Behold the future – no crystal ball required!

 

Last year has drawn to a close, and so begins the annual flurry of predictions for the year to come. The MaRS Market Intelligence team looks forward to all the exciting changes and shifts in the year to come. Here are some of our predictions in three key sectors:

Information and Communications Technology Sector

Christina: With a population highly engaged in living digitally, I see continued growth in online ad spending this year and in the years to come. This increase also includes online and mobile video ad spend, as 90% of the Canadian Internet audience watch online videos on a monthly basis.

June: I remember crossing the Canada-US border in April 2010 to pick up an iPad, a purchase that made me special for a few months. A year and a half later, tablets are becoming more common. According to the Media Technology Monitor, 5% of Canadians owned a tablet in the spring, a number they expect to double to 10% in 2012. Anecdotally, in the last month four people I know have bought a tablet. I think 2012 is the year tablets become mainstream.

Neha: All I c an say is, mobile, mobile, mobile! With over 40% of mobile subscribers using a smartphone, Canadians have one of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the world. Five years ago everyone was focused on their web presence. I see the year ahead being all about building apps and optimizing sites for the mobile web. Other hot mobile trends to watch out for? Mobile advertising, QR codes and, if we’re lucky, the mobile wallet!

Cleantech Sector

Jesika: We will see countries like China, Germany and Brazil holding onto stronger policy frameworks, forming even more competitive positions in 2012. Solar and wind will keep leading the investment charts (it’s all about keeping down the LCOE—Levelized Cost of Electricity).

Private investment will continue to be extra cautious, partially due to economic uncertainty as well as some big letdowns in 2010. We will see more participation from corporate capital. For example, the GE partnership with the government of Ontario to build the Smart Grid Innovation Centre.

Here at planet MaRS, we predict that “energy” will continue to be the entrepreneur’s favourite field, with growing awareness for a nascent industry: green chemistry. Stay tuned!

Finally, in 2012 the Mayan calendar will “run out” after 5,126 years. This could be interpreted in two ways:

a) the end of the world

b) the beginning of a new cycle

My favorite option (by far) is b.  I believe the new cycle will start in 2012 when the world finally wakes up and replaces fossil fuels with clean technology solutions and better environmental practices.

Life Sciences Sector

Hadi: A lot is happening in the life sciences & health care space. The landslide of blockbuster drug patent expirations continues, forcing life science companies to aggressively pursue new, innovative business models, thinking outside the traditional ecosystem. In health care, higher costs and lower funding levels will encourage the adoption of IT innovations such as electronic health records, mobile technologies, novel user interfaces for medical systems, and other technologies that will improve health care provider efficiency and reduce cost.

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Tags: cleantech, ICE, life sciences, market insights