Digital transformation trends in 2023

Digital Transformation is the process of organisational, economic, social and creative change enabled by the adoption and development of digital technologies. There is no company, public administration or individual citizen that has not been touched by it. By Digital Transformation, therefore, we can mean the knowledge and adoption of new technologies, such as Cloud Computing, Big Data, Internet of Things, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, 5G. Within this perimeter, what will the main trends be, expected by 2023? We did some scouting to establish a list of thematic focuses on which major developments are expected in the coming year. The current scenario sees an ever-deeper integration between our lives and technology: on one hand we have more and more advanced functionalities, on the other hand we share a greater awareness of the implications technology has on our society. The large-scale trends that are emerging will have implications in all areas of technology.

Based on these considerations, we present some food for thought.

From analysis to action: increasingly informed and data-driven decisions

The increasing use of artificial intelligence and machine learning offers the possibility of ever more advanced analysis. The evolution foreseen for 2023 concerns analytics for specific use cases. Data and metadata will therefore increasingly take centre stage. Consequently, it will become essential to implement and promote the effective use of analytics software, capable of using data collected from sensors and security and monitoring devices, to assess what is happening and make decisions in a very short timeframe.

IoT, 75 billion connected devices within three years

According to Statista, there will be around 75 billion connected IoT devices in the world by 2025. The Internet of Things Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano (April 2022) estimates that there will be 110 million active connected objects in Italy, just over 1.8 per inhabitant. Companies, institutions and organisations are equipping themselves with tools capable of collecting information and processing metadata. A network of physical objects equipped with sensors, software and other integrated technologies enables them to connect and exchange data with other devices and systems via the Internet. A trend that will continue unabated in 2023.​

Cybersecurity

A recent survey entitled '2022 Technology Spending Intentions Survey' by US research firm Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) argues that investments in cybersecurity are set to increase to cope with the continued rise in cyber-attacks. Moreover, according to the consulting firm Manage Business, global spending on cyber security will reach $1.5-2 trillion by 2025. A trend also highlighted by Red Hat's Global Tech Outlook, summarised in our article last month on the status of organisations around the world in their digital transformation initiatives. In today's world, where every technological device we use is part of a broader network where different elements are interconnected and interdependent, cybersecurity can no longer be seen as an add-on feature.  

The hybrid cloud

In 2023, companies will start planning for a true hybrid cloud, in which applications run by combining a public and a private cloud. This solution offers a flexible mix of cloud computing services, extending infrastructure and operations in a consistent manner to provide a single operating model that manages application workloads in both environments. However, the skills shortage will continue to be a challenge. Employees with the necessary skills to build serverless and cloud-native infrastructures are in fact very few, and the issue of training and reskilling, in general, is very problematic.

Increased focus on regulations

The technology sector as a whole is being watched more and more closely by legislators in various countries. In the coming months, the focus will shift to the regulation of different use cases with particular reference to data protection, to ensure compliance with local, regional and international laws. Among the bodies most active in regulation is the European Commission. Already in the AI act, part of the Artificial Intelligence strategy, the Commission aims to assign specific risk categories to different AI use cases, defining the first legal framework dedicated to this technology.

More and more hyper-automation

More complex workflows will lead to the creation of composable IT architectures based on data analysis and will increasingly exploit low-code/no-code technologies capable of triggering the development of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. A process called hyper-automation, geared towards business improvement that organisations will use to quickly identify, control and automate as many business and IT processes as possible.