Any predictions about the future and particularly given the speed at which technology and business practice is changing, is purely speculative. In this article I attempt to put my own perspective of the future risks and opportunities in this area.

The first major development I expect is that business intelligence as a concept will have greater profile and influence over the average business structure. The entrance of competitors and the need to constantly revise practice in line with new trends means that without good business intelligence, firms will be hampered in the extent to which they can make viable ventures.

It is a very imprudent manager indeed who fails to plan for the expansion of business intelligence. Those firms that fail in this endeavor will continue to lose customers and money. If they are not ultimately driven out of business, they will provide a cautionary tale for those who ignore business advice.

Information technology has democratized communication systems. The growth of social media has enabled end users to participate in the assessment and general direction of the brand. It is only a matter of time before decision makers realize that the customer will have to be involved in running the organizations. A case in point is how airlines have been forced to provide better facilities for people with disabilities due to a concerted publicity campaign by ordinary members of the public. One of the methods used to publicize this cause were social networking sites.

There will also be specific developments within the business intelligence technology such as the creation of bespoke packages to deal with the increase in demand and the diversity of objectives from each of the organizations. Already individual companies are in the process of defining their requirements for the future. It is highly likely that the next step would be to commission these InfoTech services. It might also be that the technology will start specializing by sector or business types and that generic technology will fall out of fashion.

Business intelligence is also likely to foster a new climate of collegiate working whereby management information is no longer just restricted to the senior executives but can also find its way down to the end users who are then able to determine how it can be useful to them in their day to day work. The utopia is that all customers and employees feedback to managers. This would make them stakeholders and would presumably develop brand loyalty.

Of course there is concern about the risk that technology will completely override human discretion and companies will be further de-personalized. This is a risk that every developing organization faces. However given the popularity of new media connectivity, it is likely that the customers will not mind having digital interaction with businesses.

There is a debate to be had about whether the government should be involved anyway. However the limits of this article do not allow for such extensive debate. Needless to say there is a general consensus that the Information Technology systems existing in many healthcare systems across the world are quite expensive and often do not meet the needs of the end users.

There have been various examples of government departments or private companies commissioning large business IT systems to administer healthcare only to later discover that these are either inappropriate or way over budget. The government sectors are particularly notorious for this. They get sold on by smooth sales people who juggle management speak for the benefit of bored managers.

Just to get an easy life, the IT system is commissioned anyway. This is despite some opposition from a lower ranked employee who, knowing how the business works on a day to day basis, will already have worked out that the new IT systems will not be able to deliver the kind of service that is required. When that employee begins to experience problems with the IT system, they are reprimanded for being resistant to change.

Once the complaints grow then the IT system is temporarily withdrawn until further investigation. Either the whole thing will be shelved or the company will join the vicious cycle of organizations that have to update or replace inappropriate technology systems.

This is the type of scenario that is played out like some tragedy over and over again. For some this is costly and unacceptable in such a sensitive industry that affects the personal lives of millions of people. Where it is government funded, this sort of business IT mismanagement takes resources away from other critical activities and reduces the scope of coverage when attempting to deliver healthcare services. What then is the solution for preventing such problems or dealing with them once they have overcome?

One of the more persuasive suggestions is that all stakeholders should be involved in selecting new information technology. There will be a divergence of need between a clinician, an administrator, a senior manager and a patient. Even the IT technician will have their own perspective as to what needs to work. Rather than selectively consult with just one among the many groups, it is far better to consult with them all. It might take a bit longer than would normally be required but the end result is that healthcare IT systems will be durable and appropriate to the people who use them.