There is no “tech-lash” or widespread pushback against technology by consumers. In fact, more than 50% of consumers say tech is ingrained in daily life and nearly 20% believe that it has become an extension of themselves.

Instead, there is a looming “tech-clash,” a situation where businesses continue to rely on old models to deploy new technology while remaining tone-deaf to user concerns around issues like data privacy and information control.

These are two of the key conclusions offered in “Technology Vision 2020: We, The Post-Digital People,” Accenture LLP’s comprehensive report that was released last week. The annual study, which predicts key technology trends likely to define business over the next three years, is based on input from more than 6,000 companies and information-technology executives worldwide.

And if Accenture’s findings are correct, the business world is in for some serious re-evaluation when it comes to the values it follows in the eyes of today’s consumer.

“Value versus values is teeing up what we call a ‘tech-clash,’” said Paul Daugherty (pictured), chief technology and innovation officer of Accenture. “The value that consumers want is sometimes clashing with the values and models that companies have been using to deliver their products and services.”

Daugherty spoke with Jeff Frick, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Accenture Technology Vision event in San Francisco. Michael Biltz, managing director of Accenture Technology Vision at Accenture Technology Labs, also spoke with Frick in a separate interview, and they discussed a conflict between consumer expectations of privacy and business zeal for personalization, the need for companies to move closer to the values of its customers, and an evolving partnership between the user and service or product provider.

Here’s the complete interview with Daugherty:

Concern over commercial use of data

One of the key areas of values clash identified by Accenture involved a common belief among many businesses that consumers have warmed to the idea of using data to personalize recommendations for products and services. Accenture found that two-thirds of consumers (66%) were just as concerned about the commercial use of their personal data and online identity for personalization purposes as they were about security threats and hackers.

This tracks with other findings reported last year in the “RSA Security’s Data Privacy & Security Survey,” which noted that only 17% of respondents said they thought personalized ads were ethical and only 24% said personalizing newsfeeds was ethical.

“Consumers are getting more educated about how they want their data to be used,” Daugherty said. “People say they want more privacy, they say they want more access and control of their data, but they still use a lot of the services that may be inconsistent with the values that they talk about.”

“Values” is the operative word here. Consumers are not only looking for more control of their data, they also are beginning to ask hard questions about the values of the companies that are vacuuming up personal information at a furious rate.

It was reported last year that the chief executives of nearly 200 major firms, including Apple Inc., JP Morgan Chase, and Accenture, signed a letter pledging to expand investment in employees, meet ethical standards with supply chain providers, and help protect the environment. It was a telling sign that companies have begun to sense the need for a more personalized relationship with consumers as the dynamics have changed.

“Suddenly, we’ve brought them into our lives,” Biltz said. “On one hand, they’re offering services that you could never really do before. On the other hand, if I’m going to let somebody into my life, suddenly they don’t have to just provide value and something useful. People are expecting them to retain their values too.”

Here’s the complete interview with Biltz:

Need for two-way dialogue

If there is one trend likely to emerge from this values-driven dynamic, it is that companies will need to treat the consumer experience more as a partnership than a one-way street. It’s part of what Accenture notes as the “I in Experience.”

There are signs that companies are wiling to embrace this new approach. Accenture found that 85% of executives agreed that competition in the digital world will demand an elevation of relationships with customers as partners.

“It’s the next step to getting people more engaged,” Biltz said. “It’s going to become a partnership. You’re going to start looking for input back and forth.”

These interviews are just part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the recent Accenture Technology Vision event.

Photo: SiliconANGLE