2013 seems to be a year where smartphones will become even more smart, automobiles more auto-efficient, and the interaction between humans and computers will become even more human (with some predicting that the PC model will be coming to its end.) Or at least that is what was reflected in a report by Frog Design about the technology trends of 2013.

As we pointed out in our blog at the end of 2012, the growing tech industry has become a driving force for many companies that hope to make innovation a part of their focus. As a result, it shouldn’t surprise us that this year’s tech products will cater to the consumer. The same trend was shown at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2013, a technology gathering so important that even the former President of the U.S. Bill Clinton partook in the function.

In the following, discover the 20 tech trends that will define 2013 according to the members of the innovative agency Frog Design; predictions on the future of technology according to entrepreneurs consulted by BusinessNewsDaily; and some of the trends presented during CES 2013.

When we think about forming a company’s strategy, there is only one direction to look: outward. What is the added value we can offer our customers to keep them loyal to our brand? Although this may sound simple, in changing times what products and services we offer and how we offer them is also in constant transformation, challenging companies to re-think business models in order to meet the changing standards, behaviors and tastes of our clients.

As Mark Johnson, co-founder and Chairman of the innovation-based consultancy Innosight, explained at this year’s World Business Forum Buenos Aires, the biggest challenge companies face is defining a model that “enables large waves of new growth to continue to allow your business or organization to thrive.” According to Johnson, the key to unlocking that growth is to understand how great business models work, and how you can transform your business to reflect those practices. Today companies have to contribute to the market products that are easy to understand, accessible, and even customizable. The business models of the past won’t lead you to such lofty goals—so the key to a successful strategy is developing one that is flexible enough to adapt over time. In the following we present some of the companies that have done so fortuitously—and are building a path to long-term profitability.

How many of you listen to music with your headphones at work? Use the internal phone line to call a co-worker that is less than 20 yards away? Participate in meetings where you are talking, checking mails, and plan dinner all at the same time? Thanks to new technology we are able to do more, faster. However, how has this affected the way we interact with one another? After all, people make up our organizations. Are we paying attention to the changing nature of our interactions?  We are constantly connected, but do we communicate? In the following we challenge you to reconsider how technology is effecting communication and relationships, and give practical advice on how to incorporate new strategies to keep the conversation going in the office.

“You must have a digital identity. If you don’t have this in mind, you are irrelevant.” And such is how Director of Emerging Products at Google, Bernardo Hernández, began his presentation at ExpoManagement Madrid 2012, leaving it clear that it is essential to stay up to date on new technologies that are directing the future of business.

According to Hernández, we have left the Industrial Revolution and are already entering the Digital Revolution. “We are not prepared to understand the consequences, because the changes are each day faster,” Hernández explained. So, how can we adapt to what’s to come and stay relevant? In the following we share with you some of his most important tips on how to do so.

Author of coveted business classics such as Reengineering the Corporation and Reengineering Management, Jim Champy has been challenging our concept of management for over two decades. He took the time to sit with WOBI for an exclusive interview to discuss how these theories have developed over time, the pillars of good management, and how to implement them to create a company that endures. Read it here in the blog!

Exclusive WOBI interview by Chris Stanley, Editor of wobi.com

Today in the WOBI blog:

Kevin Kelly, the co-founder of Wired magazine who anticipated the new rules of the online economy, explains his theory of technology: one that eerily resembles the theory of evolution.

An exclusive interview by Viviana Alsono, contributor of WOBI

Extracted from the magazine WOBI

As he openly admits in his latest book, Homo Evolutis, it is quite possible that Juan Enriquez is crazy. However, anyone who is constantly exposed to technology and knowledge years before much of the public must have science-fiction-like ideas and tendencies. Chairman and CEO of Biotechonomy, his experiences and encounters give him an anything but conventional perspective of the world.

In our video of the day, Juan Enriquez introduces the concepts he predicts will be the biggest single drivers of the global economy.