Optimize, scale, pioneer
The volume, speed and complexity of changes forced upon us leave little room for transformation to be avoided. The only constant is change, and transforming ourselves and our organizations is the only way to resist such change. In this series of articles titled “Transformation Blueprint,” we explore the different levers of transformation available to an organization and provide best practices and tools to activate them. This article defines and discusses 6 key digital transformation trends that will prevail in 2023 and beyond.
What are digital trends and why are they important?
While not all digital trends will be relevant to your organization, you need to stay on top of your transformation so you know if and when you need to adopt them and adapt them to your context. According to Gartner, the key digital technology trends for 2023 focus on three horizons: optimize, scale and pioneer. [1] Understanding digital trends is critical for your organization to ensure you disrupt your own business processes, technologies and culture before they are disrupted by outside forces. In other words, staying abreast of digital trends will keep you a little ahead of the curve. While several digital trends are emerging, in this article we explore 6 trends. For optimization, we explore zero-trust cybersecurity and Anything-as-a-Service (XaaS); for scaling up, we explore cloud computing and platform engineering; and for pioneering, we look at adaptive artificial intelligence (AI) and the metaverse.
Zero-Trust Cyber Security
In early 2022, the US government released the “zero-trust” cybersecurity strategy memorandum, which sets out the principles and guidelines for how organizations can protect themselves against cybersecurity risks. Zero-trust cybersecurity allows your organization to optimize performance by significantly minimizing cybersecurity risk. According to PwC, organizations will need to scrutinize and adapt every part of their infrastructure to implement zero-trust principles and guidelines. [2] The zero-trust strategy includes five pillars: identity, devices, networks, applications and data. Each of these pillars must be aligned with the zero trust key principle of “trust no one” and verified in multiple ways at every step. Organizations can derive several benefits from zero-trust cybersecurity, including greater operational resiliency, lower costs associated with cybersecurity breaches, more robust compliance, better user experience, and increased reliability of controls that mitigate risk.
XaaS
All-as-a-Service is an evolving trend where any digital tool, service and/or product can be delivered digitally to customers as a service via the cloud. XaaS increases efficiency by helping organizations cut costs by eliminating the need to buy and build software, hardware, network security, infrastructure, and develop and host their digital tools and products on local servers. Organizations can buy what and when they need such services from other providers and pay as they go. XaaS enables organizations to transform faster because they are no longer tied to expensive and quickly outdated technologies, but can quickly switch and experiment with new applications to meet customer needs. According to Deloitte, organizations that use XaaS increase their competitive advantage because they increase and democratize their innovation capacity. [3]
Cloud Computing Platforms
When it comes to scalability, cloud computing is the ultimate enabler. According to Gartner, by 2027, more than 50% of enterprises will use cloud computing platforms. [1] Cloud computing platforms enable organizations to pre-purchase integrated and composable technology products and solutions that enable cost reduction and scaling. Previously, organizations purchased individual à la carte cloud services and had to optimize their integration internally. In addition, cloud computing platforms provide customizable solutions that organizations can further tailor to their specific project needs, accelerating scale, driving innovation and reducing costs.
Platform Engineering teams
More and more organizations are developing platform engineering teams that take the complexity out of back-end systems by making applications and capabilities ready to use and available to the front-end user teams. According to Gartner, by 2026, more than 80% will establish such platform engineering teams to facilitate the development and use of digital capabilities and tools by the broader enterprise. [1] Such platform engineering teams can develop reusable parts, developer tools, and self-service developer portals, which to some extent enable the end users to use the technology themselves, eliminating waiting and over-reliance on back-end IT teams with backlogs. usually overcrowded with competing priorities.
Adaptive Artificial Intelligence
Adaptive AI capabilities can be quite powerful as they enable the organization to harness the power of AI in the context of the organization’s needs. For a learning organization, adaptive AI can create truly personalized content for each student and deploy it on the spot for each student to support or accelerate their learning progress. AI observes and records the behavior of its users and adjusts it on the spot to meet specific user needs as they arise. As a result, adaptable AI underscores the need for clean and usable data, helps save costs, and shortens time to market.
The Metaverse
The metaverse is a set of technologies that enable people to communicate, learn, connect and transact in a digital universe. According to Gartner, by 2027, 40% of organizations worldwide will use some version of the metaverse in their engagement with employees and customers. [1] The metaverse can help you strengthen your brand, accelerate and simplify learning, improve innovation, cut costs, and grow revenue. Leveraging the metaverse allows you to extend your transformation efforts by allowing you to field-test, iterate, and improve ideas, all in the metaverse environment before deploying them in the real world.
Conclusion
Keeping up with changes is difficult. As a leader focused on transforming your organization, you also need to stay on top of key digital trends. Doing this will allow you and your team to evaluate your course and examine where you need to pivot next to optimize the results of your organizational performance.
References:
[1] Top Strategic Technology Trends 2023