Technology Trends for 2023

The world around us has been rapidly changing in 2022. New technologies which may not look close to us will definitely influence our lives in the nearest future. Let’s take a look at the trends which no one will avoid.

Metaverses

Even if you consider a metaverse to be just a new marketing thing with no sense in it, you’ll have to come to terms with the fact that it brings profit.

Being shared virtual 3D environments, metaverses allow you do what you can – and sometimes can’t – in your real life. First of all, metaverse opens you a way to shopping. Analysts agree that 2023 will see metaverses changing our user experience. To achieve the fully immersive experience businesses will use the whole range of advanced technologies AR/VR, AI/ML, IoT and blockchain, digital currency and NFT.

Although hard to imagine now, a metaverse is supposed to help us simulate real-life scenarios like renting real estate, taking trains, driving cars, buying advertising spaces or travelling.

Take for example the gaming industry. Last year 25% of gamers in the USA took part in at least one in-game event. Concerts of Ariana Grande and Charlie Puth brought together millions of gamers. 82% of them not only participated in these events, they also purchased merchandise – either online or offline. Gucci did a great job selling a virtual bag in Roblox for 800 USD – much more expensive than in a brick-and-mortar shop. This means consumers are ready to go shopping in metaverses.

What all analysts do not argue is that by 2026 25% of consumers will spend at least one hour in metaverse each day. One third of businesses will have special goods on sale specially for this new world.

Superapps

Superapps are definitely very useful. It seems that next year they will become even more popular not only for our private use, but also in the corporate world. Gartner predicts that by 2027 50% of the Earth population will use superapps every day.

A superapp is a combination of application, platform and ecosystem. It has its own functions and an environment that allows third party developers create and publish their mini apps.

A superapp can be integrated with other information systems and user accounts (e.g., with data on credit cards) and can be used to pay for all transactions. Imagine an app that reports you what’s in the news in the morning, checks on you later on, orders your lunch, books tickets, chooses a movie for the evening, updates you on your banking balance and reminds of the important meetings.

These apps already exist. One example is a Chinese WeChat messenger which has gone a long way beyond the messaging functionality. WeChat now is a tool for almost everything. If you are in China, of course. Its functions span across shopping, smart home, taxi booking, communicating online with government authorities, using cloud computer package and RDP client and even designing a virtual ID, officially accepted in the country. It also comprises JavaScript application, which uses its tools and uploads data from the indicated sources in the form of web pages.

But these cases usually focus on using superapps in private life. However mobile, in the future they will be actively used on desktop computers. Analysts mention Microsoft Teams and Slack as two good examples. These information systems already consolidate and substitute multiple apps. Next year should bring news on how this concept expands into corporate life.

Artificial intelligence: adaptive and generative

AI has become so much of a common place that we did not even want to include it into the list of trends for the next year. However, each technology develops, AI included. That is why 2023 will demonstrate a new functionality of AI.

First of all, we are talking adaptive AI systems. Their goal is to consistently train models and learn, using incoming data to adapt them to real-life situation. Thus, they enrich the model with what could not have been possible to forecast and use in the preliminary development. And then they learn and learn. This allows using AI in the areas where it is extremely important to quickly react to the changes in the market environment or business goals.

The second type of AI which is set to demonstrate fascinating results in 2023 – a generative AI. Traditional ML algorithms can only process existing data for learning. Without human help they can not create new data. This leads to the fact that they are fully dependent on the human factor. They process only what is uploaded. Contrary to them, generative AI uses neural networks for creating new data – text, images or video. With this generative AI can influence all areas of our life – from architecture and healthcare to the art, music and design.

A growing number of cases with generative AI is good news for marketing professionals. Content, design, creativity – this takes a lot of time for marketing departments. Generative AI can faster create text, graphics, audios and images. This is especially demanded in online advertising when user behaviour requires prompt reaction of tailored advertising message in the internet or in mobile app. Personalized banners, videos and audios will follow us more actively with no assistance from marketing force. Models like DALL-E or ChatGPT will do its job.

Redundancies and lack of resources

Curious controversy about this trend, right? Whereas technology companies massively lay off employees and 100,000 tech experts are already in the streets, analysts and business worry about the lack of sufficient resources.

A recent report from Korn Ferry Institute predicts that by 2030 the tech industry labor-skill shortage will reach 4.3 million (85 million worker short fall for all skills), costing the global economy $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenues.

In 2023 65% businesses will not fully achieve their IT goals due to the shortage of specialists. What to do? To invest in talent acquisition, to educate talent, to cooperate with young professionals and to strengthen corporate culture which will bring best talent to your company.

By the way, in 2024 collaboration solutions and immersive work environments should make unnecessary for employees to stay in the office. See it as another perk of the job at your company.

Confidence in cybersecurity

Cyberattacks will only grow. A number of information security violations will increase thus making this area the hottest topic – just as it was this year. However, 2023 brings news challenges which are connected with our confidence in the systems thought to prevent such attacks. It is also important as new attacks are forecasted to be targeted at IoMT (Internet of Medical Things) systems. You would not want data from your fitness tracker to be stolen, would you?

Since the attacks are now not only targeted at corporate information systems, but at the whole range of technological solutions and applications which are used by businesses and individuals, there will be a necessity to use the whole portfolio of products for maintaining cyber security across all domains. Or you will have to look for a single platform to cover all these tasks. At the moment, the information security landscape looks more like a zoo. In a recent poll by Gartner 78% of security directors admitted using 16 or more cybersecurity tools.

AI brings in additional challenges here as well. Multiple businesses have had at least one incident related to the violation by AI – mostly to privacy issues. Since by 2023 personal data legislation will cover 75% of the global population, we can not overestimate the significance of the tools which safeguard privacy matters.

Sustainablity

The most cited and the most boring trend, some would say. Some would even ask why it is here. However, we all think about the future of our planet and that is what will bring to the light a new domain of IT solutions. Businesses as well as individuals would want to know how they contribute to worsening the state of the Earth. Specialized solutions will appear to calculate carbon footprint and suggest recommendations for decreasing it.

Analysts say by 2027 the market will be full of mobile apps which will calculate in real time our carbon footprint for any of us. By 2024 international standard for carbon footprint of cloud services will be introduced… What’s more?

The future will certainly bring a lot. Whether it is for better or for worse, it is up to us to decide.