IT Trends for 2023 & Beyond
the ever-evolving IT landscape
This is not a prediction blog, as are common at the turn of the new year. Rather, I’d like to focus on conversations that have staying-power. These are trends that began prior to 2022 and will scale beyond 2024. These elements have the power to impact the way we do business and the way we approach IT. Let’s take a quick look at emerging trends that will surely impact our roles as IT professionals.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning - While prominent voices are calling for us to halt before the robots take over, AI and Machine Learning are already deeply embedded in emerging technologies. I see this tech practically deployed in customer engagement solutions and cybersecurity tools every day. The good that can come from this trend is predictive analytics, natural language processing and computer vision (that’s not scary at all). This trend will drive innovation moving forward.
Internet of Things (IoT): Devices in the wild are growing rapidly, with predictions of 27 billion connected devices by 2025. Your business must learn to manage, classify and secure these devices. The benefit that comes from this trend is the amount of useful data that is generated, and real-time analytics. Expect this trend to also impact edge computing, cloud computing and cybersecurity.
Blockchain: Blockchain is expected to see increased adoption in areas such as supply chain management, financial services, and healthcare, with a focus on improving transparency, security, and efficiency. We shall see how this one develops!
5G Wireless Technology: 5G is expected to bring faster speeds, lower latency, and more bandwidth, enabling new applications such as autonomous vehicles, remote healthcare, and virtual and augmented reality. We still live in a time of when vast amounts of households are drastically undeserved. Rural broadband initiatives have largely failed to extend coverage to remote areas of the country, such as rural Alabama (which is near and dear to my ol’ country heart).
Cloud Computing: Hybrid-cloud is here to stay. End of story. More and more businesses will adopt a hybrid-cloud or multi-cloud strategy. This trend improves scalability, flexibility and cost effectiveness. Are you worried about the cost effectiveness of cloud computing? Holler at your boy and I’ll show you how it’s done.
Cybersecurity: As cyber threats become more sophisticated, cybersecurity will remain a top priority for businesses, with a focus on AI-based threat detection and response, zero-trust architecture, and stronger identity and access management. We simply do not have the bodies needed to staff the vacant IT security positions. We have to rely on automation (see example #1) to help us close that gap.
While this list is thoughtful (I hope!) it is not comprehensive. It’s simply a compilation of content and trends that I often see in my reading and conversations with IT leaders across the country. This is a conversation, and a conversation is not complete without your voice. What trends have I missed? What would you add to the list?