Peter Ryan and Mark Hillary Gaze Into The Future Of Technology In 2023

At the end of 2022 the IBA team asked Peter Ryan and I to sit down together virtually – Peter is in Canada and I’m based in Brazil – to talk about some of the important technology events in 2022 and some of the trends worth watching for in 2023. You can go to watch all the discussions on LinkedIn here, but I thought it was also worth summarizing some of the predictions from us both.

The key 2023 trends in my own section of the discussion were:

• Sustainability: this has often been positioned as more of a marketing concern in the past, but Environmental, Social, and corporate Governance (ESG) is now becoming far more important. Customers are asking questions, employees want to feel good about their employer, and investors are making ESG a condition when handing cash to entrepreneurs. Technology companies need to be aware that clients are now looking at their ESG status.
• The Economy: many countries are facing a period of economic instability at present. How will companies turn to technology, such as cloud computing, to control costs and switch capital expenses into operating expense?
• Self-Service: consumers using technology such as Siri, Alexa, and chatbots to interact with brands will increase. The quality of interactions increased dramatically in 2022 and more companies will start relying on these tools as a customer interface.
• Distributed Workforce: people are still working from home and many are now insisting on hybrid options. This requires a new approach for network security and new tech tools to keep remote workers engaged and part of a team.
• IOT finally arriving: it’s been a prediction for years, but now 5G is available in most markets there is the real opportunity for IOT estate management and digital twins. This has been a possibility for some time, but the general availability of 5G was holding back process.
• Metaverse: a move into Metaverse without the need for Virtual Reality. It feels like the need for VR has held back consumer interaction in the metaverse, but now companies are exploring environments such as Roblox – popular online destinations that don’t need personal investment in VR equipment.

So what were the most important upcoming trends highlighted by Peter?

• Metaverse: this will be a catalyst year where consumers finally realize the options that are available. It will require access without VR for it to take off – perhaps consumers will eventually adopt VR once used to these systems.
• User Experience: far more attention focused on the use of technology systems to improve working life for employees. A focus on reducing the number of systems employees need to manage.
• AI-driven frontline interfaces: companies in industries such as retail will increasing use chatbots to interact with customers. This will become normal in 2023 rather than a process that looks exceptional or like something from a sci-fi movie.
• Geopolitics: uncertainty in Europe because of the Ukraine and Russia conflict and political conflict in places such as Brazil may lead companies investing in technology to focus on their home locations rather than exploring new regions.
• Hybrid work: the hybrid model is here to stay and now companies need to determine which technologies are needed to really make it work.

There was some crossover and agreement in the predictions. It’s clear that we both think the Metaverse is going to be an important way for companies to use technology to interact with their customers, but the full-on approach adopted by Meta isn’t working. It’s also important to note how we both talked about hybrid work. This is an important change that will require systems and ideas – we are literally adapting to a new normal for work.

Let’s see how the year plays out. It’s still only January, but the news channels are already filled with news about AI developments – this technology will no longer be hidden in the shadows in 2023.

To read and view the complete predictions from Peter please click here.

To read and view the complete predictions from Mark please click here.