Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
Make friends with the trends
Technology | Digital
July 6, 2021 – As all things digital continue to accelerate, which technology trends matter most for companies and executives? We developed a unique methodology to identify the ten trends most relevant to competitive advantage and tech investment. Click through to see the results.
To explore the interactive, see “The top trends in tech,” June 16, 2021.
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Visual form
Slide-based dashboard.
Layout / body structure
The experience is a chart slideshow of ten trend cards, read one slide at a time with Prev and Next controls or swipe navigation. Each slide keeps the same layout: a large left text card naming the trend and describing it, a top-right 3 by 3 applicability-versus-maturity matrix, and a lower row of three small trend charts for investments, news mentions, and patents plus a combined momentum score at the bottom.
What is being compared
The chart compares ten technology trends against one another on applicability and maturity while also showing how each trend has moved from 2015 to 2020 in investments, news mentions, and patents granted.
Measurement system
The matrix positions each trend in relative maturity and applicability space rather than with numbered axes. The three lower mini charts use the units printed above them – dollars in billions for investments, thousands for news mentions, and thousands for patents – and each slide ends with a combined momentum score shown as a large number.
Visible structure inside the graphic
Every slide highlights one blue dot inside a field of white dots on the applicability-maturity matrix, making it easy to see where the current trend sits relative to the other nine. Below, three blue mini area charts show the 2015 to 2020 trajectory for investments, news mentions, and patents, while the slide header and narrative copy on the left explain the selected trend.
Main takeaway from the visual
The interaction is built to show both rank and shape, not just one score. As the reader steps through the deck, some trends sit higher on applicability, some farther along maturity, and the lower mini charts reveal that momentum can look very different depending on whether the signal is investment, media attention, or patents.
Key standout values or extremes
The observed slides show wide score variation: Distributed infrastructure appears with a combined momentum score of 45, Next-generation computing with 39, AI pattern-recognition applications with 41, and Future of clean technologies with 19. The mini charts also surface concrete endpoints such as Trend 1 patents rising from 42 to 167 and Trend 10 news mentions rising from 557 to 651.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
The page is a slide-by-slide sequence. The reader can move slide by slide through all ten trends using Next and Prev buttons or swipe behavior, with each slide swapping in a new trend card, a new highlighted matrix dot, and a new set of three lower mini charts.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart is the full visual on this page.