Tech Trends for 2022. Security, Service & Sustainability

Over the past two years, the importance of flexibility and adaptability has been evident to us all, with hybrid working now in the mainstream vocabulary. Malicious cyber-crime has, however, become an even more alarming threat, and balancing security with agility continues to dominate the business agenda.

Against this backdrop, we’ve taken a look at the main transformational ‘tech trends’ that will be occupying IT leaders in 2022.

Cyber Security - Always a Priority

It goes without saying that cyber security remains a priority across the globe, and it’s unlikely that advanced threat protection and security will ever drop out of any priority list! We have always likened the cyber-security challenge to an ‘Arms Race’ between the criminals, IT departments, and the tech companies who continue to carry the burden of keeping everyone safe.

Preventing system outages and costly losses from security incidents will continue to be an obsession this year. Alongside this a focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other automation technologies including more omni-channel customer experiences will be a priority for many. Securing business information and operating systems will see many organisations increase diligence through a zero-trust policy, as they seek to eliminate email / collaboration spoofing and identity theft.

With increased adoption of cloud technologies, hybrid working, and concerns about levels of cybercrime reaching epidemic proportions, many IT leaders will seek external support and guidance from recognised security experts.

Increased Trust in Public Cloud Services

According to Gartner, concerns about public cloud security are declining, with end-user global spending expected to exceed £355 billion in 2022. Many organisations will accelerate cloud deployment by moving specific workloads to public cloud platforms and blending those services with applications in private cloud and datacentre environments. Regional cloud ecosystems, levels of sustainability and carbon-intelligent cloud services are trends that will expand in the next 12 months.

Collaboration, remote access and new digital services that support hybrid working will remain at the forefront of IT leaders’ thinking as the impact of the pandemic continues to serve as a catalyst for innovation.  The immediacy of provisioning and ease of scalability are two reasons why we’re likely to see an acceleration of cloud adoption.

Furthermore, it’s anticipated that many of the most risk-averse organisations will move critical applications to the cloud this year as they look to modernise and protect their infrastructure and operations. The time has arrived when cautious decision makers finally see cloud services as the way to secure, transform and future-proof their IT investment.

Extending Digital Transformation

In common with other economies, administrations and businesses across the Channel Islands, we understand the need for digital inclusion. Extending full fibre connectivity is key to helping an economy thrive and adapt to new flexible working practices, and Sure’s full-fibre roll out in Guernsey is well underway. It’s expected that public sector and private enterprise organisations will seek to further streamline core systems, applications and operating costs - and there will be a demand for more inter-related supplier / partner relationships and managed services as leaders seek to embed flexible business operations.

A Sustainable Reality

For governments and businesses to meet sustainability goals, organisations will have to move away from private data centres and legacy on-premise CPE. McKinsey research highlights that data centres emit large amounts of carbon dioxide each year, and it’s likely that in the future, companies will need to reassess their energy consumption to avoid punitive fines. Private and public cloud service providers, like Sure business, are increasing investment in data centre and cloud services to support sustainable strategies through economies of scale and ongoing investment in R&D. On a wider scale, and by way of example - Microsoft has been researching a large ocean-based data centre off the Orkney Islands. The trial facility used 100% wind and solar energy, and the cool water stopped the equipment from overheating.

As organisations look to control spiralling operating costs and adopt more sustainable working practices, the move to cloud-services and third-party data centres offers a way to do both. Moving everything onto a public cloud platform is simply not viable as some data is considered too sensitive, and hybrid cloud services will continue through 2022 and beyond.

Build for the Future

Driving innovation and enabling business growth can be accelerated by technology, and building a strategy for the future based on a realistic technology roadmap will be a priority for many.

Sure business’s teams cover all aspects of converged technologies, and our cloud, security, connectivity, collaboration, and managed services experts are on hand to help you.