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IBM: Tech trends that continue to play a crucial role in 2023

  • Using AI is the only way organizations can cope with the data deluge.
  • Organizations can now produce whatever they’re selling with fewer inputs thanks to technologies like AI and automation, which impacts the supply chain and energy consumption.

The annual trends and predictions are starting to roll out as 2023 draws near. Today’s technology is evolving rapidly, enabling faster change and progress – accelerating the rate of change. However, more has changed this year than emerging technologies and tech trends, showing IT professionals that their jobs will shift in tomorrow’s contactless world.

Extensive, organization-wide embedded automation is imperative

Organizations keep making significant investments in automation and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. AI will be more common in 2023 with machine learning and natural language processing improvements.

However, according to Paul Burton, GM, IBM Asia Pacific, some AI and automation projects have not met expectations since these technologies have primarily been used in silos. Technology is always economical since it enables business automation, lowering inflationary pressures.

Automation is becoming increasingly imperative for businesses. That’s because of demographics. Fewer people are entering the workforce. Those entering the workforce don’t have the skills to drive digital transformation forward. That’s why automation is imperative,” said Burton.

Trust in data is one of the key tech trends

Utilizing AI is the only way organizations can cope with the data deluge. According to Burton, you need access to data to use AI for insights. Ideally, this is alongside good data architecture, a solid data fabric, and the ability to analyze data, make inferences, and then make decisions. Successful businesses are those that swiftly learn from their experiences and expand.

Paul Burton, GM, IBM Asia Pacific. (Source - IBM)

Paul Burton, GM, IBM Asia Pacific. (Source – IBM)

“That is 100% based on interpreting and learning from data,” added Burton. “Deploy a good data architecture, ensure you have ubiquitous access to all data in the enterprise, have a baseline of your current performance and monitor the metrics to check if you’re improving or not, so you can steer accordingly.”

According to IDC, big data, analytics, and AI are expanding at a 20% annual rate in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

IDC also stated that businesses must train datasets to represent society or groupings accurately. The algorithms ought to take that into account. Here, there is a policy issue and a question of how one should use technology to ensure everyone is included.

Cybersecurity must be connected across the ecosystem

According to IDC, there has been an enormous increase in online and mobile scams over the last three years. All banks have made considerable investments in their people, technology, and processes to manage security and comply with regional regulations. There will be more exposure as the public sector and government develop online and mobile touchpoints with citizens.

Given that people are more exposed than ever, business leaders must encourage their employees to focus on the following four key factors:

  • Cybersecurity education: Empowering employees with the knowledge to identify common cyber threats can benefit an organization’s computer security.
  • Vulnerability assessment: To understand what’s happening with the infrastructure or points of vulnerability, you must have a robust threat management capacity.
  • Connected cybersecurity: According to IDC, firms will have the first line of defense once analytics are incorporated. Then, they can collaborate with tech partners to provide the skills they lack.
  • Zero trust: Zero trust can help firms manage the risks associated with a disconnected corporate environment and boost their cyber resilience.

Sustainability is a business mandate

Organizations can now produce whatever they’re selling with fewer inputs thanks to technologies like AI and automation – this impacts the supply chain and energy use. Less energy is used, which reduces the number of greenhouse gases generated per unit of production.

Sustainability as a business mandate is one of the many tech trends that IBM predicted.

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IDC reported that data centers use 2% of the world’s electricity and contribute 6-7% of carbon dioxide emissions. They make up 7% of Singapore’s electrical use. The ability to calculate their carbon footprint based on their existing activities will be crucial to sustainability since it will help them identify the factors they can control and the actions they can take.

Burton added, “companies that don’t have a sound data foundation, good data architecture, data fabric and aren’t able to integrate all the data from the enterprise into an application, or a capability that will produce an ESG scorecard will be at a disadvantage. The key issue is data and digital transformation.”

Trends in equipping tech talents for the future

Fewer individuals are joining the workforce, and among those who do, fewer have the skills needed to drive digital transformation – a trend of the last 10 to 15 years. That’s why automation is a key tech trend in 2023 because it gives businesses the option to automate some repetitive tasks.

Organizations need to train their employees’ more, although automation will help in filling in the talent gap. According to IDC, enterprises will use automation and AI technology in 2023 to close the talent gap. Digital workers will augment the workforce, and everyone will soon witness the emergence of digital workers that use the most advanced AI and automation tools to cooperate with knowledge workers and automate repetitive activities.