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The Five Tech Trends That Will Dominate Business in 2022

January 20, 2022

Pressure from the global COVID pandemic has forced businesses to embrace bold changes. Currently, digital transformation has a significant impact on organisations. A recent forecast shows the digital transformation market will grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 19.1% by 2026.

“Data is the backbone of digital transformation. As organisations manage larger and larger data sets, the chances of security breaches and losses increase. However, digital transformation will continue as the benefits outweigh the risks,” says Business Analyst at LAWtrust, Riaan de Villiers.

According to research conducted by the Finances Online Reviews for Business Research Centre, 27% of the companies surveyed felt that implementing digital transformation initiatives is a matter of survival in their respective industries.

Growing inclination to digital transformation technologies could also mean a rise in cybersecurity concerns. Therefore, businesses should adapt to these emerging technological trends while taking safety measures.

Here are five emerging tech trends businesses should watch for in 2022

Cybersecurity

The pandemic has been a boon for cybercriminals. The rapid adoption of technology in every area of our lives has made us vulnerable on more than one front: phishers, hackers, scammers, and extortionists are all lurking about, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Ransomware attacks are the number one threat for many organisations. According to PwC, 61% of tech executives predict an increase in these attacks in 2022. Furthermore, in the first quarter of 2021alone, ransomware attacks tripled. As a result, cybersecurity is now more important than ever.

Companies who invest in cybersecurity tools and strategies will not only save money that can be utilised for other business projects, but they will also avoid paying out large sums of money in retaliation after an assault.

Digital Signing

Modern businesses are embracing new technology systems that allow them to decentralise operations. Digital signatures are essential to that work-from-anywhere toolbox. According to DocuSign’s 2021 research, 95% of organisations currently use or plan to adopt digital signatures. Two-thirds have adopted this technology during the pandemic.

In addition, Market Watch estimates that The global Digital Signature Market size will grow from 1.1 Billion dollars in 2019 to 7.99 Billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 28.9% in the forecast period, clearly showing that this trend is here to stay.

With digital signatures becoming commonplace, organisations should extend their usability to gain a competitive advantage. For example, adding more tools to your signature stack will provide a better customer and staff experience. Use integrations to fill in agreement details automatically rather than electronic signatures. To avoid redundancy, use templates instead of generating contracts from scratch.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence is becoming a critical part of many organisations’ operations, increasing the demand for expertise. 2022 could be an important year for AI as companies rely on it to handle data; many experts predict profits, cost-effectiveness, and efficiency gains.

Beyond operations, AI will also prove essential in the fight against cybercrime thanks to its ability to detect patterns and predict behaviours.

Internet of Things (IoT)

IoT is another developing trend that businesses should watch. With so many companies adjusting to working remotely, having internet connectivity is becoming increasingly important. It could improve customer service. As the number of devices connected to corporate networks grows, the need to carefully manage identities will grow.

Trust and identities

Cybersecurity is an important issue, and top management is becoming more sensitive to the rise of cybercrime. Therefore, mitigating risk must be a top priority for board members. To protect organisations, innovative new approaches to identity management such as the zero-trust model and identity first will probably gain much attention during 2022.

“As more and more enterprises see digital transformation as a critical component to increase competitiveness, cybersecurity remains a concern. Businesses should adapt to these emerging technological trends while taking safety measures. This is the right time to focus on cybersecurity and make it part of your corporate culture,” concludes de Villiers.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Eight Tech Trends to Watch in 2021

January 14, 2021

Technology will first make some buzz before becoming the norm. Here are some of the trends we will likely see in 2021. 2020 was anything but a lull. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in our society and formed many pockets of crises that called for rapid digitalization to deploy quick fixes. With vaccines on the horizon, the world is poised to restart and climb back up, and we rely on technology more than ever to deliver more permanent solutions.

As such, technology will first make their buzz before becoming the norm. Here are some of the technology trends we will likely see in 2021.

“Yes, we can hear you.”

With telecommuting becoming a default in 2020, we saw a rise in demand for seamless experiences in virtual meeting rooms. Many employees will find value in great gear such as high quality headsets and microphones. When you’re wearing pajamas to work, visual presence is not as important. But audio quality must be in top shape as communicability is the anchor of any work-from-home setup.

Podcast-quality mics will be one of the most popular cart items this coming year.

It’s now or never for 5G

Aside from socio-economic inequalities, COVID-19 exposed the oft-ignored fact that Internet connectivity in the Philippines can still be expensive and sometimes disappointing. We’ve relied on the Internet as an aid in educating the children and keeping both public and private sectors from completely shutting down.

Designing a greener future

With this dramatic shift to digital, there will be further push to expand 5G coverage, as well as other modes of connection to more remote places.

Boost in efforts for infodemic management

We’ve been in an infodemic long before COVID-19 and it only turned for the worse in 2020. There is a lot of fear to feed on and the lack of a full picture of the virus only enabled speculation to get blurred in with facts.

Unlike COVID-19, there is no vaccine for fake news, but 2021 is a prime year to introduce more creative efforts to eliminate not only its dissemination, but perhaps its creation and publication.

Improved customer experiences in digital banking

With the accelerated migration to digital finance, we can expect banking systems to opt for more robust security provisions. With open banking shaping up in the Philippines, there is just no room to let fraud and data losses and breaches run with the rise.

Digital banking shows no signs of slowing down. Though many may have found themselves forced into it, there’s no reason to halt its momentum. We’ve yet to meet a person who says they miss queueing or looking at printed passbooks. Moreover, this enabled anyone to venture into e-commerce and small businesses when they needed to.

It’s also important to note that digitization can make banking more accessible to people with disabilities, as well as financially empower people living in rural areas with no banking solutions. Expect financial institutions to roll out more optimized and personalized experiences for their customers.

New wearable in personal air purifiers

Environmentalists have rallied about it for decades but no one predicted that 2020 was the year that humans collectively clamored for clean air. COVID-19 had elicited fear that the very air we breathe in will make us sick.

Personal air purifier necklaces are like magical amulets that clean the air within a certain radius of you. While there’s no proof that these are able to fully remove particles such as coronaviruses, there’s some comfort in knowing that you’re not breathing in dust and other vague pollutants that may be out there. A must-have, at least, for allergy sufferers.

Wireless charging and other simplifications

The smartphones of 2021, aside from having even better cameras, will push to make wired charging a thing of the past. Flip and foldable phones were received well this year, and based on the lineup of new phones for next year, smartphone companies will still be riding this wave.

Sanitizing for sanity

We may be on our way back to being a mobile and outgoing society, but at least now we have all seen Contagion. Our newfound knowledge on fomites compels even the most carefree of us to shine a UV light over high-touch surfaces. Portable UV wands have been popular among parents and immunocompromised people with a need to keep germs to a minimum. And now, many people have adopted this technology in their homes to sanitize incoming objects and we won’t be surprised if it extends to a handbag staple.