Seven key risks of the future and how to tackle them

With 2020 already shaping up to be a year no one could have ever predicted - one that is full of uncertainties - governments and businesses around the world have been forced to take unprecedented steps in staying afloat.

In the business world, this has indeed stressed the need for employers to not just build up their resilience, but to also be prepared as much as possible for possible risks and challenges coming their way in the future. 

That said, what are some key risks to be prepared for in the decade ahead? A recent analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Global Future Risks—Future-proofing Your Strategies, 2030, has identified 21 risks in total, of which seven areas of focus have been highlighted along with their growth opportunities.

Short-term risks involving privacy, infectious diseases, and the water crisis 

Privacy and disinformation

According to the analysis, organisations must adopt a 'privacy-by-design' approach, which goes beyond accepted privacy standards and assumes global regulatory compliance.

Rise of infectious diseases

Apart from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the analysis predicts a possible rise in infectious diseases in the coming years. To tackle this, it found that advanced technologies such as next-generation sequencing and CRISPR-based (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) diagnostics will enable new approaches in treatment processes.

Water crisis

Countries around the globe are facing a shortage of water for living, a crisis that could continue on in the decade. How can this be addressed? While it may not be possible to put a complete stop to the crisis, innovation in agricultural practices such as vertical farming and optimised crop selection can play an important role in reducing the crisis instead. 

Mid-term risks: Urbanisation and climate change

Urbanisation

The analysis also highlighted that with the stressed derived from urbanisation, there will be a demand for smart solutions which include intelligent grid control and electrification, smart buildings, smart storage solutions, and more.

Climate change

With climate change no doubt among the biggest crises on hand, in the decade, organisations will emphasise investments in buildings with net-zero energy consumptions, while greenhouse gas emissions will increase minimally.

Long-term risks: AI and national identity

Artificial intelligence as a threat

Based on the analysis, AI could be seen as a 'strong reason' for the polarisation of jobs across the world. That said, it found that investing in collaborative computational capabilities could help 'allocate an ideal division of tasks' between humans and robots, based on their distinct capabilities and deployment costs.

National identity

Last but not least, the analysis revealed that 'great' businesses opportunities exist, in providing digital authentication of eGovernment services. These include the digitisation of birth, marriage and death certificates, as well as passports and driving licences.

Photo / 123RF