Three Technology Leader Trends for 2022
Technology priorities we are seeing in 2022
As technology leaders, we are responsible for the technology that will enable our clients and business to thrive. Gauging from my own experience, listening to colleagues and reading some prominent tech lead insights I’ve listed three trends that are a high priority for technology leaders right now.
1. People
Changes to how we work brought on by recent challenges around the globe, acceleration of digital transformation initiatives to keep up with a shift in customer expectations, and the desire for flexible hybrid working is stretching the workforce and increasing the demand for talent.
The challenge of getting good technology people is not a new one, finding and retaining skilled technology people as organisations look to invest in technology change initiatives is difficult. Couple this with the need to leverage emerging technologies in order to capitalise on new and unique opportunities, and ultimately stay ahead of the competition. Unlocking this potential through your people is a fine balancing act of getting the most out of existing skills and finding the time to invest in new skills.
Attracting and retaining technology people is not just about money. Technology people want a challenge, to make a difference and o learn from the best. Here are some great approaches that can help with building up your technology team function.
- Hiring great people will attract and retain super talent. For example, individuals who are well known in their field may help build your team (if you can afford them).
- Give your developers the best and most interesting work. This is easier said than done, especially in busy IT environments in established businesses. I believe the future of technology is with the masses, as more of the workforce is made up of digital natives. This new generation will thrive if given access to the right tools. By moving some of the tasks traditionally done by IT departs we can free up IT teams to focus on more complex challenges.
- Creating a great culture is imperative to a technology team. People need to be empowered to do their job, feel psychologically safe and provide top-class tools and equipment. While these ideas are not new, some may argue that it is not easy to achieve. What is important is to ensure “quality of experience” is a success metric you should be aiming to improve.
2. Cyber Security
Cyber security is a huge challenge, we are seeing daily announcements of breaches and attacks, only last week the NHS was hit. Attackers are getting more and more sophisticated, some have big budgets, and some are state-sponsored. The fact remains as a business it is not a matter of IF, but when you will suffer from an attack, breach or outage. Risk can be mitigated, but there is no guarantee of 100% protection.
Ransomware infections are particularly prevalent and are increasing. Any cyber attack will affect a business's operations and can also have reputational damage. Having a response plan is paramount to mitigating the risk of attack and also to ensuring if an infection occurs disruption is minimised.
Insurance is a common way to prepare for a ransomware attack, increasingly paying a ransom can be the cheapest option. Anecdotally I’ve heard of increasing cyber security insurance premiums due to the previous lack of understanding of the risk and the increased security challenges and cost of coming back from an attack. According to an Info-Tech Research Group survey, only a small number of companies are even budgeting to pay ransoms or even aware of decryption tools that may be freely available.
Ownership of cyber security has traditionally been an IT responsibility but this needs to change. We are in an era of threat where our precious data is being targetted and malicious actors are trying to hold our systems to ransom.
Everyone and every business are reliant, to some degree, on systems and their data that security needs to be built in from the ground up. Importantly, cyber security is a challenge that everyone should be aware of and responsible for.
3. Data
Data plays a crucial role in our businesses. As we see huge amounts of data being produced on a daily basis this can be harnessed to create new insights that can supercharge your business. To have the ability to understand and parse your data is a competitive advantage. If data has not been considered during the planning of your technology strategy then your competitors are probably going to outperform you in the future.
Access to computing power is cheaper and easier than ever, and data modelling and AI technology can be harnessed to create novel ideas and give your people insights that could transform a business.
Data is going to become a commodity that is available across your business, not just to the management, but to those people working on the ground delivering to clients. Empowering and skilling your people to access and understand your data will result in a thriving and innovative organisation.
Whilst we will still require advanced skills to produce models, manipulate, transform and deeply understand information, we can still look to provide understanding and tooling across the business and not just in technology departments.
People, data and cyber security are certainly a priority for technology leaders, they are not the only priorities. As technologists, we are well placed to move our organisations forward, these trends should be on your agenda.
