Technologies shaping the future of business in 2022 and beyond

Last year was one of recovery and resilience; it brought about extraordinary shifts in the way we live and work. 

Technology has been an important pillar throughout it all, helping the world to connect and collaborate as it transformed the fundamentals of health care, commerce, education and financial services across the global economy. 

Going into 2021, Dell Technologies predicted that a few key technologies would shape the future of business as organisations strived to become digital at heart. These included hybrid cloud, Edge, 5G, intelligent work solutions and artificial intelligence (AI)/automation technologies — all of which accelerated the pace of digital transformation and brought about opportunities and shifts in the way organisations do business today.

As we head into 2022, we’re living in a “do anything from anywhere” economy enabled by an expanding data ecosystem. It is estimated that 65% of global GDP will be digital this year. For countries across the Middle East, Russia, Africa and Turkey (Merat) region, this influx of data presents both opportunities and challenges as business success will depend on an organisation's capabilities to harness the power of such data. 

With this in mind, let’s look at the technology shifts that will transform businesses in the region:

The Edge will become the new frontier

Edge computing has gained pace with the rise in internet of things (IoT) devices and data proliferation. In fact, use cases for IoT across the region are increasing with the development of numerous mega projects, including smart cities and projects that focus on transport, energy, security and so on. 

As digital transformation accelerates, technology research and consulting company Gartner predicts that about 75% of enterprise-generated data will be created and processed outside a traditional centralised data centre or cloud by 2025. This shift results from the immense explosion of data generated by machines and people, and the demand for immediate access and insights into this data. 

As the world becomes more mobile and the IoT plays an increasingly critical role, the Edge is where businesses will find the greatest opportunity to create new value.

Data is the fuel of the digital economy

In the new data era, simply being digital is no longer a differentiator, so organisations are rethinking their data management strategies.

Fuelled by the escalating growth of data, emerging technologies are ushering in a new era of innovation, where an organisation’s competitive advantage is directly determined by how fast it converts data into insights that drive business outcomes and create new value. 

Today, a business’s forward trajectory is based on its ability to efficiently mine, store and manage data. This will arm the business with more data insights and give it time to focus on creating new value with technology.

Moreover, as the sheer volume, variety and velocity of data continues to grow, we’ll see more organisations creating a data-ready culture and investing in technology to automate and scale.

The security industry is moving towards automation

Regional enterprises and governments are facing cyber threats of greater sophistication and impact on revenue and services.

The 2021 Dell Technologies GDPI study found that globally, 82% of businesses are concerned that their existing data protection measures may not be sufficient to meet future challenges, while 74% have increased exposure to data loss from cyber threats with the growth of employees working from home. 

As a result, the security industry is helping businesses to modernise and automate their recovery and business continuity strategies, pivoting from automated detection to prevention and response, with a focus on applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to speed remediation. 

Beyond 2022

Quantum computing, automotive mobility and digital twins will gain pace and feature among the top trends that will define the technology industry’s focus.

Quantum computing

Dell Technologies expects hybrid computing to take center stage and provide greater access to quantum simulation for a cost-effective and accessible way to get quantum systems into the hands of universities, data science teams and researchers.

Future of mobility

The automotive industry is transforming at several levels. It is fast becoming a data-driven sector for everything from entertainment to safety to major disruptions such as “cars as a service” and automated delivery.

The automotive ecosystem will rapidly shift focus from a mechanical ecosystem to a data and computing industry and will continue its evolution towards digital transformation and deep interaction with IT ecosystems.  

Digital twins

Simply put, this refers to a virtual representation of a physical asset and will be a core driver of Digital Transformation 3.0. It uses real world data to create simulations that can predict how a product or process will perform. This type of data analytics will transform the future of business.

Thanks to all the potential use cases that exist, the digital twin market is projected to grow rapidly within the next few years. The market was valued at $3.1bn in 2020 but is expected to reach $48.2bn by 2026.

These near-term and long-term perspectives are based on the strides we’re making today and, as a technology optimist, I see a world where humans and technology work together to deliver impactful outcomes at an unprecedented speed. 

Driven by a sense of purpose and with a laser focus on harnessing technology to drive progress, 2022 can be a year that defines our digital future.

This article was paid for by Dell Technologies and Intel.