Emerging Technologies

New technologies are disrupting business as usual.

Technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, and the internet of things are rapidly reshaping our world and evolving at breakneck speed. PwC can help you to better understand and put these technologies to work, so that you can be the disruptor, not the disrupted. We work with you to research, co-create, prototype, test, and deploy new services and solutions powered by the latest technological advancements.

We have identified "The Essential Eight" technologies that matter the most for businesses today. In China, we focus our research and development to support our clients on AI, Blockchain and IoT.

In 2016, we first identified the Essential Eight — settling on the crucial shortlist after analyzing more than 250 technologies in our labs. Since then, much has changed. Several of the Essential Eight have advanced so quickly that the value propositions they offer business have changed. Still other, newer technologies are now becoming instrumental. To help businesses assess where to direct strategic investments, we’ve updated the Essential Eight and organized them into three categories that reflect how business leaders can prioritize their efforts: expand, evaluate and experiment.

Essential to expand

These technologies are used at scale in many enterprises, and many companies are ready to expand further. If you’re not looking at more widespread implementation, you should be.

Essential to evaluate

These technologies are deployed for a growing number of use cases but may have been back-burnered at some companies. You may want to reevaluate their fit within your business strategy given recent advancements.

Essential to experiment

These technologies are highly promising and rapidly advancing but not yet mainstream. It’s important to begin exploration and consider how your business or industry could be impacted by them in the coming years.

Though the technologies are at different maturity levels, we believe all eight are essential. They’re also converging to deliver greater impact. While a single Essential Eight technology may help solve a business challenge, combining it with others may enhance the solution. And when used together, multiple emerging technologies can help derive new value from the data that each one is collecting or creating.

Another common trait that unites the Essential Eight is the necessity of trust. Leadership and external stakeholders need to trust that the technology can deliver the value it promises, have its risks addressed, fulfill compliance requirements and align with corporate values. And employees need to have trust that this technology will not replace them, but instead make them more valuable.

The right approach to the Essential Eight can help build trust with your stakeholders, prioritize key investments and drive convergence among these technologies that can lead to exponential value.