Do you know what the following 10 things have in common?

  1. Airbnb
  2. iPad
  3. iPhone
  4. Kickstarter
  5. Lyft
  6. Spotify
  7. Tesla Roadster
  8. Uber
  9. Venmo
  10. WhatsApp

None of these things existed when I joined Forrester in 2006. Today, WhatsApp boasts more than 1 billion daily users; Venmo processes more than $20 billion in P2P payments annually; Kickstarter has raised close to $4 billion across more than 140,000 projects to date; and Elon Musk recently launched a Roadster into orbit. I can’t even write that last bit without laughing a little. I remember talking about the first Tesla roadster in a speech early on in my Forrester career as an illustrative example of disruptive innovation in the auto industry. My, my, how far we’ve come in a decade. Just last year, my colleague Laura Koetzle and I published new research on how autonomous transport will reshape the global economy by 2035.

Okay, I’m not writing this for the sake of nostalgia, or to promote Tesla. I’m just excited to let you know that Forrester launched a new research practice that can help you spot the next generation of disruptive unicorns. Whether you’re monitoring emerging technology categories, scouting for startups, or trying to peek just over the horizon at unanticipated competitors, Forrester’s “New Tech” research is here to help. Maybe you’re a CMO cautiously trying to invest in a hot new martech space, or maybe you’re a CIO and your CEO is asking you what all this hype about blockchain is about. Whatever your position, if you need to stay abreast of the constant change in emerging technology, Forrester has you covered. For example, we recently published our first three New Tech reports across a diverse set of technologies:

  1. Conversational computing: In this report, we segment 21 emerging and established voice input and control applications.
  2. B2B social selling: Fatigued by the status quo, B2B marketing and sales leaders can get an unbiased look at 18 of the most viable social selling applications.
  3. Computer vision in China: This report provides a region-specific view into an emerging but increasingly important category of artificial intelligence.

This is just the beginning. Stay tuned for dozens more New Tech reports throughout 2018. We’ll cover topics such as mixed reality, 3D printing, edge computing, autonomous vehicles, cybersecurity, robotics, fintech, and much more. The possibilities are practically endless. As always, your feedback is welcome and encouraged. I look forward to hearing from you.