The Future

Where will the future take us?

"Only change is certain" Well we plan out our development in 3-6 month chunks and blue sky from there. In the internet world each year is worth 7 years! Imagine how quickly the likes of iPhones, Twitter and generally social media takes off and lands in our radar. That's why at ASP we are ready to predict the short term picture and be ready with our quick and nimble development team to adapt.

Questions to ask yourself - who is your internal change manager and who are your change suppliers?

Next 5 years

Social media will be important but although everyone will have heard of it not everyone will participate. Smart phones again will grow but again only a minority will use the devices for the shows. Of course can you afford to ignore 30-40% of your active market? The virtual show industry will grow but slower than people expect. Simply put, the engagement level is not as high as face-to-face and people will seek social activities away from the desk.

The industries technology vendors will experience defragmentation through mergers and survival of the fittest product selection. There will be a real battle between serviced technology and open source self fulfilled software - both will exist and both will cost money or resources.

During this period ASP's products will expand and increase to cover more markets and uses. ASP's unparalleled global connections, partnerships and integration will see it become the data conduit supplier between the technology players in the event industry.

10 Years +

Prepare to get blown away. Increasing use of devices and computing power will mean people will be using intelligent glasses or maybe even enhanced contact lenses that overlay information over peoples vision. Yes, augmented reality is here now but it will take years for the shrinking of devices and the data to be usable. Plus the social stigma of wearing strange glasses will slow adoption. By now thinking will be a method of data input. See an interesting company at a show - think and it's uploaded to your personal data store for use later on.

We would imagine that human embedded technology - from RFID chips to actual computers will start to become a fashion. Think about the growth of tattoos and piercing over the last 10 years combined with cell phone use. One thing is sure - venues will not be charging for internet access! Registration will not exist as we know it now. Websites will be media channels for companies - expect more personalized on demand videos and content. Websites must now be compatible with peoples personal data stores hosted by the likes of Google, Amazon etc.

20 years+

Time to hand over to the more random blog posts we have. Eventually virtual shows will take over but only because they are becoming more real than face to face. The good news - they will still require management, unless of course artificial intelligences run them. Time for a drink.

Read the futurology posts - guaranteed to be a fun read but don't bet your future on them!