Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2022. Read them in this 14th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Topping the Tech List - Holistic UX, Distribution & Data Security and Privacy
By Robert Castles and Claire Wiggill, PMG
Indications are emerging for what the hot topics in
technology will be in 2022. While the broader news will undoubtedly still heavily
feature the pandemic and political divisions, the importance of technology in
our businesses, economies, and lifestyles will only continue to grow and, accordingly,
pervade our collective focus.
Gartner recently released its Top Strategic Technology
Trends for 2022, but at PMG, we
boiled it down to three key drivers.
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End-to-End Experience
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Distributed Everything
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Data Security & Privacy
These are the forces we think will dominate the technology
landscape in 2022. They will bleed over and influence other news. They will
impact investment decisions. And they will affect us all in our work and
personal lives.
End-to-End Experience
The lines between work and home life have blurred for many,
brought on by the remote work wave at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and
the ongoing explosion of the gig economy. Institutional and B2B technology
experiences have lagged far behind the user experience (UX) advancements of
B2C, but that is increasingly changing. While digital-first companies have had
an advantage, digital initiatives and investments at established enterprises
are catching up, and these entities have the deep pockets to push the envelope
farther.
That's a good thing because consumers are setting the bar
for digital experiences, which is fast
becoming the standard for in-person experiences as well. "Experience" is no
longer mistaken for a snazzy user interface. Customer/employee/stakeholder
experience is about the entire process, from pre-purchase to post-sale or
service. This is one of the forces driving the demand for hyperautomation,
arguably the biggest technology trend of the past couple of years. And
hyperautomation - which encompasses automation, orchestration, integration, and intelligence -
will continue to pervade the strategies of CIOs everywhere as the requirements
for an outstanding end-to-end experience dominate both the B2C and B2B
marketplaces.
Distributed Everything
The creative geniuses at HBO hit the nail on the head when
they came up with the story arc for Silicon Valley's fictitious company, Pied
Piper. In one scheme, the startup tries to capitalize on a proprietary decentralized,
peer-to-peer internet technology. While it skims over the practical and legal
details- it is a comedy series after all - the allusions to a future with more
shared resources, expanded boundaries for crowdsourcing, and greater access for
all certainly strike a chord.
The concept of not only embracing but leveraging distributed
resources is being applied everywhere today. From technologies designed to
democratize data (see Gartner's top trend of Data Fabric) to conversations
about how to manage and engage employees as part of a hybrid/remote workforce,
discussions of how to maximize the value proposition and minimize the negatives
seem ever-present. Gartner also touts Composable Business as the best way to
stay ahead of your competition, advising technology leaders to move toward
custom applications composed using software components sourced from external
marketplaces. And taking Pied Piper's vision to the next level,
distributed computing is poised for expansion through edge computing and
serverless technologies.
Data Security & Privacy
Lastly, we wouldn't be talking about the 21st
century if we didn't include the ever-increasing requirements for ensuring data
security and privacy. The bar continues to go up for what software providers
must do and then attest to doing for their customers. Multifactor
authentication is becoming the norm, and biometric identity verification is
more prevalent as well.
Beyond access and identity verification, though, is the
trickier business of data storage and data usage. Vendors continue to struggle with
finding the right balance between delivering optimal UX and ensuring the most
stringent data protection at all times. Sophisticated encryption technologies
are readily available, but the practical reality of incorporating them into
applications while still being able to transfer, process, and render the data
to the user in milliseconds is not always so straightforward.
In sum, our reliance on technology in our everyday lives
will continue to increase, whether we're at work or at play. As we see it, end-to-end
experience, distributed everything, and data security and privacy will be
technology's front-and-center focus, not only in 2022 - but beyond.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Claire Wiggill, VP of Innovation at PMG
Claire is responsible for leading the company’s strategic marketing initiatives. Previously, she spent three years as a Service Delivery Manager at PMG, leading customer projects from inception to delivery. Her broad business background includes over 20 years of experience in executive management, marketing, finance and advisory roles.
Robert Castles, Principal and Chief Technology Officer at PMG
As PMG’s CTO, Robert leads the team in creating a forward vision for the company and the PMG Digital Business Platform. In his role, he drives the scalability, reliability and extensibility of the product. Robert brings over 20 years of technical expertise to the company, including enterprise software development, systems development and network infrastructure solutions.