There is an ongoing convergence of four key technologies that are poised to transform the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) ecosystem. Those technologies are Fifth Generation (5G) cellular, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Analytics, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

At Plunkett Research, we believe that today’s “big data” requires a big human effort to edit, standardize, and evaluate information before it is usable in a reliable manner.

Corporate and government leaders are keenly aware that advancing technologies are creating vast new opportunities for competitive intelligence, operating benchmarks, market analysis, and other vital data. At the same time, these end-users probably don’t have the departmental skill sets or budgets needed to develop analytical software to take advantage of this trend.

Corporations are hungry to know more and more about consumers, but gathering the right blend of data and analysis — in a time-efficient manner while also managing costs — is becoming ever more complex.

When asked to identify the biggest challenges in her day-to-day work, Tracy Paukstys, Senior Director of Client Development at Insights in Marketing, replied that “Clients are tasked with getting richer and more impactful consumer insights despite often more restrictive budgets and timing.” She noted that this “seems to be the norm more than the exception.”

New and emerging technologies have the potential to disrupt and transform a variety of important industries. Mind Commerce, a trusted source for research and strategic analysis, has written a series of articles highlighting new, influential trends in digital technologies and telecommunications. Here, we’ve compiled eight Mind Commerce posts that received the most page views. Click to the posts that interest you to gain valuable new insights from an experienced market research firm.

The telecommunications sector has always handled large volumes of data related to customers, operations, and transactions. Over the years, telecom service providers have used a variety of techniques to work with these data sets including statistical analysis, data mining, knowledge management, and business intelligence. However, according to a new white paper written by the research firm Mind Commerce, big data and analytics is profoundly different from previous trends.

Mind Commerce sees Sports and Fitness, Healthcare, and Clothing as key markets for the early success of wearable technology. Among these three segments, Sports and Fitness is the most promising segment for wearable consumption. The segment comprises various products out of which wrist bands, wrist watches, and headgears will dominate the segment. In addition, most products in this segment will be associated with measurement and monitoring fitness and performance and will be used by both amateurs and professionals.

Big Data analytics give telecom providers a more complete customer perspective, where no data is too small or irrelevant, and one that has data sets from various sources fused together, correlated and turned into valuable insights. Some of the areas, in broad terms, where Business Intelligence tools can be used in telecom, include Operations and Budget Analysis, Capacity Management Analysis, and Network Operations & Management Analysis.

It is estimated by the year 2016 that 191,800 multipurpose industrial robots will be shipped out worldwide. With the addition of computerized automation and other technology to the mix, it should come as no surprise that millions of people have lost their jobs in the past 30 years. Oxford researchers say that 45% of America’s occupations will be automated within the next 20 years. You also might not even need match.com in the future because bold predictions say that by 2050 humans can fall in love with and marry robots.

In the past two years, we have watched the Big Data phenomenon lead the market research industry in a new direction. Organizations have built immense databases with information on everything from science to retail, from government to consumer opinions. As growth continues and big data plays a larger role in marketing decisions, suggestions that big data will push out traditional market research have been discussed. But, in all reality, that simply will not happen.

In the first episode of the hit series Mad Men, Don Draper explains to the client, Lucky Strike cigarettes, that advertising is "based on one thing: happiness. And, do you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It's freedom from fear. It's a billboard on the side of a road that screams with reassurance that whatever you're doing is okay. You are okay."

But, how do you measure your customers' happiness? Predict it? Create products that elicit it? Do customers even know what they want?