The top 10 IT priorities for 2023

The year 2022 will go down in history as one of the most moving in recent times. It has raised numerous questions that have upended society's relationship with business and politics. Technology is no exception to this upheaval and faces major challenges of its own - from security issues to accountability to growing sustainability and regulatory requirements. Joe Bauley, CTO of VMware, has compiled the most important trends or IT priorities.

1. Even by chance, people become more sustainable: The pressure to improve an organization's environmental sustainability continues to grow. With the acute rise in energy costs, everyone - consumers and businesses - are looking to cut costs. For some consumers, what is the hot water bottle, for companies it is issues such as running data centers on renewable energy. With the upcoming EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), decision makers are beginning to prioritize reducing overall energy consumption and using tools that ensure accuracy and accountability in meeting sustainability goals.
2. Companies are defined by the way they operate: The battle between the proponents of office presence and those of flexible working continues. Regardless of our personal preference, trying to direct employees in one direction or the other will determine a company's IT strategy and thus its future. Business leaders must agree on the next steps, because the company's reputation depends on it.
3. Cloud-first was yesterday, cloud-smart is the order of the day. According to the VMware Multi-Cloud Maturity Index, the cloud has become chaotic and complex for many, which is slowing its development. The most successful organizations will not build their strategy on the cloud, but on developing powerful distributed applications (including edge), as these will drive differentiation in the market. It will then be up to their IT infrastructure and architecture teams to determine which multi-cloud approach will provide them with the capabilities they need to develop and sustain these applications, as well as the customer and employee experience.
4. In search of the ultimate "Metaverse" app: The Metaverse, or some version of it, has been on everyone's trend list for the past decade as big brands promise to deliver a world-changing virtual reality experience. Unfortunately, it still hasn't materialized and people are losing confidence. The potential for revolution would be there, but we have yet to find the critical use case that really captivates and changes people.
5. The end of the super app dream: Instead of the development towards a super app, a stronger fragmentation of the market is taking place. Similar to the rise and fall of many a social network, many users were waiting for the rise of the super app. But Europe is not China, and therefore it is unlikely that a European version of WeChat will catch on. Super apps won't catch on in this country; people want apps that perform certain tasks and do them well. If anything, we will probably see even greater fragmentation in 2023.
6. Using off-the-shelf hardware to overcome supply chain issues: In a world where things change by the hour, waiting more than six months for specialized equipment is not an option. Some companies have already started to get around this problem by buying off-the-shelf hardware that is more readily available and then investing in specialized software to deliver the functionality they need quickly and efficiently. This focus on Software-Defined and Enabled will continue.
7. Blurring boundaries between telecom and cloud providers: Telcos have been building clouds for years, but as the trend toward distributed applications, choice and a highly flexible environment continues, more cloud companies will move into networking, infrastructure and customer site management. The already blurred lines between the two will become even more blurred.
8. AI will be used for better decision making: The use of AI to support more informed decision making will undoubtedly continue to grow. But with increasing regulation and governance, and a better understanding of AI bias, its use will have to be taken with a grain of salt when it comes to when and for what decisions it is used, and - on what data sets those decisions are based. With the release of exciting tools like ChatGPT, AI is also getting more and more into the hands of people who are not techies.
9. Expansion of interaction between man and machine: Robots are leaving factories to interact with humans - with mixed results and much criticism. In 2023, we will take stock of the vast amounts of data collected from human-machine interactions. We are still a long way from full integration of robots and humans, but progress is being made.
10. Focus on transferable technical skills: Rather than focusing on platform- or technology-specific skills and capabilities, there needs to be a greater emphasis on capabilities that are fundamentally transferable between existing and emerging technologies, building on the years of experience we have already gained.

Source: VMware