Trending in 2022 (new stuff and one persistent issue…)

This is the time of year when almost everyone seems to have an opinion or three about what the next 12 months might bring. With that in mind, I’ve scoured the internet to see what the tech experts say will happen in 2022 and, more specifically, to see how much, if any, share the same opinion.  I’ve looked at articles from Forbes, Gartner, Accenture, Computer Weekly and many more.  In addition, to try and give a different perspective, I’ve also had a look at what they are predicting in India and the Asia-Pacific region.  Although there are some differences across the world, there are a number of themes/subjects that feature in most of the analyses I studied.  In no particular order, these include:

• Composable applications, architecture and siloed data.
• Blockchain.
• A focus on how tech will impact on the ways we work in the aftermath of the pandemic, including increased automation.
• AI (naturally), including Decision Intelligence and further developments in the metaverse.
• Increased use of tech for clean, green and sustainable initiatives.
• Increasing use of the cloud – including more adoption of multi-cloud environments (and the associated security challenges).
• Privacy and Security issues in general: the former partly driven by government, the latter by the obvious need for confidence in the use of tech generally, both by individual users and government/corporations.
• Digital Twins.
• Continuing supply chain issues (chip shortages etc.)

Furthermore, the consensus appears to be that the challenge for CIOs will be increasingly strategic: how do you use your tech to gain a competitive advantage and differentiate your business from the rest?  Companies’ ability to capitalise on creative new-technology solutions, therefore scaling and accelerating their business’s digitalisation, will be vital. The increasing pace of change will put pressure on firms more rapidly to create applications that automate business activities, make optimal use of AI and thus to enable faster decision-making.

In India and the APAC region generally, there seems to be a focus on refreshing the IT infrastructure to support the demands of an increasingly hybrid workforce, post-Covid.   In Australia specifically, there is an expectation of more supply chain problems in 2022 and beyond, with many Australian companies vulnerable due to having only very limited visibility and knowledge of their suppliers’ cyber security capabilities (40% of breaches in Australia in 2020 originated from weak IT supply chains).

In India, as well as the issues noted above, the Economic Times specifically mentioned the power of digital connections, powered by 5G and the IoT, to unlock economic activity, with enhanced network availability and capability driving broad shifts in the business landscape, via the digitisation of manufacturing through wireless control of mobile tools, machines and robots etc.

However, one theme that was mentioned in almost every article I read was one which we, at Be-IT, are extremely familiar with, namely, the continuing shortage of talent. We have been re-charging our batteries over the festive season but knew that when we returned to our desks, none of the great stuff predicted for 2022 will happen without the tech talent that so many companies are struggling to hire.  Of which more in my next blog…

Matt Druce, Client Delivery Director, Be-IT Projects