Technology is constantly evolving to make life more convenient for its users. In the digital age, most industries should be using technological advancements in their practices, but following the latest industry news and trends is especially crucial for those in the IT Market. In fact, the IT Market is dependent on providing IT-enabled services to businesses, and all of those services are determined by the evolution of technology. IT Outsourcing makes up the largest segment of the market and is estimated to reach nearly £27 million in 2022. This is due to rising demand in the U.K.’s Digital Transformation Market for technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and cybersecurity that assist the customised digitization of business functions. For IT professionals to remain competitive and provide the best service, these are the areas of technology to stay informed. With that being said, let’s explore the top trends in the IT Market for the year.
Artificial Intelligence
The concept of AI is nothing new, but it continues to find new applications that can significantly affect a person’s daily life. For example, artificial intelligence will likely use insights gained by analysing interactions to predict the demand for different services in the coming year. These insights allow management to allocate resources where they will be the most effective.
AI is useful in various industries and is expanding rapidly, and many tech professionals anticipate it will be the largest technological trend for 2022. The impact of AI technology extends far beyond simple data analysis, too. It is quickly becoming a key component for many businesses’ marketing campaigns, with 64% of B2B marketers citing it as an asset to their strategies. The global market for AI in Marketing is also expected to experience a compound annual growth rate of 29.65%, with areas like machine learning and language processing being the primary growth tools.
In business, tech like AI chatbots uses predictive behaviour analysis to create a streamlined customer care experience. It enables benefits like increased productivity and cost-efficiency, customer satisfaction, and even reduces the risk of cyberattacks. In 2021, 56% of global business respondents reported already implementing AI in their business practices, and 26% of those same respondents tied at least 5% of their pre-taxed earnings to the AI tech they used. This is part of why the 2021 McKinsey Global Survey highlighted this trend as having the highest innovation potential and gave AI an investment score in the top 5 of the overall study.
So, what directions will AI take in 2022 and beyond? The most advanced avenue of AI is in machine learning. Still, there is potential for breakthroughs in other areas, such as language modelling with the recent release of GPT-3, the Metaverse, autonomous vehicles, and even creative outputs like art and music. And for the IT Market specifically, AI’s role in cloud computing, data analysis and utilisation, and producing an augmented workforce is likely to diversify even more in 2022. Industries like social media, cybersecurity and even healthcare are expected to witness an increased demand for services that garner growth through job and business automation using AI technology.
Robotic Process Automation
Like AI, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is another technological advancement that saves businesses time and money by eliminating repetitive tasks and automating jobs. While some would argue that RPA threatens job security, although this may be an example of succumbing to tech hype, it is anticipated that many career opportunities will come about thanks to RPA.
The global RPA market is expanding rapidly as it has become a tech staple for industries and businesses everywhere. With adoption rates increasing by 8% in only two years, the market will reach at least £10.29 billion in value by 2027. RPA is showing clear signs of proficiency, too, reporting payback in 12 months or less, according to Deloitte’s Global RPA Survey. Compliance, quality, accuracy, productivity, and cost reduction are all areas that have exceeded the expectations of companies that utilise them.
With over 78% of companies automating their processes, IT professionals will be useful in managing RPA for many industries. Specific areas for potential growth are those with demanding working conditions, like restaurants and warehouses, that robotic workers and automation could improve. And the continued trend of virtual work enables the automation of virtual assembly lines and the creation of functional automation frameworks that automate business processes, drive growth, and manage a diverse workforce of human and digital workers.
Edge Computing
For the last few years, it seemed that cloud computing was the future of computing, and while this may still be the case, new technology has emerged and is set to be a big trend this year. Edge computing was designed to address the issues caused by cloud computing and processing. To this end, it can be used to quickly process data in remote locations without needing a connection to a centralised location. As a result, this technology could have huge implications for remote workers and the IT Market at large.
Edge computing enables data access that is more secure and reduces latency, allowing for streamlined information processing. Because of this, it’s no wonder that global spending on edge computing tech is expected to grow by nearly 15% in 2022. As the workforce expands virtually, issues like latency and security are becoming required for enterprise functionality, especially when tech experts estimate more than 150 trillion gigabytes of data to be generated before 2025. Entities will be moving away from cloud centres to manage this data smoothly. It’s expected that around 75% of generated data will be processed using edge computing by the end of the year.
Considering the sheer amount of information this entails, the impact of edge computing technology will be observed everywhere. Most notably, the working technologies that will rely on edge computing the most in 2022 include customer service and enterprise processes, especially in the industrial sector, and in technologies with 5G capabilities like IoT devices, Augmented and Virtual Reality, autonomous vehicles, media streaming, and more. The distribution of content delivery networks (CDNs) and virtual network functions (VNF) will also be a priority for the worldwide IT Market since they comprise 85% of global spending on edge computing. Even more, there is a growing need for sophisticated data-thinning techniques. As edge computing continues to benefit areas experiencing growth, like AI, the need to analyse, arrange, and store data will become more prevalent across industries.
Virtual and Augmented Reality
Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are not necessarily new technologies, but they have the potential for new applications starting in 2022. VR and AR have been used exclusively for gaming thus far. However, you can expect to see them both integrated with more aspects of daily life very soon. From entertainment and education to medicine and marketing, their potential is truly limitless.
With the expansion of applications, more and more people are becoming avid users of the technology. There are already 200 million active AR users via Snapchat, and it’s anticipated the number of users will climb to at least 75% of the global population by 2025. This speedy development has the market on track to become a trillion-dollar industry, growing its value by at least 20% per year for the next 10-15 years.
The use of AR and VR is expanding beyond just gaming. Although the gaming industry is the most profitable avenue for technology, others include healthcare, travel and tourism, education, home design, and even how we interact with live events. Some of these new applications directly respond to the quickly evolving digital workspace. Telework, whether fully remote or hybrid, is not likely to slow down any time soon. Technology is progressing towards a more productive and engaging environment as we become more familiar with the virtual space. IT professionals can employ AR to provide real-time services for various on-screen purposes. There’s also the interesting ongoing development that is the Metaverse. There is a surplus of IT opportunities for creating virtual spaces and offices to integrate business and social activities. Healthcare and retail are also expected to make waves in conjunction with AR and VR in the coming year(s).
Health professionals are increasingly interested in developing technology to assist with surgical processes at all stages, including early intervention, training, and even actual surgical planning. And in retail, reality tech has been shown to produce higher conversion rates, even as much as 94% improvement, according to Shopify. These are not the only areas we can expect to see the integration of VR and AR, and it’s not a trend for anyone in the IT Market to overlook.
Cybersecurity
Similar to reality tech, cybersecurity is not a new or emerging technology, but as technology evolves, developers must keep up to keep things secure. Hackers are determined to access data at any cost, consistently creating new threats. Because of this, cybersecurity will remain a trending technology. As it stands, the cybersecurity market is estimated to reach £ 145.8 billion in 2022. This is due to the ever-growing variety and severity of cyberattacks that haunt enterprise systems and consumers. Evolved ransomware with targeted campaigns, phishing, extensive data leaks, and even the growth of cryptocurrency pose a major threat. Taking proactive measures to protect data from cybercrime is becoming more important, especially as the cost of handling these incidents continues to skyrocket. On average, data breaches can cost as much as £3.3 million to correct, a detrimental expense to most businesses. And, with the rise of cloud and IoT-enabled devices, there are more areas of vulnerability than ever.
Any business with an online component – which is most businesses today- should prioritise cybersecurity. This can be done by employing an IT support service like Texaport, which can deal with your security concerns or teach you to deal with them yourself. Anti-malware and antivirus protection software will continue to be at the forefront of the industry but expect to see an increased demand for IT-assisted disaster recovery plans and backup systems.
In The End
Technology is constantly advancing and evolving. This means that trends predicted for this year might be commonplace by next year or overtaken by new emerging technologies. To ensure your business remains competitive, you must stay abreast of the developments. In doing so, you might find ways to streamline your business’s processes and cut costs.
Staying informed on these trends won’t only help you understand where the market is headed. There are also a few likely outcomes of these trends that make knowing about them all the more important. These new directions in tech may impact the IT market by establishing a more resilient foundation for processing and analysing data across multiple environments via engineering trust. Or, these advancements could sculpt change and improve scaling solutions that prioritise enterprise digitization efforts through automation and optimization. And finally, some of these trends are designed for accelerating growth by deploying IT force multipliers, enhancing digital capabilities, and encouraging value creation.
At Texaport, we understand the importance of these advancements, and we work with our clients to put a reliable system in place to improve their business efficiency. Our team has a wide range of IT knowledge and remains acquainted with the movements in the IT industry. Find out more here.
