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Success when operating internationally means understanding how tomorrow will differ from today. From such insight comes opportunity. Our forecasting and advisory services have informed entrepreneurs, financiers and government figures around the world since 1946. Our coherent and impartial assessment of the future can be depended on to deliver the insight needed to succeed in a complex and changing world.
Robots are on the march. Most of them work on assembly lines, building cars, making electronic devices and processing food, drugs and chemicals. But robots are spreading beyond the factory - a trend that will accelerate in 2014.
Software and services firms will have a good year in 2014 according to The Economist Intelligence Unit. Software spending by businesses and government will rise by 6.2%, while the canny consultants who explain how to use the stuff will enjoy revenue gain of 5.7%.
The internet has always been the enemy of music executives, facilitating piracy, denting cd sales and encouraging people to download single songs instead of buying them by the dozen. But it will give executives something to sing about in 2014.
In 2014, Asia will lead the way with outbound tourism growing by 7.9% according to The Economist Intelligence Unit. Whilst tourism worldwide will grow by a strong 5.3% in 2014, the biggest increase since 2010.
More than $1trn will be spent on hardware, including telecommunications gear, in 2014 with tablets expected to grow by 40%, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit. Salespeople, executives and even doctors will find ever more uses for portable screens.
Some of the world’s fastest-growing economies in 2014 will be in Africa. Since 2001, Africa’s GDP has expanded more quickly each year than the global average. In the past decade, only the block of developing Asian economies, led by China, has grown faster than Africa.
Companies in the industrial raw materials sector are facing a new era. For years, miners of resources such as iron ore, base metals and coal enjoyed a boom driven by incredible demand from China and other emerging markets that were urbanising and investing heavily in infrastructure.
Discussions of food security in Asia have often centred on the issue of supply, but now the emphasis is shifting from quantity to quality. The ability to address the issue of food quality is complicated by the increasing complexity of the food supply chain in Asia.
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