Key Factors for Improved Adoption of Emerging Technologies in Organizations Fueled by Design Thinking

Emerging technologies like internet of things (IoT), block chain, cloud computing, machine learning, big data analytics etc., are creating a wave of excitement and anxiety in the business community. An independent research in 2016 projected that companies world-wide will spend $3.5 Trillion on IT over the next two years (Gartner, 2016). It also predicted that companies would tend to increase their expenditure on software and services over hardware. Software spending was projected to be up 6 percent in 2016 and to grow another 7.2 percent in 2017 to a total of $357 billion. A proper investigation and analysis is needed to understand the key factors impacting adoption if such technologies in large corporations for extracting maximum benefits out of such initiatives .However, this buzz has not only created the art of the possibility of incorporating emerging technologies but also a bigger problem of enterprise wide relevant adoption. One of the much sought out after techniques in fueling the adoption of emerging technologies in large private enterprises is design thinking. Design Thinking is essentially a problem-solving approach, crystalized in the field of design, which combines a holistic user-centered perspective with rational and analytical research with the goal of creating innovative solutions (Tim Brown, 2009).There are several factors that are crucial to be addressed during the design thinking phase that will significantly impact the successful adoption rate of emerging technologies in companies. This demands that we take a closer look at not only the factors impacting adoption but also the actual design thinking exercise itself that will have a say in the adoption of such technologies. Our exercise aimed at gauging and analyzing the key factors for improved adoption while utilizing the design thinking approach leads us to define our problem statement as follows: What are the key factors for improved adoption of emerging technologies in business functions while incorporating design thinking techniques as a catalyst in large private enterprises?