Despite the difficulties of nearly two years of crisis-response pedal-to-the-metal, there has been massive investment in company transformation and technology across all industries. Business leaders may be forgiven for wanting to take a break after such a quick transition. The transformation will continue apace in 2022, owing to rising employee expectations and competitiveness to digitally innovate. The following are four factors that will be important in transformation initiatives in the coming year:
Trend 1 – Enterprise technology will be forced to ‘level up’ and meet consumer tech standards
Workplace technology appears to be playing a losing game of catch-up with consumer devices and apps that we use on a daily basis. Expectations for enterprise solutions have escalated in the aftermath of lockdown. The gap between consumer and enterprise technology has become even wider due to clunky infrastructure and difficult-to-use software. This will improve communication between the employees, allowing them to better understand and appreciate the technological gaps that can make the difference between a fantastic employee experience and one that causes talent to leave.
Trend 2 – Voice automation will become an expectation as junior employees join the workforce
Businesses’ delays in researching technology such as voice automation, where they are well behind the curve, demonstrate the need to level up. Whether it’s asking Siri to set their morning alarms or Alexa to add things to their shopping list, consumers are already appreciating the convenience and benefits of voice control and automation. Businesses, on the other hand, are failing to take advantage of this technology. Not only are they missing out on valuable time savings and the opportunity to streamline processes and reduce administrative efforts, but such technologies will increasingly become the expectation of the workforce, particularly among younger workers who have grown up with voice automation as a part of their daily lives.
Trend 3 – Organisation’s understanding of hybrid cloud will evolve
For organisations, hybrid cloud will take on a new meaning during the next year. In most cases, hybrid refers to a combination of public and private cloud, on-premises and off-premises computing. Now, there will be a third facet to hybrid: the provider.
In 2022, when companies are looking for cloud providers, they will focus less on the “kind” of cloud and more on finding the best solution for them. Identifying the correct tool for the job can also help to reduce and simplify the number of different technologies used. It will no longer matter where your data is housed, but rather whose entity can optimise it the best.
Trend 4 – 2022 will be the year of the Digital Twin
For decades, digital twin technology – a virtual counterpart of a real-world item such as an asset, product, process, or environment – has been in development, largely to improve company operations and provide the next generation of Business Process Services (BPS). Infrastructure, rail, and renewable energy, for example, as well as the built environment, have already been impacted by the application of this technology. It is assisting in the discovery of new sources of value, ranging from energy savings to increased performance. In 2022, more organisations will invest in the Digital Twin to achieve more agility, efficiency, and data-driven decisions, thanks to the rising availability of rich sources of real-time data and analytics.
2022 and beyond
With new solutions no longer considered a “nice to have,” but rather a “must-have,” and businesses realising the necessity of only using beneficial technology, 2022 will be a year of actual technological innovation.