IT Trends to Follow in 2022 – Editor’s Choice

If there’s been anything positive about the last two years, it’s a lot of COVID-19 test results it’s undoubtedly the unprecedented shift towards the ever-present digitalization. With the rise of new needs (and a “smarter” way of operating), both technical and non-technical organizations have redefined priorities and reallocated budgets.

In 2022, this evolution carries on – but in an even grander, more sophisticated form.

In what form, exactly? We’re going to look for the answer in this article. Read on to learn the – in our opinion – most interesting IT predictions for the following 12 months (and beyond).

Metaverse

When Facebook, Inc. announced it’s changing its name to Meta, the rebranding was met with widespread confusion. (“What? Is the platform going to be called differently now?”).

And although some have hinted the sudden name change is a way to sugar-coat some of Facebook’s (Meta’s) PR problems, the new brand nonetheless indicates how the company plans on operating in the future.

Thanks to this development, the term “metaverse” instantly transformed into one of last year’s hottest buzzwords. But what does it mean, exactly?

A metaverse is a virtual world created by combining different technologies – like virtual and augmented reality. The theoretical purpose of a metaverse (the first one is yet to be developed) is to create a place where people meet, play, study, shop, or even work. Experts from The World Economic Forum predict that the metaverse – a form of extended reality – is going to be the next step in the evolution of the web. What’s more, it will have the chance to blur the lines between digital and “real” life.

Monetization-wise, mobile games have already paved the way. With in-app purchases making more money than normal game selling, a metaverse could make money by selling virtual goods or services.

Cybersecurity

With the global shift towards digital operations, cybersecurity plays – and will play – a key role in making this transformation sensible.

Data shows that cybercrime is getting more and more expensive. Its cost was expected to double from $3 trillion in 2015 to $6 trillion by the beginning of this year. Next, it’s predicted to grow to $10.5 trillion by 2025. According to Deloitte, the average cost of a single data breach in 2021 was $4.24 million – 10% more than in 2019.

During the last two years, we’ve been shocked by many bold cybercrime examples – like stealing game code from CD Project Red or massive data breaches on Facebook. However, it‘s important to realize that digital security is not only a problem to tackle for global enterprises. More than ever, this issue also relates to small and medium companies.

Unsurprisingly, cybersecurity in SME’s provides different challenges and requires a different approach.=

If you’d like to hear more on the topic, we encourage you to listen to our data expert’s talk from our IT’s Live series.

You’ll learn more about keeping malicious insiders out of your IT projects and minimizing internal mistakes ⬇

Hyperautomation

A recent survey has shown that 74% of IT leaders confirmed automation has helped their teams to work more efficiently. What’s more, 57% reported cost reductions of up to 30% on teams that have embraced process automation.

From that perspective, it’s no surprise that hyperautomation has made it on Gartner’s Top Strategic Technology Trends list… for a 3^rd year running!

Hyperautomation is, like the name suggests, automation – but grander. It aims to connect multiple technologies and automate and combine as many areas as possible. That way, it’s able to simplify, discover, measure, and manage workflows and processes across enterprises. By bringing these areas together, work automation is amplified.

Gartner forecasts that by “2024, diffuse hyperautomation spending will drive up the total cost of ownership 40-fold, making adaptive governance a differentiating factor in corporate performance”.

Yet, today already, automation tech has entered our daily lives – without many of us even realizing. As Economic Times summarizes, self-driving vehicles, data cleaning systems of your smartphone, or smart home notifications are just examples.

Cryptocurrencies

No, no – you don’t have to check if this article was published in 2015. We’re not going to talk about the concept of crypto itself, but about its transition from a financial curiosity into an official financial instrument.

Meaning official, we mean public. In 2021, Central America’s El Salvador made Bitcoin a legal tender. At the same time, central banks in the European Union, Canada, or the United Kingdom consider doing the same (but with their own digital currencies).

Considering these unexpected developments, could cryptocurrencies actually take over from “classic” money?

In our opinion – highly unlikely.

Most importantly, mining new crypto is terrible for the environment (due to the used computing power). With the publicly rising ecology awareness, it’s unlikely that cryptocurrencies – at least in their current form – would be embraced by ethics-embracing countries. Not even to mention that crypto is full of risks linked to cybersecurity.

However, regardless of these concerns, cryptocurrencies remain one of the most interesting IT trends to watch – and we’re very curious how its future is going to unfold.

What Are Your Predictions?

And that’s our list. Do you agree with our picks?

We’re curious to hear more about your perspective. Please, visit us on LinkedIn and share your IT predictions for 2022.

And if you’d like to hear more about a more detailed insight into outsourcing changes for the following year, read our 2022 IT outsourcing predictions.