Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2023.  Read them in this 15th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.

Supply Chain, Hybrid Cloud, and AI: Looking Forward to 2023

By Gary Hix, CTO, Hitachi Vantara Federal

Empty store shelves and inflated prices became the most visible signs of pandemic-related supply issues. While the global supply chain continues to recover in most sectors, the information technology hardware market remains delayed.

In looking forward to my predictions for 2023, we must look back. The supply chain issues that haunted vendors for the past two years will likely continue through this year and beyond. Large organizations that need up-to-date technology hardware must prepare for longer delivery times.

According to a survey from GetApp, 78% of organizations have experienced moderate to significant supply chain delays for IT hardware in the past 12 months with 71% experiencing shipping delays of up to six months.

The delays come from difficulties in acquiring resources, shipping, and ensuring the supply chain's security.

Prediction: Hybrid Cloud Growth to Continue

The struggles of the supply chain lead to the next prediction. Hybrid cloud has become the popular cloud computing option for many organizations, including federal agencies, partly because of the difficulty in standing up cloud environments.

While agencies were able to quickly move some applications to the cloud, some of the more business-critical legacy applications remain in limbo. These applications were not built with a cloud environment in mind; migrating them requires a significant investment in time, manpower, and equipment.

These challenges will further push agencies toward hybrid cloud environments. Agency infrastructures will be a mix of public and private cloud and on-premises solutions based on the type of work needed. There will also be a desire for increased cybersecurity visibility solutions that can provide insight into data movements between the differing structures.

Prediction: Increased Use of AI

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and digital twin technology will play a more significant role in federal agencies, especially the Department of Defense. Digital twins specifically could provide enhanced testing and design capability for military projects and address a growing gap in modelling and predictive analytics.

While these technologies are already used in military settings, we'll see expanded use cases impacting everything from robotic process automation to citizen services. Using these tools will allow agencies to improve efficiency and lower the amount of money spent on specific projects.

For example, the DoD's Joint All-Domain Command & Control (JADC2) initiative will leverage these technologies is new ways. That program will replace the current domain and control systems with one that connects existing sensors throughout the entire network. AI and ML can leverage this increased data connection to find immediate insights that support tactical missions on a multi-domain battlefield.

Prediction: Federal Spending Priorities

The federal government continues to spend on numerous projects and programs that shift from traditional areas. Increased spending on energy-efficient solutions. This includes undergoing digital transformations that rely on advanced analytics and AI operations to utilize utilities better and optimize power consumption.

With these spending priorities and supply chain challenges in the coming years, organizations with end-to-end manufacturing operations will benefit. These companies do not require outsourced manufacturing from potentially sensitive partners or those in unstable parts of the world that will deliver solutions quickly.

Federal spending will follow this trend, choosing to invest in organizations that have control over their own supply chain. Federal agencies will shy away from complex chains that could introduce vulnerabilities to the enterprise.

The Road Forward

Looking toward to next year and beyond it is obvious how our world will continue to change. Federal agencies find themselves working around new complications and concerns. Agencies must recognize these new challenges early and find solutions that make procurement and delivery pain-free.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gary Hix is the Chief Technology Officer for Hitachi Vantara Federal, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi Vantara. With more than a decade of experience as a trusted advisor for federal civilian, defense and intelligence agencies, and 25 years in the IT industry, Gary is known for his ability to solve government IT challenges and for his deep understanding of the information technology mandates facing federal agencies today. Responsible for architecting, implementing and maintaining custom technology solutions for customers, Gary is passionate about storage and data protection helping Hitachi Vantara Federal customers implement meaningful IT outcomes that better business and society.

Prior to joining Hitachi Vantara Federal, Gary served as a Program Architect at IBM’s Cloud Services Division where he was responsible for a $500 million cross brand sales strategy. Earlier in his career he held the role of Channel Technology Executive at Novus Consulting Group where he oversaw a $16 million book of business, ongoing presales, and delivery of new solutions.

Gary has developed patents for management complexity factors delivering services in an IT environment and tier-based data management storage solution.