Highlights and predictions – HPE leaders look back at 2022 and make some tech predictions

[Dave_Strong]

With another year under our belts, we’re provided with a great opportunity to reflect on the past 12 months and see the trends that have dominated the IT industry in 2022. Digital transformation is far from over, and we saw a phenomenal uptake from organisations questioning how they operate, as well as exploring consumption-based IT and tackling the growing concerns around cyber security.

We asked three of our UKIMEA leaders to reflect on the past year, looking back at how technology has developed and their opinions on the most significant learning areas. We heard from Chief Technology Officers Mohammad Al-Jallad, Marcus Bonner, and Michael Langeveld. These experts are right at the forefront of tech developments, witnessing every trend that shapes our IT landscape.

Mohammad Al-Jallad

CTO & Director in UKIMEA

Micahael Langeveld

Chief Technology Officer, South Africa

Marcus Bonner

Chief Technologist, UK and Ireland

Looking back

All three of our CTOs recognised the shift in gear for digital transformation, with organisations starting to truly understand that each journey is unique and requires a bespoke approach. Michael summed it up, saying “The dust has finally settled on this topic and customers are a lot clearer on what this means for their respective organisations. Data - and insights into their data - is helping shape their digital transformation strategy a lot more now.” Mohammed agreed that many organisations are now accelerating their digital transformation, as well as embracing consumption-based IT.

Marcus acknowledged the challenges that organisations faced as a result of global political instability, staff shortages, inflation and supply chain issues. He recognised that, “While digital transformation remains a goal for many, the immediate difficulties facing many organisations have, in many cases, consumed a lot of focus.” He also highlighted the growing scale of cyber crime, and the increased focus on how we approach it. He noted that, “Cyber crime is estimated at six trillion dollars, which is approximately equivalent to the GDP of Japan, the world’s fourth largest economy.” This means that security is now so important that it’s a concern for all, not just specialist security teams, and will heavily influence the design of systems and advice offered.

Exciting developments

Having himself moved into a different role in 2022, Michael recognised the importance of getting the right people in the right positions. His realisation has been that, “Traditional technology no longer exists as we know it. It is constantly evolving and people transformation in the Information Technology part of the business will be a critical area of focus to help organisations gain maximum return on future IT investments.” With digital transformation causing organisations to take a closer look at what they need to do to be fully digitally progressive, debate has sparked innovative and agile ideas. Harnessing these with the right support and resource will ensure that organisations continue to transform at pace.

Mohammad looked to more innovation in 2023, with expectations of an increased investment in advanced data management and AI platforms, high performance computing as well as industry and community clouds, with a view for sustainable digital transformation. Marcus also picked up on this sustainability and energy-efficiency thread, reporting that, “A few years ago, these subjects didn’t often come up; now they are very much part of the dialogue.” There is now an expectation to see an increase in this area, in terms of visibility and reporting, as well as the potential for suppliers to be included/excluded from bids on the basis of their sustainability posture.

With the cost-of-living crisis hitting the country through 2023, Michael expects many organisations to look for support, guidance, mindshare and collaboration to help them think through a multi-cloud management, integrated into their existing on-premises investments. He recognises that this will help them to make better and more insightful decisions on workload placement and offer value for money.

2023 trends?

Data-first transformation, a heightened focus on cyber security and getting the right people for the right jobs to enhance innovation all appear to be trends leading us into 2023, along with a commitment to make sustainable, energy-efficient choices. It will be interesting to see how developments in AI platforms and high performance computing start to influence organisations, and if the pace of digital transformation continues.