Imagine a world in which a clerk walking through the factory in which he works, is alerted on his mobile device that one of the nearby machines needs calibrating. He is guided through the maintenance process real-time, through detailed interactive instructions and real-time video conferenced support.
Imagine an insurance claims adjustor, on-site after a factory fire taking and uploading photos and video, recording conversations and conferencing in real time with specialists and approvers. She is able to make a coverage determination on-site in minutes rather than weeks.
Imagine a government public works department, receiving images and video from commuters in real time, of damage to a bridge. The information can be used to re-prioritize work activities and send a fully equipped team on-site within hours, rather than weeks.
All this and much more will soon be possible through the rapidly advancing convergence of mobile, data and analytics.
Mobile technologies have already changed the way people interact, communicate, shop and live. And soon they will transform the way business, governments and other organizations operate.
But mobile transformation is not happening in a vacuum. It is part of a broader disruption that is rapidly reinventing the economy. We call this broader reinvention, the everyone-to-everyone economy.
The past 100 years of economic activity can be broadly defined into three major phases. First, there was the organization-centered economy. This economy was characterized by businesses largely operating autonomously, more concerned with productive efficiency than meeting individual customer desires. Production was at scale along clearly defined dimensions – a single product, manufactured in limited colors such as blue, green and red. Hopefully all colors would sell. If not, they could be liquidated at end of season, and production move on to a newer, different colored model.
Customers were rarely consulted, and only ever in groups, as part of clearly defined segments. The organization centered paradigm in many respects served business and consumers well for a time, with rapidly increasing prosperity and the emergence of intense consumerism. But ultimately, consumers craved for more and rewarded businesses that could meet their deeper demands.
Since 2000, we have seen the emergence of the second wave of economic activity, the customer-centered economy – the world which we find ourselves in today. The customer-centered economy reflects the needs and aspirations of the specific customers it serves. Customers demand personalization and responsiveness. They want self-defined omni-channel experiences, which are unique to themselves. This is especially true for younger generations, who very strongly see themselves as individuals, not customer segments. Retailers such as Warby Parker which offers online, direct-to consumer sales for eyewear bypass physical outlets, or Jockey, a clothing manufacturer, which developed a new volumetric bra featuring a new sizing system offering 55 size combinations, have embraced this mass customization, individualized approach.
The third wave of economic activity shows signs of beginning today. We have called this third wave the everyone-to-everyone – or E2E economy. It reflects a new way of interaction between individuals and organizations, where roles blur and interests become more aligned. The E2E economy is characterized by four main forces, it is orchestrated, symbiotic, contextual, and cognitive.

Orchestrated refers to environments where an organization or an individual guides interactions and outcomes. These environments are also referred to as economic ecosystems. An environment of mutual self-interest prevails. Ecosystems will often supplant traditional markets in many areas. For example, Doorman, a San Francisco-based logistics service, orchestrates storage and delivery to solve the “last mile” problem of package delivery. The service facilitates carriers such as FedEx and UPS by receiving packages and delivering them at the customer’s convenience after traditional carrier delivery hours, up until midnight.
Symbiotic refers to individuals taking a greater role in production, in co-design, co-production or co-decisions. Epidermal electronic systems currently in development reflect the power of symbiosis. Circuits that are like a ‘second skin’ which are aware of a users cognitive state can stimulate tissues for regeneration. Future applications are expected to blur the physical and digital even more including external limb control, sub-vocal communication and other uses.
Contextual refers to activities, functions or processes which occur when and where people have the need – in real-time and real-space. Contextual activities will reflect the particular circumstance in which an individual may find himself. Retail, healthcare, travel and other industries promise to be provide deeply contextual experiences in the future, for example.
Cognitive refers to the intelligence of computing capability – predictive, learning and inferential as a decision support and advice tool. Watson, IBM’s artificial intelligence technology is currently supporting decision-making in oncology and other areas of medicine. Its cognitive capabilities, ingesting masses of documentation, and continuously learning from successes and mistakes have enormous application across other industries.
Combined, these elements of the E2E economy will create a world vastly different from the economy and daily life experienced in the past. And mobile will be central to the operation of that world in both a personal and business context.
Mobile devices whether they are held, worn or part of the human body itself, will bring contextual, cognitive decision making into every action and choice. The new environment created will be deeply orchestrated, either explicitly or implicitly to guide the interoperability and coordination necessary to make sophisticated ecosystems a reality. And people will have ever-greater influence over the organization, which will respond instantaneously to decisions or actions of customers, employees or citizens.
The world is changing rapidly, and technologies are at the center of the change. People will interact and engage very differently in ten years time than they do today. Organizations whether they be business, governments or educational institutions will be changed as well, as the people they serve become more engaged, influential and participative at every level, function and process.