In the past decades, business intelligence focused on transforming large unstructured datasets into usable metrics for decision making. Out of this data revolution came Just in Time (JIT) manufacturing and supply chains. Although past data still cannot predict the future perfectly, statistical forecasts and regression models have become widely trusted. With the vast amount of data generated online, insights on people’s intentions, opinions and wishes are also increasingly precise.

So what does the future hold for data analytics in the year 2050? Here are my speculations:

Amusement Stores

Bored of shopping online, you will want to head out to a premium brick-and-mortar store with friends, where an entrance fee is duly charged. Here you’ll find a selection of physical products on display, not holograms, which you can try before buying. But this store is not antique, it knew what you were looking for before you stepped in. Having access to your historical search queries and browsing preferences, both online and in real life, the store changes pricing of products dynamically over time depending on people’s interest. 3D cameras around the store monitor your body language, while microphones record your comments. Being one of the only places left for marketers to evaluate customers in-person, all your actions are meticulously analyzed. Whether you fit into the target market of a product is immediately known to the manufacturer. If the clothes you’re trying on do not fit, a robot will manufacture a tailored version on the spot based on your body size, as recorded by the store cameras. S, M and L tags are things that your grandparents reminisce about. The same goes for any physical object you use. 3D printing, combined with data on your body shape and historical preferences, ensure that every item is a perfect fit. Of course, you have to pay first and probably won’t be able to sell any used items, but that’s the point.

Everything is related

When you’re done at the store, head back outdoors with your smartshades (lenses that dynamically adapt to your vision and the surrounding light intensity, but that also have a Head-Up Display layered for its nano-PC). They’ll help. See your car? You can also see its latest market value, days till an oil change is needed directly from the engine sensor, and a reminder to pickup your kids from piano lessons at 4:30pm. Smartshades help you analyze and live efficiently. Databases are now globally connected and semantic search is king. On the road home, your smartshades will warn you to be careful around drivers with a bad accident history. If you see something interesting, snap pictures and share them with three blinks of an eye. Of course, chatting on your smartshades is not legal as you’re driving, but you can definitely make a stop and say hi to friends you saw walking nearby, on your real-time satellite map. Driving by a grocery store? Pay attention to the top right corner of your shades: it’s telling you what’s about to expire in the fridge (but why bother when you’ve already got a JIT grocery subscription), along with diner suggestions based on available ingredients. As you arrive home, your shades will pull up your favorite hologram shows. If you’re wondering what your loved one is doing, simply switch views to source live video from his or her smartshades. You are now connected.

Forget slice and dice, start chopping and spreading

For people analyzing data, a world of charts and graphs is found through your pair of work smartshades. Here, you can look at metrics from around the globe by spinning a 3D virtual Earth, captured from satellites in orbit. You can manipulate charts, documents, and overlays by hand motion, interpreted by the smartshades’ camera and nano-PC. Zoom in and you will find local data sets on your products. Then choose to view the latest stats from sales, social networks or internal management, always paired with live aerial video for your location of interest in the background overlay. Zoom further and you will see real-time 3D videos from buildings, stores and street cameras for an idea of what customers are doing with your products. Feel free to navigate the environment like a bird. You can even highlight some objects worthy of attention in yellow while the rest of the world apppears in gray. It’s a convenient feature. Now tap on a client or select a group of clients to review their feelings and psychographics. You can definitely tell whether they are happy, disappointed or confused, but they might also be annoyed that you are peeking at them.

Dream Away!

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