Gartner identifies 

1. transparently immersive experiences 

2. the perceptual smart machine age,

and 

3. the platform revolution 


as three overarching trends that have the most potential to reshape business models, and provide enterprises with access to emerging markets and ecosystems. 


The Hype Cycle is based on an assessment of the market hype, maturity, business benefit and future direction of more than 2,000 technologies, grouped into 11 topic areas.


The Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, 2016 is shown below:

Hype cycle of emerging technologies


Key takeaways from the Hype Cycle include the following:

  • 16 new technologies included in the Hype Cycle for the first time this year. These technologies include 4D Printing, Blockchain, General-Purpose Machine Intelligence, 802.11ax, Context Brokering, Neuromorphic Hardware, Data Broker PaaS (dbrPaaS), Personal Analytics, Smart Workspace, Smart Data Discovery, Commercial UAVs (Drones), Connected Home, Machine Learning, Nanotube Electronics, Software-Defined Anything (SDx), and Enterprise Taxonomy and Ontology Management,
  • Immersive experiences will become more intelligent and contextually aware, enabling greater productivity and Technologies enabling transparently immersive experiences include 4D Printing, Brain-Computer Interface, Human Augmentation, Volumetric Displays, Affective Computing, Connected Home, Nanotube Electronics, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Gesture Control Devices.
  • Smart machine technologies will revolutionize manufacturing and its related industries. The core technologies Gartner sees leading this revolution include the following: Smart Dust, Machine Learning, Virtual Personal Assistants, Cognitive Expert Advisors, Smart Data Discovery, Smart Workspace, Conversational User Interfaces, Smart Robots, Commercial UAVs (Drones), Autonomous Vehicles, Natural-Language Question Answering, Personal Analytics, Enterprise Taxonomy and Ontology Management, Data Broker PaaS (dbrPaaS), and Context Brokering.
  • Emerging technologies are enabling entirely new business models, driving a Platform Revolution. Platform-enabling technologies making new business models possible include Neuromorphic Hardware, Quantum Computing, Blockchain, IoT Platform, Software-Defined Security and Software-Defined Anything (SDx).
  • 14 technologies were taken off the Hype Cycle this year including Hybrid Cloud Computing, Consumer 3D Printing, and Enterprise 3D Printing. Additional technologies removed from the Hype Cycle this year include 3D Bioprinting Systems for Organ Transplant, Advanced Analytics With Self-Service Delivery, Bioacoustic Sensing, Citizen Data Science, Digital Dexterity, Digital Security, Internet of Things, Neurobusiness, People-Literate Technology, Speech-to-Speech Translation and Wearables.

Source: Gartner’s 2016 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies Identifies Three Key Trends That Organizations Must Track to Gain Competitive Advantage. August 16, 2016.