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

Increased Investments in Stability, Organizational Agility, and Intentional Automation

By executives from CircleCI

This past year showcased the fragility of the tech industry and how various moving parts across a company can lead to high-impact innovation - or failure. Looking to 2023, it's imperative now more than ever that companies can recover quickly from failures and apply effective leadership strategies to create a culture that builds trust and guides their organizations to success.

From instituting mindful autonomous processes to prioritizing stability, here are predictions from leaders at CircleCI, the leading CI/CD platform for software innovation at scale.

Jim Rose, CircleCI CEO

Stability will become tech leaders' top priority in 2023

The fragility of software was put in the spotlight in 2022. And while security will continue to be imperative into the next year, I predict that stability will become the number one priority that tech leaders look to solve in 2023. 

Engineers are expected to deliver software incredibly fast, as well as ensure they can recover quickly from a bug, attack, or software failures. Next year, engineers will be dealing with increasing dependencies and complex infrastructure, but organizations that can manage their sources of change will come out on top. We're already starting to see VCs and tech companies make major investments in tools that offer stability, and I predict we'll continue to see outsized investments into the next year.

Being intentional about automation will be key to business resilience

The 2023 economy will likely face slowed growth rates, but engineering teams will still be expected to deliver software incredibly fast. 

The key for engineering leaders will be focus: what's important, what drives value for customers? The rest is noise. There has never been more pressure on teams to deliver, but the benefit is that we will see teams come out stronger, more efficient, and more effective than ever.

Rob Zuber, CircleCI CTO

Tech leaders will be responsible for the safety of innovation using AI

As cloud, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation continue to gain traction in the enterprise, I expect we'll see more government initiatives aimed at safeguarding privacy and misuse of artificial intelligence. 

Technology leaders will have an important role in navigating government guidelines and also ensuring that legislative efforts don't stifle innovation. If we create environments in which our teams are held accountable for keeping AI efforts in check, governments will feel less compelled to step in.

Software teams that embrace failure in 2023 will come out on top

My biggest piece of advice for other leaders is to create a culture that embraces failures. The richest information about how an organization can be improved comes when things go wrong. For software engineering teams especially, having a blameless culture builds the trust teams need to solve problems quickly and avoids time wasted worrying about the perceptions of others. 

2023 will require enhanced organizational agility

In times of uncertainty, our instinct is to slow down and tighten the reins - but uncertainty requires enhanced organizational agility. The situation on the ground is changing faster than you're used to and as an executive, your default response is to become more directly involved in decisions. But operating this way can really slow you down. If you're spending long hours in meetings just to sign off on decisions, use that time instead to empower your team with the context they need to continue moving fast.

Chitra Balasubramanian, CircleCI CFO

Financial leaders will need to balance budgets with building relationships 

As financial leaders go through necessary business investment considerations in 2023, don't forget to bring employees along the way. 

Over the last several years, today's workforce has gone through a variety of drastic changes - from workplace settings to macroeconomic shifts - that impact everyone in individual ways. As critical business decisions are being made, prioritize consistent communication at all levels and keep the needs of your employees in mind. 

This will require a focus on strengthening personal connections, collaborating with those across departments, and leading with empathy and compassion. The performance of your business will rely on it.

Embrace curiosity and ask one question each day 

In a time when we're tasked to do more with less, it will be important for business leaders and managers to embrace curiosity. 

Curiosity aids in business innovation and identifying problems and opportunities. Something as simple as asking a question like, "why are we doing it this way?" or "why are we building that?" can unlock blockers or surface areas of investment to double down in. 

Start the new year by encouraging your team and colleagues to ask at least one question each day, and watch the level of innovation and impact across your company grow.

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