The document discusses emerging technological trends identified by IBM's Global Technology Outlook. It focuses on the transition to a new era of cognitive computing driven by trends like mobility, social media, cloud computing, and big data/analytics. This cognitive systems era will be characterized by systems that can understand, reason, and learn. Technologies like IBM's Watson cognitive system aim to augment human expertise by understanding natural language, generating hypotheses, and providing personalized recommendations. APIs and cloud-based platforms are also fueling a new on-demand, "as-a-service" economy where businesses can access modular business services to quickly develop solutions and create new value for customers.