Infosys' ideas for 2020

Infosys Technologies has said that it will taking a leading role in shaping the future agenda of its partner communities, as part of its role as a strategic partner at the World Economic Forum at Davos. An exclusive CEO panel discussion was conducted by the company to look at the world one expects to see during the year 2020.

According to an Infosys statement, the panel discussion, ‘Welcome to Twenty20: Creating a Future by Design,’ saw the participation of noted futurists Paul Saffo and Peter Schwartz, who engaged the audience on their view of the scenarios impacting global corporations. Other participants included CEOs from companies across the globe. Kris Gopalakrishnan, Infosys CEO and Managing Director, and Maria Bartiromo, CNBC anchor, led the panel discussion.

The discussion centered on managing uncertainty in a rapidly changing world and addressed five global themes that Infosys predicts will shape our future: Environment and Energy, Healthcare, Education, Economic Inclusiveness, and Ethical Governance. Participants discussed potential future scenarios between 2008 and 2020. It was asserted that by 2018 the proliferation of the Internet would enable remote education, apart from electronic delivery of medical services. Further, it would enable workers to complete tasks from anywhere in the world, thereby contributing to a decline in urbanization. It was also suggested that print editions of daily newspapers would cease to exist by 2014.

Participants’ concerns in the near future were around enhanced protectionism, the environment, and energy. However, all saw upsides in the future with regard to technology, society, and the economy, commented Peter Schwartz, the futurist. According to Paul Saffo, technology forecaster who also facilitated the debate, “the bottom line is that it is important that this event happened, and the dialogue has led to many great ideas and thought-provoking scenarios. But this barely scratched the surface of a rich load of new ideas. This was a crowd of realistic optimists who fully appreciated the challenges ahead and proposed realistic solutions.”