Tech advancements will drive business trends in 2017

THE world is in an unprecedented era of technological boom, one where tech advancements are occurring at an epidemic rate. Take cloud, virtual reality and artificial intelligence - these have penetrated even the most traditional sectors such as furniture and insurance. Come 2017, tech is going to significantly impact every business, no matter the sector.

Amid disruption from startups and new technologies, companies will be forced to assess their own business growth and viability more than ever. The large ones among them will realise that the problem they had initially set out to solve has evolved into something much more complex, to which they no longer have all the answers and expertise.

Large companies will increasingly turn their gaze onto startups, seen as agile problem solvers with innovative solutions that users (both consumer and enterprise) seem to love. By merging with or acquiring startups, large companies will immediately obtain new technologies, customers, and business models that have already been proven to w…