The success of X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS), X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), extended XAFS (EXAFS), X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES), resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS), high-energy-resolution fluorescence detection (HERFD) and other techniques is fully established and is discussed in this volume. Current experiments and theory are able to produce dramatic insights into nanostructure for almost any material, and detailed insights into the local atomic and electronic structure of condensed matter. However, the future is perhaps much more exciting, and this forward-looking, brief chapter comments on some expected, significant and novel areas that with optimism and extensive research can be investigated over the next decades.