10 IT Trends to Watch for in 2021
Here's how the dramatic events of 2020 are likely to shape enterprise IT teams in the coming year, according to analysts from firms like Gartner, IDC, and Forrester.
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2020 has been a year unlike any other.
Twelve months ago, when tech industry analysts and experts made their annual predictions, they were focused on how technologies like cloud computing, artificial intelligence and robotics would likely transform the market. They forecast that demand for tech workers would continue to outpace supply, that data science would continue to be important, and that digital transformation would determine which enterprises were successful and which were not.
They did not predict that a global pandemic would radically change almost every aspect of our work and personal lives.
As the time comes once again to take a guess about what the new year will bring, everyone has become so used to an environment of constant uncertainty that it seems almost laughable to make the attempt at technology forecasts.
On the other, it does seem fairly certain that the coronavirus and its aftermath will continue to have repercussions into 2021 and beyond.
As they make their requisite predictions for 2021, most of the industry analysts are concentrating on the ways that the events of 2020 are likely to affect the foreseeable future. Clearly, the pandemic and the resulting economic downturn had an impact on every business around the globe. And the fact that people are spending so much more time in their homes has made technology more important than ever. It stands to reason then that the businesses best able to take advantage of the opportunities made possible by this new reliance on technology -- and overcome its challenges -- are those most likely to experience success in today's radically different world.
With that in mind, the following slides highlight 10 trends that analysts from firms like Gartner, IDC, and Forrester say are likely to play a major role in enterprise IT in 2021.
Enterprises have been engaged in the process of digital transformation for several years, but in 2020, digital transformation accelerated more than anyone was predicting. The need to do more business online forced organizations to adopt digital models and processes much more quickly than planned.
Many companies have shifted money from other initiatives to digital transformation efforts in order to keep up with this trend. According to IDC, "Despite a global pandemic, direct digital transformation (DX) investment is still growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.5% from 2020 to 2023 and is expected to approach $6.8 trillion as companies build on existing strategies and investments, becoming digital-at-scale future enterprises."
It added, "By 2022, 70% of all organizations will have accelerated use of digital technologies, transforming existing business processes to drive customer engagement, employee productivity, and business resiliency."
While the pandemic caused some organizations to scale back their artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) plans, others accelerated their efforts. With the rise in ecommerce, intelligent bots that can suggest purchases have become more important than ever. With the rise in remote work, bots that can automate some repetitive activities also seemed like a wise investment. And with the rise in uncertainty, AI projects that can glean insights from data seem like a smart move.
IDC points to "intelligence everywhere" as one of the 12 biggest drivers for IT in 2021. In the same report, it predicts, "By 2023, driven by the goal to embed intelligence in products and services, one quarter of G2000 companies will acquire at least one AI software start-up to ensure ownership of differentiated skills and IP."
For years, the race to the cloud has caused organizations to adopt more centralized computing models. Now the pendulum is swinging the other way.
With workers more dispersed, edge computing is on the rise. Moving compute and storage to the edge of the network can speed up performance for some tasks, as well as improving resiliency, which is currently on just about every IT manager's mind. According to IDC, "Through 2023, reactions to changed workforce and operations practices during the pandemic will be the dominant accelerators for 80% of edge-driven investments and business model changes in most industries."
It adds, "The number of new operational processes deployed on edge infrastructure will grow from less than 20% today to over 90% in 2024 as digital engineering accelerates IT/OT convergence."
Forrester agrees. "Edge is the new cloud," it says. "In 2021, we will see new business models emerge that facilitate the deployment of edge, efforts by cloud platforms to compete, and AI and 5G facilitating the expansion of edge use cases. All of this new business and investment will see edge eat into public cloud growth."
When organizations adopted remote work models overnight, CIOs came under a lot of pressure to support this new way of working. Many succeeded, setting themselves up for expanded roles within their organizations. Forrester notes, "Interviews with leading CIOs found that they are collaborating more across organizations, objectives, and budgets, extending IT-business partnerships into enterprise-level shared accountability."
In the coming year, those CIOs are likely to have even more opportunities -- and responsibilities. According to Gartner, "By 2024, 25% of traditional large-enterprise CIOs will be held accountable for digital business operational results, effectively becoming 'COO by proxy.'"
"COVID-19 changes leadership and hiring practices forever," Forrester says. "In 2021, at least 21% of US information workers will work primarily from home, compared with 7% in 2019. Some 47% of North American managers surveyed during the pandemic anticipate a permanently higher rate of full-time remote employees, and 53% of employees say they want to work from home more often even after the pandemic."
That change has an obvious impact on organizations. Many are now increasing their budgets for enabling remote and hybrid workstyles. In fact, IDC predicts that "60% of enterprises will invest heavily in digitalizing employee experience in 2021, transforming the relationship between employers and employees."
In a separate report, it adds, "By 2023, 75% of G2000 companies will commit to providing technical parity to a workforce that is hybrid by design rather than by circumstance, enabling them to work together separately and in real time."
The spring spike in coronavirus cases also led to a spike in cybercrime. "2020 was not the year security and risk leaders wanted or expected," writes Forrester. "2021 will not see things return to normal -- yet." Cybersecurity managers should anticipate that corporate networks will continue to see a lot of attacks, including many that seek to take advantage of any weak points in defenses resulting from remote work.
In addition, some analysts believe organizations are also likely to experience more attacks from their own employees. Forrester predicts that in 2021 "33% of data breaches will be caused by insider incidents, up from 25% today."
As cyberattacks increase, governments are doubling down on their efforts to require organizations to keep data safe. Some analysts seem more laws on the horizon. For example, Forrester writes, "We predict that in 2021, regulatory and legal activity regarding employee privacy will double."
In response, enterprises will be looking for ways that technology can help them comply with these new regulatory burdens. Gartner points to "privacy-enhancing computation" as one of the top strategic technology trends for 2021. It says, "This trend enables organizations to collaborate on research securely across regions and with competitors without sacrificing confidentiality. This approach is designed specifically for the increasing need to share data while maintaining privacy or security."
You've heard a lot about the Internet of Things, but Gartner believes that the Internet is expanding out from things into actions. For example, fleets are using telematics to track driver behavior, and companies are using sensors to track if employees are washing their hands to combat the coronavirus. Gartner calls this new type of connected data the "Internet of Behaviors," or IoB. The firm explains, "The IoB is about using data to change behaviors," and it predicts an uptick in this type of monitoring in 2021.
However, it notes that this new type of tracking has a lot of privacy and ethical implications, which could put a damper on the growth of the IoB.
Gartner defines hyperautomation as "the idea that anything that can be automated in an organization should be automated." And it predicts that hyperautomation will be a major trend next year.
Similarly, IDC forecasts, "By 2022, 45% of repetitive work tasks in large enterprises will be automated and/or augmented by using 'digital coworkers' (powered by AI, robotics, and IPA), furthering human-machine collaboration."
Forrester also anticipates more collaboration between people and bots. "We forecast that by the end of 2021, one out of every four remote workers will be supported by new forms of automation, either directly or indirectly," it says.
While many of the technological changes that have resulted from the pandemic have been positive in terms of technological advancement, the resulting innovations has come at a price. In many cases, the rush to get new solutions working has led IT teams to cut some corners. And eventually, they will need to deal with the consequences of those choices.
IDC forecasts, "Through 2023, coping with technical debt accumulated during the pandemic will shadow 70% of CIOs, causing financial stress, inertial drag on IT agility, and 'forced march' migrations to the cloud."
Smart IT leaders will find a way to capitalize on current trends while also dealing with the backlog of technical debt they incurred in 2020.
Check out other InformationWeek slideshows here.
While many of the technological changes that have resulted from the pandemic have been positive in terms of technological advancement, the resulting innovations has come at a price. In many cases, the rush to get new solutions working has led IT teams to cut some corners. And eventually, they will need to deal with the consequences of those choices.
IDC forecasts, "Through 2023, coping with technical debt accumulated during the pandemic will shadow 70% of CIOs, causing financial stress, inertial drag on IT agility, and 'forced march' migrations to the cloud."
Smart IT leaders will find a way to capitalize on current trends while also dealing with the backlog of technical debt they incurred in 2020.
Check out other InformationWeek slideshows here.
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