With technology that knows the overall direction of travel, we just don’t know when we’ll actually get there. Image: Getty Images/Creative paper boat
Everyone thinks of technology as a fast-paced industry, and that’s true in many ways.
Sure, there’s an area of the tech industry that’s all about the ‘fast-moving and disruptive’ types of people who race to create a minimally viable product and talk about things like ‘NFT’ and ‘Web 3’.
But there are also other areas where the slow accumulation of layers of technology means that while older tools may be overtaken by newer innovations, they are not always forgotten (like those fax machines).
All of this, along with the risk inherent in any prediction effort these days, means that coming up with a set of tech trends for next year can be a bit of a challenge. However, we talked to analysts, gathered data, and used the expertise of the ZDNET team to create this month’s special report that aims to arm you with at least one direction. A rough guide to what the technology will look like in 2023.
And there are a few larger trends that we can reasonably be sure of.
Developers, the cloud, and more
The need for tech workers isn’t going away, even if the tech giants have stopped hiring for the time being. That’s because the past few years have demonstrated the benefits of spending on technology. Whether it brings new ways to connect with (and sell to) customers or empowers employees to work together, spending on technology is now seen by bosses as an investment that pays off. really.
For many organizations, dealing with the past few years has meant a rapid acceleration in their use and appreciation of technology. That’s why many analysts expect spending to pick up, even if 2023 looks set to be a tough year for the overall economy. As a result, demand for developers and especially tech security professionals will remain strong.
Looking at some specific technologies, it is clear that the transition to cloud computing will continue, a long-term trend that shows no signs of slowing down. What could change is that companies will become more analytical about their cloud usage, which accounts for an increasingly large share of their spending.
Finding ways to make using the cloud more efficient and cost-effective could be key considerations next year — although IT budgets will increase, that doesn’t mean there’s room for waste. fee. Indeed, it’s heartening to see that sustainability is once again on the agenda for many tech organizations, something we’ll likely see more of in 2023 and beyond.
Those three trends
There are three major consumer technology trends I’m interested in looking at in 2023, and here are some of the most exciting innovations to be found. Small strides in 2023 can create big buzz in the years that follow.
foldable smartphone has been around for a while, but is still a small part of the overall market. I still like the idea of being able to fold a larger screen and carry it around, and there are some interesting use cases for foldable phones — the question is whether consumers will be persuade to spend cash or not.
The second biggest trend is around virtual reality, augmented reality and metaverse. Big tech has been spending big here, and there is some argument that the underlying technology is reaching a tipping point, even as broader, multi-dimensional business models are, at best, still in decline. change. Headphone technologies are starting to come together and the software is getting easier to use. But the biggest problem is that consumer interest and trust remains low, if only because sci-fi writers have long since gotten there with their outdated views on the future of headphones. Building consumer trust and explaining why people might want to participate is as high a priority as the technology itself.
One technological trend that is perhaps closer, although we cannot see it, is ambient computing. The concept has been around for decades: the idea is that we don’t need to carry technology around because intelligence is integrated into the world around us, from smart speakers to smart homes. Ambient computing is designed to disappear into our surroundings — which is probably why this trend has remained invisible to many, at least for now.
In some ways, long-term prediction is easier than short-term prediction, especially when it comes to technology. We know the overall direction of the movement, we just don’t know when we’ll actually get there. Some of the breakthroughs were five years ago for decades — perhaps 2023 will be the year some of the breakthroughs really start to appear.
