The reality of technological innovation is here with us, and brands are tapping into it to increase market reach. DAVID AUDU takes a look at this trend and implications for consumer marketing in 2015.

As the curtain falls on 2014, the question is what technological trends can we expect to shape the business world in 2015? Tech analysts are increasingly on the lookout for answers.

To make headway, reflections on the major advances in a wide range of technological fields are being made and used to set the stage for an eagerly anticipated 2015.

According to International Data Corporation, IDC’s market predictions, worldwide ICT spending will grow 3.8 per cent in 2015 to more than US$3.8 rn.

Nearly all of this spending growth will be focused on third platform technologies, while second platform technologies, PCs, will continue to see declining spending.

A third platform technology is built on mobile computing, social networking, cloud services and big data analytics. IDC projected that wireless data will grow up to 13 per cent of telecommunications spending, accounting for $536 billion, while mobile device and app sales will reach $484bn in 2015, and accounting for 40 per cent of IT spending growth.

IDC Senior Vice President and Chief Analyst Frank Gens, also foresaw “new partnerships forming among ‘strange bedfellows,’ such as Facebook with Microsoft and IBM or Amazon partnering with HP, to expand market opportunities.”

The corporation also predicted that Big Data spending will grow to $125 billion in 2015, with video, audio and image analytics taking on more importance. it projected that Data as a service will drive the forging of new big data supply chains focused on commercial and open data sets.

The predictions also identified the internet of things, IoT, as one of the most important factors for growth in 2015. IDC predicted the invention of more intelligent and connected “things,” with a third of IoT spending focused on intelligent embedded devices and predictive maintenance emerging as an important IoT category Analysts have poured over mountains of data, analysing market trends and consumer habits in order to gain greater perspective on what 2015 holds for the tech industry.

Often, when looking at future trends, it is easy to lump emerging technologies and imagine them as living separately to one another.

However, the challenge for many leading manufacturers of new technologies is how to help consumers understand how these new innovations will impact them as a whole and also identify a common benefit to the technology they see as providing better solutions to everyday life.

While it is expected that contextbased computing, the internet of things, fashionable wearables, increased potential for mobile computing and optimized cloud solutions will define trends of 2015 and all will be highlighted at the consumer electronics show 2015 curtain- raiser.

The next CES will also be its most connected ever, with virtually all attendees sure to be packing the latest smart devices, ready to serve as elite taste makers by sharing their opinions on the new products.

Though smart technology has been available to fashion designers for well over a decade, only recently has mainstream wearable technology entered into the public eye.

Experts believe the main reason for the sudden renaissance in wearable technology is that engineers are finally taking cues from fashion-conscious designers. Now that wearable technology developers have started to understand the way that fashion operates, consumer interest is also reaching a fever pitch.

While technology is primarily developed with practical application in mind, fashion in contrast is ultimately about beauty, desire, identity, and social standing. Smart watches are sure to be the big tech item of 2015, and their renewed appeal derives from not just their increased capabilities, but conscious attempts at creating visually striking technology that fits seamlessly into users’ everyday lives.

As a leading consumer electronics manufacturer, LG Electronics has kept a watchful eye on global tech trends and is entering 2015 with a variety of cutting-edge products that utilise recent innovations in order to make life easier for consumers.

According to a statement from the company LG is looking for new ways to innovate and enhance the competitiveness of its products. In the summer of 2014, LG unveiled its much anticipated G Watch.

Though the device’s hardware specifications placed it at the top of its competitive market segment, several reviewers knocked its small screen size and clunky design. LG responded by releasing prototypes of its G Watch R, a more stylish device that boasts a larger, round screen.

This story provides an excellent example not only of LG’s willingness to innovate, but of the company’s determination to hold its products to an incredibly high standard.

At IFA 2014, LG unveiled an engaging catch-all term for the suite of new products show cased in Berlin back in September. ‘Innovation for a Better Life’ encapsulates just how integrated LG has become in consumers’ lives and sees the company further position itself as a brand that delivers a refined, smart user experience across its entire line-up of consumer electronics and home appliances that respond to natural language text messages.

Speaking at IFA Wayne Park, executive vice president and Global Sales and Marketing Officer at LG Electronics said: “What consumers really desire is to live a better life without giving up the technology that more often than not makes our lives more complex”. It is a sentiment set to remain underpinned to LG’s communications, past CES and well into 2015.

The G Watch R is one of LG’s leading products heading into 2015, and perfectly exemplifies the strides that the company has made in stylish, context-driven wearable technology.

The other items featured in the presentation also demonstrate not only how LG has capitalized on current trends, but how the company plans on staying in front of them.

With LG managing to combine the ‘best of all worlds’ ahead of its competitors in 4K OLED, now the world’s biggest TV makers are looking at a new format to compete on. While not offering the superior picture quality of 4K OLED, Quantum dot technology, QD, however offers a straight forward manufacturing process which can provide decent picture quality at a cheaper cost than using organic light-emitting diodes, OLED.

Leading the way in technological trends, LG Electronics has once more demonstrated that it is committed to introducing progressive technological products that delights as well as address the peculiar needs of its consumers, while not tearing their pockets in mind.