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With prediction season upon us, analysts, vendors, and influencers alike have many predictions on what technology trends we can expect to see in the year ahead. While many of these will surely make a splash in 2023, it’s safe to say that some predictions will fail to move the needle or fall short of our expectations. 

So, how can companies separate technology trends from hype? A recent piece in InformationWeek offers some tips on how to tell the fads apart from long-lasting changes in technology. Use this guide to help you decide what technology is worth early adoption and what may not be worth the investment. 

5 Ways to Distinguish Trend from Hype

Investigate the History 

Trends are typically the evolution of a previously successful innovation—for example, microservices trace their roots back to web services, service-oriented architecture, and remote object calls. Generally speaking, the same can’t be said for fads, which appear and disappear quickly. 

Tangible Business Value

Trends generally present a clear business value. Additionally, the technology underpinning them is mature enough that this value has a real chance of being realized. For example, self-driving technology has made incredible advances and could revolutionize roads, driving, and insurance if it became widely accessible.

Check Investor Backing 

Another way to separate trends from fads is by researching any financial backing. Investments from firms with a certain technological background, like healthcare technology or AI modeling, are more likely to do their due diligence in assessing the technology. Strong financial backing does not always ensure success, but it can be a marker for up-and-coming technology.

Look for Copycats 

Another tell-tale sign is how many other companies or investors are trying to copy the innovation. When a new technology has a lot of business potential for increasing revenue, decreasing costs, or creating a new form of revenue, more and more companies will try to create a similar product. 

Ask the Experts 

It can also be helpful to solicit advice from consultants or other external experts and get their buy-in on a particular trend’s likely staying power. These individuals also are likely to have insight into early adopters and ideal use cases, which can be useful in determining whether and when your organization should invest in the technology. 

Investing in the wrong technology can quickly drain budget and resources, not to mention it can hamper the company’s innovation and competitive advantage. Not every new technology will fit into your business’ tech stack either, no matter how shiny the new product is. 

Implement Future-proof Technology

Market leaders are great examples of how to integrate trending technology in a lasting way. These industry innovators used TIBCO technology as their foundation for future-proof success:

• Caesars Entertainment expanded its customer service by creating Ivy, a mobile phone-based bot that offers recommendations, experiences, and more to customers to improve their experience.
• Panera Bread created the Panera Data Pantry to digitalize its online ordering system and launched Panera Curbside, a geofence-enabled service that allows guests to stay in their car while picking up orders.
• Telkomsel implemented the TIBCO Fulfillment Order Management offer and price engine software, which holds tens of thousands of products in an in-memory cache, allowing customers to search for offers tailored to particular geographies, customer types, and price points. Products and offerings are more accessible than ever.
• CAF, thanks to its new advanced analytic and data visualization platform, can use real-time insights to automate tasks, improve delivery times, reduce costs, and provide personalized services to each of its customers. Its Digital Services unit helps clients reduce costs by proactively mitigating the risk of out-of-service trains.

Building an Agile Business with Connected Intelligence

Fads—and even new technologies—are not always the best solution for your business needs. Building a strong foundation for digital innovation will have more impact on your business than investing randomly in every new technology that grips the market. 

TIBCO Connected Intelligence can help you harness the transformative power of your data for better insights, faster decision making, and smarter growth. With the TIBCO platform, you can integrate your apps, manage your data, and predict what’s next with data-driven intelligence. 

And TIBCO solutions do not require your business to constantly change your technology stack to adapt to the newest technology trend. TIBCO automatically applies updates on the backend to ensure your technology systems continue to run and perform at the highest level possible, so you can focus on your business success rather than worry about keeping up with the latest digital fads.