ACCELERATION IN DEVELOPMENT OF VIRTUAL WORKSPACES

According to Gartner, global spending on information technology is forecast to increase by about 5 % to $4.6 trillion next year as businesses accelerate the pace of digital transformation. One of the major technology trends in 2023 and beyond include increased reliance on digital identities. Most users will manage their own credentials for digital payments, health applications and more in encrypted digital wallets. This will gain prominence for blockchain users to guarantee more secure transactions between buyers and sellers. Virtual workspaces will become more common as the work of employees from multiple geographic locations increasingly overlaps. Developments in virtual technology are expected to transform digital employee experience starting this year onwards. Industry experts are also expecting a surge in automation spending as companies look to prioritise cost efficiency and driving growth by automating mundane tasks.

As companies increasingly rely on AI technology, developments in ethical and responsible AI are expecting to become more critical than ever before. This includes devising an international framework for governing AI to mitigate potential risks and misuse.

Organisational design and change management will remain a top priority. A survey by Gartner showed that employees are growing resistant to change. With digital transformation, economic uncertainty and rapid changes across multiple fronts, employees have experienced change fatigue. Therefore, leaders must prioritise change management by helping employees navigate and mitigate the impact of change on their work and

Key Takeaways

l A major technology trend in 2023 and beyond is increased reliance on digital identities.

l Most users will manage their own credentials for digital payments, health applications and more in encrypted digital wallets.

l Organisational design and change management will remain a top priority.

l A survey by Gartner showed that employees are growing resistant to change.

l With digital transformation, economic uncertainty and rapid changes across multiple fronts, employees have experienced change fatigue.

well-being. Additionally, leader and manager effectiveness will become critical as leadership becomes more challenging in today’s hybrid workforce. Today’s managers are expected to be more empathetic, adaptive, and authentic. Companies will need to prioritise workforce planning and anticipate future talent. In the past two years, the talent gap has been an increasing concern for businesses and current strategies to combat the disruptive landscape did not yield the desired results. Therefore, a new approach that can prioritise predicting future skills needs and filing future gaps will be critical to the future of work.

Creating a position primarily dedicated to driving sustainability efforts and training employees on climate change actions is of pivotal importance. One of the anticipated trends in 2023 is ESG becoming core to business strategy, especially in light of conscious consumerism. Therefore, creating a leadership position that can cater to this is crucial.

In addition, using technology to track and mitigate the effect of climate change is essential to the climate strategy. For example, some technology companies have created tools to help consumers track emissions from their cloud and software use. Companies need to leverage technology to make products more climate friendly by optimising design, using more recyclable materials, and promoting circulate economy for electronics.

2023 will see continued developments across transformative technologies including Artificial Intelligence,

AI, the Internet of Things, IoT, blockchain and 5G. As such, optimising IT systems by combining multiple software engineering strategies, design and testing will become a top priority for businesses. This will allow for greater reliability, better decision-making, and protection against risk. Companies will prioritise technologies such as industry cloud platforms and platform engineering to increase the pace of product delivery and boost connectivity. Cloud platforms combined with software including SaaS, laaS and PaaS will allow organisations to adapt to disruptions in their industry more efficiently.

The development of extended reality technologies including the metaverse, AR and VR will be a critical objective for businesses, as they are expected to reinvent how companies engage with their employees and consumers. n