(Headline abbreviated, original headline: Business Reconsidered: Organisations Must Rethink their Fundamentals,
Reveals New Fjord Trends Report from Accenture Interactive)
NEW ZEALAND; 16 January, 2020 – Following an unprecedented streak of fast-paced growth and profitability, businesses are beginning to feel the need for
deep soul searching. As a new decade approaches, they must look inwards for a total re-examination of their purpose and
place in the world, says a new report by Accenture (NYSE: ACN). Now in its 13th year, Fjord Trends 2020 takes its annual look ahead to the future of business, technology and design, according to Fjord, design and innovation from Accenture Interactive.
2019 has been a year of climate crisis activism, Big Tech accountability, the booms and busts of the gig economy, and the commitment of 181 top CEOs to redefine the Statement of Purpose of a Corporation. Changing mindsets, accelerated by rising digital adoption, have
reached the C-suite, forcing leaders to reconsider the very principles their organisations are built on. The report
notes that economics and politics, capitalism and resources, and technology and society have long been entwined, but
only now have the consequences of their entanglement burst into the public consciousness.
“Protests about capitalism’s trajectory of endless growth defined by profit alone are moving from shouting in the
streets to conversations in the boardroom. With this comes an imperative to find new ways to measure growth,” said Mark
Curtis, co-founder and chief client officer at Fjord. “These new values may change how we perceive the meaning of
business in the decade ahead. One thing is clear: winners will be those organisations with sustainable business models
and a long-term view of themselves and their impact on the world.”
Ben Morgan, Accenture Interactive New Zealand Managing Director added: “We’re starting to see our clients reorienting
towards purposeful transformation. The decade ahead will see a challenging of fundamentals, which provides an
opportunity for businesses to transform their offerings into something more mindful, meaningful and forward-thinking.
The shift from a ‘me’ to a ‘we’ mindset will prompt a need for design to switch from a user-centered to a life-centered approach.”
Fjord Trends 2020 examines seven emerging trends expected to shape the business of experience and provides practical advice on how
organisations can embrace the new era ahead.
1.Many faces of growth: Capitalism is facing a mid-life crisis. Success no longer solely equates to growth and organisations must start
reassessing corporate purpose and recalibrate how they see their role in the world around them.
2.Money changers: How we perceive money and pay for things is rapidly changing. These tectonic shifts create numerous opportunities for a
host of new products and players.
3.Walking barcodes: Our physical bodies are becoming as trackable as our digital selves. When it comes to facial and body recognition
technology, what is the trade-off between privacy and convenience?
4.Liquid people: Consumption habits are changing as people perceive and define their identity in ever more liquid ways. Considerable
opportunity exists in providing new experiences of consuming.
5.Designing intelligence: The human experience is growing increasingly complex. The next step for AI is to move beyond automation to designing
systems that blend human and artificial intelligence and enhance the interplay between both.
6.Digital doubles: Make way for your digital double who works for you and knows what you want. Digital twins are evolving beyond industry
and into our daily lives.
7.Life-centred design: The focus of desirability, viability, and feasibility is moving from “me” to “we.” Can design extend beyond its own
ecosystem, shifting from a user-centred to a life-centred approach?
Fjord Trends 2020 draws upon the collective thinking of Fjord’s 1,200+ designers and developers in 33 studios around the
world. The annual crowdsourced report is based on first-hand observations, evidenced-based research and client work.
This year, the contributions from Fjord’s new Tokyo studio and the acquisition INSITUM have added another 250 points of view from Japan and across Latin America, making this the most globally diverse set of
Fjord Trends ever. To read the report, visit: Accenture.com/Fjordtrends2020 or trends.fjordnet.com and discuss on Twitter #FjordTrends.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in
strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialised skills across
more than 40 industries and all business functions — underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network — Accenture
works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable
value for their stakeholders. With 492,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives
innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.
Accenture Interactive drives sustainable growth for clients by creating meaningful Experiences that live at the
intersection of purpose and innovation. In helping leading brands design, build and run Experiences across the entire
journey—be it for a customer, employee, patient or citizen—Accenture Interactive leverages deep capabilities across
three core offerings: New Propositions, Products and Services; Marketing, Content and Engagement; and Experience
Platforms. Accenture Interactive is ranked the world’s largest digital agency in the latest Ad Age Agency Report, for
the fourth year in a row, and was named a 2019 Most Innovative Company in Advertising by Fast Company. To learn more,
follow us @AccentureACTIVE and visit www.accentureinteractive.com.