needs prosperity to operate. A Prosperous Planet of vibrant makers, innovators, learners, buyers and sellers is emerging.

Over 5 billion cell phones of which at least a third will be smart phones will create a vibrant global marketplace of buyers and sellers: prosperity on hyper-drive. The next innovations—nanotech, quantum, neurotech, synthetic biology, Geo-engineering, mobile commerce, robotics; point to innovation as the key driver of prosperity. Innovation markets will drive over one-third of GDP.

The Connected Economy

Connected Mobile and Network Technology is a key driver of productive change, competitive advantage, jobs and economic growth. This year an acceleration of new innovations will enable growth and productivity. It is all about connectivity—connected innovators, connected supply chains, connected employees, connected markets and connected consumers. This is the beginning of a new tech cycle in information technology and mobile telecom. Connectivity to people, communities and networks will be essential.

Cyber-Insecurity; The Rise of Dark Networks

Identity crime is up 1000%. Over $2 billion US gets stolen online. Cyber criminals thrive online. Recent cyber intrusions on governments and organizations signal accelerated hacking coming this year. Secrets and customer accounts and money, even carbon credits stolen have a big payday. The rise of Dark Networks, informal criminal/terrorist organizations fueled by cyber-insecurity is on the uptrend.

Web 3.0: The Semantic Web

Starting to emerge this year will be Web 3.0. Where 2.0 was about social interaction, 3.0 is about deep connections with data and an attempt to make the web more accurate, smarter and useful when people are searching. Having the web become more intuitive to know, getting to know people and their personalized needs as a more useful front end.

The Intelligent Enterprise: Big Data & Cloud Computing

The next wave is extracting meaning from data to drive business value. Cloud Computing will enable users to do on any device anywhere what they do on their vdesktop. Access to information can be anyplace on-demand and accessible. The use analytics to monetize data will be a competitive advantage.

Network Agility

Increasingly the Network, the web is the business. This is how customers, employees, shareholders and partners all interact. This is how social media happens. How agile is one's Network? Is it integrated for mobile? Does it support integration across mobile, GPS, telematic and transmedia platforms? Is the organization ready to move beyond the legacy mindset and silos and move into the future. What is the Network Agility plan for this year?

Quantum Technology

Trends are showing that Quantum may be the final frontier of science and technology. It may well affect everything from computing, to money to health care. Quantum technology is the next generation of information science that as a new platform, could someday replace software, hardware and all things digital. The only way to crunch the impossibly fast, complex and large data sets and deal with the size of the global problems like how to feed 9 billion people in 2050? Or how can someone manage the oceans? How do to invent the next drug?

The Maker Revolution and 3D Printing

There is a manufacturing revolution underway. Small, distributed and dynamic manufacturing labs are springing up around the US. Groups of inventers, creators, manufacturers—the Makers are self-organizing places and events to collaborate in “making Stuff”. From industrial scale body parts to new devices and objects, This is the early stages of a manufacturing transformation.

Rethinking Energy: Smart Grids

Most of the infrastructure that provides energy, especially electricity to the population worldwide is not efficient, distributed or modernized to keep pace with the demands of today. The electric grid is modeled after a 19th century infrastructure that in some parts of the world is actually 18th century—inefficient and not Future Ready to meet the demands coming. We need to rethink energy.

About Dr. James Canton
Futurist, author, speaker Dr. James Canton, CEO Institute for Global Futures, a leading think tank analyses what’s on the horizon, what’s coming next that organizations, governments and individuals need to know about now. He is the author of Extreme Future. http://www.globalfuturist.com/