[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/08\/26\/trends-virtual-reality-competitive-advantage\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/08\/26\/trends-virtual-reality-competitive-advantage\/","headline":"Virtual reality, blockchain, and other trends that will drive competitive advantage","name":"Virtual reality, blockchain, and other trends that will drive competitive advantage","description":"We have no control over the past, but there are ways to anticipate the future for competitive advantage.","datePublished":"2016-08-26","dateModified":"2022-04-05","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/dan-wellers\/#Person","name":"Dan Wellers","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/dan-wellers\/","identifier":179,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/13d7b42cfd436fc73d5c6d565c8122604e626237b0778d6baff3e5dc2833e53b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/13d7b42cfd436fc73d5c6d565c8122604e626237b0778d6baff3e5dc2833e53b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/thumbnail-6974b54540968e0f6c066a3872964a57-1.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/thumbnail-6974b54540968e0f6c066a3872964a57-1.jpeg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/08\/26\/trends-virtual-reality-competitive-advantage\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/","name":"Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q26643"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/trends-commerce\/","name":"Trends","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fad","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q787045"]}],"wordCount":549,"keywords":["Bitcoin","Digital Transformation"],"articleBody":"The future will be what we make it. Unlike the past or the present, it’s the only arena where we have any control. But the future, as the saying goes, isn’t what it used to be. As digital technology rockets through the exponential growth curve, there\u2019s only one way to ensure long-term competitive advantage: Be better at seeing the future than everyone else.Walking 30 normal steps takes you about 30 meters. But 30 exponential steps \u2013 where each is double the one before \u2013 will take you on a round trip to the moon. Astonishingly, the last two steps are 75% of the total distance, with the final step reaching from the moon back to earth.This reveals why advances in digital technology are coming at us so rapidly. We\u2019re about 30 exponential steps into the march of Moore\u2019s Law.There are some powerful digital forces reshaping the world over the next 5\u201310 years. These stories will help you prepare for the amazing opportunities they hold and anticipate the risks you\u2019ll want to avoid.      The top 3 ways to keep pace with innovation                To keep pace with innovation, you need more than technology. You must also incorporate specific practices and mindsets.      Gaining a competitive advantage: Top 5 forces shaping businessHere\u2019s a sample of areas that will see the outcome of digitization and digitalization:Are\u00a0self-driving cars\u00a0a joyride or a wrong turn? Either way, there are sharp curves ahead. Cars that drive themselves will be a profound shift that touches almost every industry, geography, and aspect of life: our hometowns, car design, liability, safety and even the car industry itself.Drones\u00a0generate a lot of buzz. We are hurtling toward a future in which drones are widely available, increasingly autonomous, and capable of tasks we have not begun to imagine. They will augment human capabilities in a range of commercial industries including agriculture, utilities, scientific research, and emergency response.Virtual reality, and its digital sibling augmented reality, is emerging from science fiction into the real world and will soon change everything from shopping and entertainment to healthcare and luxury retail. Future uses may even transform our very definition of reality.Bitcoin\u2019s\u00a0blockchain\u00a0could disrupt our financial system. Its model of trust, through massively distributed digital consensus, is challenging our assumptions about what makes transactions secure. As a result, this computer science breakthrough might reshape commerce across the entire digital\u00a0economy.The future of robotics\u00a0will be more like\u00a0Ironman than Terminator. While robots excel at lifting heavy objects, working in dangerous places, moving with precision, and performing repetitive tasks, human advantages suggest we should blend the best of people and machines.\u201cIt\u2019s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future\u201d is a\u00a0quote\u00a0with hazy provenance. What\u2019s clear, though, is that exponential technologies like self-driving cars, drones, and virtual reality are not just hot, trending topics in your social feed. They will\u00a0\u2013 individually and in combination \u2013 disrupt industries, create new winners and losers, and radically change many aspects of society.The purpose of technology\u00a0is to give you the foresight to help ensure the very best outcomes \u2013 to make business and the world run better.  Start-ups, mid-market, enterprise:No matter the business, today you need e-commerce to grow. See how top sellers are winning NOW.  "},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2016","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"08","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/\/08\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"26","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/\/08\/\/26\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Virtual reality, blockchain, and other trends that will drive competitive advantage","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/08\/26\/trends-virtual-reality-competitive-advantage\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]