Tech Trends 2022
Engineer your tech-forward future
Deloitte’s 13th annual Tech Trends report provides insights and inspiration to unlock innovation, build trust, and engineer advantage for your digital journey ahead. We invite you to explore the seven trends.
Data-sharing made easy
New technologies give rise to innovative business models and products by simplifying the mechanics of data-sharing across and between organizations—all while preserving the veil of privacy.
Executive summary
A host of new technologies promise to simplify the mechanics of data-sharing across and between organizations while preserving the veil of privacy. As part of a growing trend, organizations are unlocking more value from their own sensitive data while leveraging enormous volumes of externally sourced data that has traditionally been off limits. This can open up a new arena of data-driven opportunities. Indeed, the ability to share secured data with others within an ecosystem or value chain is giving rise to new business models and products. For example, by pooling clinical data on shared platforms in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers, medical authorities, and drug makers were able to accelerate the development of treatments and vaccines. Moreover, these same data-sharing protocols have helped drug makers, government agencies, hospitals, and pharmacies coordinate and execute expansive vaccination programs that prioritize efficiency and safety, and preserve intellectual property. Read the full trend to learn more.
Cloud goes vertical
Cloud and software vendors now offer vertical-specific solutions that modernize legacy processes and jump start innovation. Deploying them is a process of assembly, thus freeing organizations to focus resources on competitive differentiation.
Executive summary
The center of gravity around digital transformation has shifted from meeting the IT needs of an industry-agnostic organization to meeting the unique strategic and operational needs of each sector and even subsector. Hyperscalers and SaaS vendors are working with global system integrators and clients to provide modularized, vertical-specific business services and accelerators that can be easily adopted and built upon for unique differentiation. As this trend gains momentum, deploying applications will become a process of assembly rather than creation—a shift that could reorder the entire value stack. Business processes will become strategic commodities to be purchased, freeing organizations to focus precious development resources on critical areas of strategy and competitive differentiation. Read the full trend to learn more.
Blockchain: Ready for business
Blockchain and other distributed ledger technology platforms are fundamentally changing the nature of doing business across organizational boundaries and helping many companies reimagine how they make and manage tangible and digital assets.
Executive summary
Trendy cryptocurrencies and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) capture media headlines and the public imagination, but these and other blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) are also making waves in the enterprise. In fact, blockchain and DLT platforms have crossed the disillusionment trough of the hype cycle and are well on their way to driving real productivity. They are fundamentally changing the nature of doing business across organizational boundaries and helping companies reimagine how they make and manage identity, data, brand, provenance, professional certifications, copyrights, and other tangible and digital assets. Emerging technical advancements and regulatory standards, especially in nonpublic networks and platforms, are helping drive enterprise adoption beyond financial services organizations. As enterprises get comfortable with blockchain and DLT, creative use cases are cropping up in many industries, with established industry leaders expanding their portfolios and creating new value streams, while startups dream up exciting new business models. Read the full trend to learn more.
IT, disrupt thyself: Automating at scale
Future-forward IT organizations are modernizing the “IT back office,” moving away from humans reacting to tickets and assignments to a proactive model of self-service and engineered automation.
Executive summary
Faced with creeping technological complexity and higher expectations of stability and availability, some CIOs are radically reengineering their IT organizations. How? By taking a page from the cloud provider’s playbook. They are identifying repetitive, manual processes and applying a combination of engineering, automation, and self-service. The net result is streamlined timelines, accelerated value delivery, and more effective and stable IT across the board. This kind of disruptive automation represents a vast yet underrealized opportunity. Previous technology trends such as NoOps, Zero trust, and DevSecOps, share a common theme—the importance of moving to code across the organization. Migrating away from manual administration to engineering and automation, organizations can manage complex systems more effectively and improve the customer experience through improved availability and resilience. Read the full trend to learn more.
Cyber AI: Real defense
As organizations struggle with security breaches, cyber AI can be a force multiplier, enabling security teams not only to respond faster than cyber attackers can move but also to anticipate these moves and act in advance.
Executive summary
Security teams may soon be overwhelmed by the sheer volume, sophistication, and difficulty of detecting cyberattacks. Enterprise attack surfaces are expanding exponentially. The use of 5G is growing, along with the number of network-connected devices; remote work is gaining ground; and third-party attacks have become increasingly pernicious. It’s time to call for AI backup. Cyber AI can be a force multiplier that enables organizations not only to respond faster than their attackers can move but also to anticipate these moves and act in advance. AI can be expanded beyond established applications, such as using it to accelerate data analysis, identify anomalies, and detect threats. These emerging AI techniques can help human analysts focus on prevention, remediation, and developing a more proactive, resilient security posture. And as AI is adopted across the business, it can also be leveraged to help protect valuable AI resources and combat AI-powered attacks. Read the full trend to learn more.
The tech stack goes physical
The explosion of smart devices and increased automation of physical tasks is extending IT’s remit to include network-connected smart factory equipment, industrial robots, drones, sensor-embedded devices, and countless other business-critical assets.
Executive summary
With the explosion of “smart devices” and the increased automation of physical tasks, IT’s remit is growing again, extending beyond laptops and phones. CIOs must now consider how to onboard, manage, maintain, and secure such business-critical physical assets as smart factory equipment, automated cooking robots, inspection drones, health monitors, and countless others. Because outages could be business- or life-threatening, devices in the evolving physical tech stack require the highest levels of system uptime and resilience. And a fresh approach to device governance and oversight may be needed to help IT manage unfamiliar standards, regulatory bodies, and liability and ethics concerns. Finally, CIOs likely will need to consider how to procure needed technology talent and reskill the current workforce. Read the full trend to learn more.
Field notes from the future
Take a closer look at the horizon next macro forces: quantum, exponential intelligence, and ambient experience. Envision the aspirational future of these forces, grounded in the realities of today.
Executive summary
A bold, technologically sophisticated future awaits—this we know. Yet from our vantage point today, we cannot discern precisely what this bold future looks like, or how we can prosper in it. How can we plan for events that are likely, yet vaguely defined? In “Field notes from the future”, our final chapter of Tech Trends 2022, we examine the trajectories of three technologies that will likely dominate the digital landscape a decade or more from now: quantum, exponential intelligence, and ambient experience. Though currently nascent, each of these technologies has captured the imagination of researchers and the investment dollars of venture capitalists, startups, and enterprises, who all agree: Something interesting will happen, and with diligence and groundwork planning, we can be ready to act when the future finally arrives. Read the full trend to learn more.
Listen
Tanya talks with Scott Buchholz and Mike Bechtel about cyberthreats, charismatic AI, and the other factors that are automating, streamlining, and completely reinventing the world of IT.
Our authors are available to meet with you for a customized presentation. Contact us to learn more. CONTACT US
Opens in new window
Archives Today, business and technology are inextricably linked. And keeping pace with the emerging technology landscape can be difficult for even the most tech-savvy leaders. Deloitte can help. Our technology professionals have deep experience applying technologies to help you achieve your business goals. EXPLORE
Opens in new window
Learn more about Deloitte’s Technology practice
Today, business and technology are inextricably linked. And keeping pace with the emerging technology landscape can be difficult for even the most tech-savvy leaders. Deloitte can help. Our technology professionals have deep experience applying technologies to help you achieve your business goals.
Tech Trends, our annual flagship report in its 13th year of publication, is focused on empowering business and technology leaders to confidently engineer a tech-enabled future.
Opens in new window