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

The Expanding Footprint of the Cloud Workspace

By experts at Nerdio

As we enter 2023, we are seeing the residual effect of the pandemic in the way IT delivers, secures and manages end user computing environments. Cloud workspaces, driven by virtual desktops and Desktop as a Service (DaaS) environments, will remain a significant component of the modern enterprise, but for new reasons beyond the work-from-home movement that prevailed over the past two years. Following are eight predictions the experts at Nerdio see for 2023:

Hybrid Work Remains, Even as the Power Shifts Back to Employers

Distributed work will take on an even greater presence in 2023 as companies continue to struggle to find talent in their local market and remote work becomes more accepted. Employers will look to hire talent outside of their normal regions, particularly for key positions. The start of the global recession has layoffs already hitting companies across multiple industries and this is likely to lead to a shift in power back to the employer. However, this will not lead to a decline in remote and hybrid work.

A growing focus back to a “do more with less” mantra, will make the cost considerations of working from the office a more prominent factor. Office overhead is an expense many companies have found they can avoid. This will keep hybrid work part of the workplace landscape. Even while employers gain greater control, they still see the cost savings and employee retention benefits of hybrid work operations.

Virtual Desktops and DaaS Priorities Grow to Support Scale and Security Demands

2023 will be a virtual desktop and DaaS adoption tipping point as these technologies have proven they are not just a COVID-19 solution. Experiences with virtual desktop solutions during the pandemic have demonstrated their effectiveness in terms of greater corporate control and security, particularly as companies further engage a more global workforce. Cloud-based virtual desktops also deliver the increased flexibility companies demand to scale up and down to meet the changing workforce requirements. Pressures for IT efficiency require solutions that eliminate wasted investments. DaaS in particular helps eliminate this waste as hardware investments can be minimized while furthering employee productivity.

Users Expect to Work the Way They Want

End users have now seen how technology can better enable work from anywhere and won’t accept technology that wants to change how they want to work. In this way, users still have power. In 2023, we will see more features such as Windows 365 offline mode, SSO (single sign on) technologies, and direct virtual desktop access that bypasses the physical machine all being adopted to make the user experience easier. This will swell in demand as Millennials and GenZ employees takeover the workforce. This Instagram and TikTok generation of workers will expect a more intuitive and agile desktop environment and won’t accept reverting to more traditional ways of work.

Physical Endpoint Security Becomes Lower Risk

In 2023, we will see an increased use of native Microsoft products as the licensing is included with many Microsoft 365 plans. As a result, desktop administrators will become more comfortable managing these native Microsoft tools to heighten endpoint security. In addition, the physical endpoint will matter less and less from a security perspective because all company data will be stored in the cloud. Products such as Microsoft Intune will be increasingly used to manage the security of virtual endpoints, including both Azure Virtual Desktops and Windows 365 Cloud PCs.

Cloud Computing Will Dominate

In 2023, cloud computing is going to continue to rise to the top of the IT priority list because while it is an investment, it’s a flexible one that can change with the business. In addition, cloud allows businesses to eliminate large IT investments they need to ride out to obtain a ROI over many years by moving to a more efficient pay-for-what-you-need monthly payment model.

A younger workforce will demand the latest tools and technology which means investments will be made to replace outdated technology. For example, IT can no longer have long update cycles where they could run older versions of Windows for years. This means they will need to invest in tools and products that let them update to new technology more often. Otherwise, they risk losing business opportunity if they didn’t adopt some new technology quickly enough. Technologies that will rise to the top include Microsoft Intune for endpoint management, app testing tools like Rimo3, and single pane of glass tools as app sprawl gets further out of control.

IT Staffing Challenges Persist

IT staffing will be a growing issue in 2023 in large part because of the speed at which technologies and security threats are evolving. Some legacy providers and staff will struggle to learn and adapt while others will embrace this change and become the sought-after talent many are fighting over to hire or retain. In addition, third-party tools will become more and more important to help fill in the gaps in knowledge required to keep up with these changes.

MSP Mergers & Acquisitions will Boom

2023 is going to be a big year for M&A in the MSP space. MSPs who have fully adopted new cloud-based technologies and continue to innovate in support of the increasingly cloud-driven world will be hot targets to acquire.  More forward-thinking MSPs with solid recurring revenues are also leveraging their businesses to acquire books of business and hard to come by IT talent. As M&As occur, legacy private cloud and hosting providers will also move to become public cloud businesses, changing the overall MSP landscape.

Vendor Trust is Paramount

IT Leaders know they have many avenues for success and don’t want to be overwhelmed with the fast-paced technology changes we are experiencing now. They should embrace vendors and experts who can help continue to grow and find success. In the current economic situation, IT teams and leaders should not lose sight of their company’s core business and prioritize IT spend accordingly. Enabling their workforce to work securely anytime and anywhere yet provide access to information at their fingertips is what they should focus on in 2023.

During an economic downturn, consumers and B2B buyers are very judicious in where they spend their money. As a result, brand trust will be even more vital in 2023. Buyers will turn to who they trust the most to take care of customers’ data and who is best equipped to make sure IT systems are reliable and efficient with transparency and resilience.