FEATURE : IT OUTLOOK 2022
Suffice to say , the prediction business has been a tough one over the last two years . Unpredictability and uncertainty have ruled , leaving many CIOs and their IT teams on unsure footing . Industry experts look at the encouraging signs that point upward and onward into 2022 and highlight some key trends that will shape the year ahead , writes Manda Banda .
It ’ s a challenging time for IT leaders helping build businesses back better , with some of their biggest challenges being finding the workers , skills and budget to deal with the workload . Consequently , most organisations side-lined their broader strategic initiatives and goals to stay afloat . They remained in tactical mode to ensure certain basic outcomes : Keep the lights on , pay your people , hold onto your customers , and , at minimum , maintain status quo revenue intake . Bide your time , in other words .
Mark Ackerman , Area VP , Middle East and Africa , ServiceNow , said : “ As we head in to 2022 , we will see which regional organisations will crumble and which will rise because of hybrid work . To ensure success of hybrid work models , companies should focus on the employee experience as much as the customer experience . Those that do will prosper . Those that do not will haemorrhage talent to those that do . Employee experience is about how people navigate the information and solutions they need to be engaged and productive .”
Sandrine Mostafa El Khodry , Vice President – MEA , Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise , said : “ We ’ re looking at sustainable technologies to drive the adoption of IT in the future . With Digital Transformation initiatives taking on speed , agility and connectivity is going to be crucial for businesses to get the most out of their investments . The adoption of Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things will gain momentum as everything ‘ smart ’ will be driven by AI and IoT – from vehicles to homes .”
Kerry Koutsikos , Regional Vice President – MEA , Alteryx , said across all sectors , organisations are grappling with rapid transformation and the need to make smart , actionable decisions . Koutsikos said in 2022 , the pace at which businesses are adapting Digital Transformation initiatives will accelerate further . “ Some of the key trends will include democratisation of data and upskilling ,” he said .
Ihsan Anabtawi , COO and CMO , Microsoft UAE , said the market may have heard of , “ tech intensity ,” a phrase coined by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to describe the culture change where , by default , businesses think in terms of technology and digitisation . Anabtawi said before COVID , the IT industry was already starting to see this approach . “ But economic recovery calls for it more than ever . To IT leaders I say this : build confidence in technology by demonstrating value , win over advocates by showing them potential wins and progress from there ,” he advised .
At tech giant Dell Technologies , Mohammed Amin , Senior Vice President – MERAT , said as companies seem to have finally adapted to the new business models put in place by the pandemic , now is a good time for CIOs to allocate time in further understanding the recent technologies which have proven to support business operations . “ The adoption of newer technologies will define how well a company is able to
Enterprise technology outlook for 2022
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