Several structural trends are reshaping how technology service providers (TSPs) build products, go to market, and grow: 1. **Co-innovation ecosystems** Traditional, siloed R&D is no longer enough. TSPs are increasingly co-creating solutions with customers, partners, and even governments. These co-innovation ecosystems spread risk and cost, accelerate solution development, and make offerings harder for competitors to copy. By 2023, **30% of all revenue-bearing emerging technology solutions** are expected to be developed via such ecosystems. 2. **Sustainable business and ESG-driven technology** Sustainability is moving from a side initiative to a core strategy. Providers are investing in **sustainable IT** (e.g., cloud sustainability, green software), **smart energy infrastructure**, and **circular product innovation**. Vendors that can clearly quantify how their products support customers’ ESG goals are projected to **increase their win rate by 20% by 2025**. 3. **Talent agility** Post-pandemic growth and hybrid work are exposing the limits of rigid talent models. TSPs are building flexible, borderless talent networks that connect multiple internal and external talent pools. By 2025, **30% of TSPs will create a single talent network** that connects up to six separate talent pools, up from fewer than 5% today. 4. **Techno-nationalism and digital sovereignty** Governments are tightening control over data and digital infrastructure. Digital sovereignty and protectionist policies are expanding, which will **disrupt more than 80% of technology companies’ go-to-market and product strategies by 2026**. Providers will need region-specific operating architectures that comply with local social, legal, and economic rules. 5. **Democratization of technology** Non-IT employees are increasingly able to select, configure, and even build technology. Product leaders must now serve “citizen developers” and business technologists, not just central IT. By 2024, **80% of technology products and services** are expected to be built by people who are **not** full-time technical professionals. 6. **Intelligent applications** Applications are becoming adaptive and context-aware, using data and machine learning to continuously learn. Examples include new financial products generated from customer data, autonomous retail operations, and automated industrial workflows. In a recent Gartner survey, the **mean investment in intelligent applications** over the prior 12 months was **$408,000**, with **planned investments of $618,000 in 2022**. 7. **Distributed enterprise** As hybrid and remote work models mature, organizations are shifting to a distributed enterprise model. This increases demand for tools that support remote delivery and seamless digital experiences. By 2023, **75% of organizations that effectively exploit distributed enterprise** are expected to see **revenue grow 25% faster** than competitors. 8. **Composable business** Composable business allows leaders to quickly assemble new capabilities from modular digital components, improving adaptability and resilience. Only **7% of CIO survey respondents** reported having invested in composable enterprise so far, but an additional **60% expect to do so within three years**, signaling a clear market shift. 9. **Beyond intellectual property (IP)** The traditional focus on patents and tightly controlled IP is giving way to more fluid models. Value increasingly comes from dynamic pools of ideas and insights that gain value through use and recombination. Relying solely on fixed IP/IC (intellectual capital) protection strategies is expected to **reduce the value of IP/IC by up to 50% over the next five years**. 10. **Unlimited capital** There is a large supply of private capital chasing technology investments. Startups that can show product–market fit can raise larger rounds earlier, often prioritizing growth over capital efficiency. This environment enables rapid scaling but also raises the bar for clear differentiation and sustainable business models. Together, these trends are pushing TSPs to rethink how they innovate, structure their organizations, engage talent, and design products for a more regulated, distributed, and sustainability-focused market.

Technology providers can adapt by rethinking both *how* they innovate and *what* they build. 1. **Move from isolated R&D to co-innovation ecosystems** - Shift from closed, internal R&D to structured collaboration with customers, partners, and even regulators. - Design programs that encourage joint experimentation, shared risk, and shared revenue. - Treat your ecosystem as a strategic asset: by 2023, **30% of revenue-bearing emerging tech solutions** are expected to come from co-innovation ecosystems. 2. **Embed sustainability into the product roadmap** - Build sustainability metrics into product design (energy use, carbon footprint, lifecycle impact). - Develop offerings in **sustainable IT**, **smart energy**, and **circular product models**. - Make ESG outcomes measurable and transparent; providers that can quantify their contribution to customers’ sustainability goals are projected to **improve win rates by 20% by 2025**. 3. **Design for democratized technology use** - Assume that many users will be non-technical “citizen developers” and business technologists. - Prioritize low-code/no-code capabilities, intuitive configuration, and strong guardrails. - With **80% of tech products and services expected to be built by non–full-time technical professionals by 2024**, usability and governance become core product features. 4. **Make applications intelligent by default** - Integrate data and machine learning to create adaptive, context-aware experiences. - Focus on use cases where continuous learning clearly improves outcomes (e.g., dynamic pricing, predictive maintenance, autonomous operations). - Recognize that customers are already investing: mean investments in intelligent applications were **$408,000** in the prior year, with **$618,000** planned in 2022. 5. **Architect for composability** - Break products into modular, API-first components that customers can assemble and reassemble quickly. - Offer reference architectures and blueprints for composable solutions. - With only **7%** of organizations having invested in composable enterprise but **60% planning to within three years**, there is room to shape this market. 6. **Localize for techno-nationalism and digital sovereignty** - Build region-aware architectures that can adapt to different data residency, privacy, and compliance requirements. - Plan for **more than 80% of tech companies’ go-to-market and product strategies** to be disrupted by nationalistic and protectionist policies by 2026. - Consider local partnerships and in-region infrastructure as part of your product strategy, not just sales. 7. **Support distributed enterprise models** - Prioritize features that enable hybrid work, remote operations, and consistent digital experiences across locations. - Focus on secure access, collaboration, and monitoring for non-office environments. - The payoff is meaningful: by 2023, **75% of organizations that leverage distributed enterprise effectively** are expected to grow revenue **25% faster** than peers. 8. **Rethink IP and value capture** - Balance traditional IP protection with open collaboration, shared standards, and community ecosystems. - Recognize that over-reliance on fixed IP strategies may **cut IP/IC value by up to 50% over five years**. - Explore new value models: data network effects, platforms, and services layered on top of shared technologies. In practice, this means product leaders should: - Build modular, intelligent, and ESG-aware products. - Co-create with customers and partners from the outset. - Design for non-technical users and distributed teams. - Localize for regulatory realities while keeping a global architecture. These shifts help TSPs stay relevant as customer expectations, regulations, and capital markets continue to reshape the technology landscape.

To keep pace with these trends, technology service providers need to adjust how they organize, staff, and run their businesses. 1. **Build talent agility instead of rigid workforce structures** - Move away from fragmented, location-bound talent models. - Create a **single talent network** that connects internal employees, contractors, partners, and specialized external talent pools. - By 2025, **30% of TSPs** are expected to have such a unified network connecting up to six separate talent pools (up from fewer than 5% today). - Use skills-based planning and analytics to match talent to changing product and customer needs. 2. **Organize around ecosystems, not just internal teams** - Treat partners, customers, and even regulators as extensions of your organization. - Set up cross-company squads or joint innovation teams to drive co-innovation ecosystems. - Align incentives and governance so that shared risk and shared reward are clear. 3. **Adapt operating models for distributed enterprise** - Assume your own workforce will be hybrid and distributed, mirroring your customers. - Invest in collaboration, security, and performance management tools that support remote and on-site teams equally. - Align internal KPIs with distributed outcomes (e.g., time-to-serve remote customers, digital experience quality) rather than office-centric metrics. 4. **Create structures for composable business** - Internally, organize teams around modular capabilities (platforms, services, APIs) rather than monolithic products. - Encourage reuse of internal components and shared services to speed up new offerings. - As **60% of organizations plan to invest in composable enterprise within three years**, your internal structure should mirror the modularity you promise customers. 5. **Strengthen regulatory and regional strategy capabilities** - Build dedicated expertise in digital sovereignty, data protection, and regional compliance. - Give product and go-to-market teams clear guidance on how to adapt offerings by region as techno-nationalism grows. - Plan for **more than 80% of tech companies’ go-to-market and product strategies** to be affected by nationalistic and protectionist policies by 2026. 6. **Evolve IP and collaboration policies** - Update legal and governance frameworks to support more open, collaborative innovation while still protecting critical assets. - Recognize that overemphasis on traditional IP protection could **reduce IP/IC value by up to 50% over the next five years**. - Encourage knowledge sharing and reuse across teams and partners to keep idea flows active. 7. **Align capital strategy with growth opportunities** - In an environment of “unlimited capital,” be deliberate about how you use funding to scale. - Focus investment on areas aligned with the major trends: intelligent applications, ESG-enabling solutions, composable platforms, and distributed enterprise support. - Balance rapid growth with clear paths to sustainable value creation. By reimagining talent models, operating structures, and governance, TSPs can better support co-innovation, respond to regulatory shifts, and serve a more distributed, empowered customer base—while making full use of the capital and market opportunities available.