The International Data Corporation (IDC) FutureScape series provides clear predictions and expert insights to help technology suppliers, investors, IT professionals, and business executives strategize for the future.

Eight of these studies are highlighted below which cover a variety of areas undergoing transformative change including oil and gas, robotics, 3D printing, retail, connected vehicles, and more. Read on to learn about IDC’s 2017 predictions, and click to the report pages to access more detailed information.

Baseball managers have long kept tabs on their star players to make sure they stayed ready and rested for the big series.

Back in 1892, for example, when the Cleveland Spiders played the Boston Beaneaters in what was then called the World’s Championship Series, their star pitcher was Cy Young. Young was generally clean living, but he would occasionally get up early to go hunting for wild turkey in nearby woods, a potentially troublesome activity his manager had to watch out for.

Unsanctioned hunting is less of an issue in the Major Leagues now. Today, however, a manager has to make sure his starters don’t injure themselves by fiddling with a drone.

Many participants in the US repair services industry, particularly small independent repair shops, have faced mounting challenges over the last decade. During this period, one key trend has been manufacturers’ increasing control over the repair of their products. Recent events, however, have given pause to this trend and even promise to reverse it.

For decades, the tastes and preferences of the largest generational cohort — the baby boomers — have been an important factor shaping key trends in the US small appliances market. This group, noted also for its affluence, is now joined by another even larger generational group: the millennials.

Like it or loathe it, it seems like everyone has one. No, not “an opinion,” a smartphone.

How many people in the US have a smartphone? About 60% of the total population in 2015. No small feat, considering the devices really only gained consumer market traction when Apple introduced the first-generation iPhone in June 2007.

What’s driving smartphone adoption? It certainly isn’t the ability to share meaningful voice conversations with friends and family — you don’t need a smartphone for that. The real value lays in the ever-expanding range of capabilities smartphones possess and the services they can access.

There are a number of trends causing shake-ups in the personal care appliance market, leading to some interesting questions.

• Why is a vacuum company making hair dryers?
• How do the increasingly active lifestyles of elderly Americans present an opportunity for appliance companies?
• And what on Earth is “peak beard”?

If you want the answers to all these questions (and more), read on.

Has the robot invasion begun? According to Tractica, a market intelligence firm that focuses on human interaction with technology, the consumer robotics revolution is “well and truly underway.”

Learn about the growing demand for domestic robots and what hurdles the market faces in the next few years.

Despite past failures and false starts, virtual reality is taking off. According to a report by Rider Research, virtual reality has become one of the hottest technology buzzwords for 2016. Consumer demand is rising fast as realistically priced virtual reality and augmented reality products hit the market.

But what exactly are augmented reality and virtual reality products? Who can use them? And which industries are going to most benefit from these new technologies? Read on to find out.

Jack W. Plunkett, CEO of Plunkett Research, Ltd, opens a recent video with the remark, “I can’t imagine any single sector that has been more disrupted or forced into more change than the media and entertainment industry over the past few decades.”

According to Mr. Plunkett, there’s more disruption to come. This vast, global industry will continue to evolve rapidly over the next decade as business models shift. Watch the video below and read this post to get valuable insights into this complex industry.

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.