{"id":164716,"date":"2022-07-15T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-15T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=164716"},"modified":"2022-07-15T06:19:16","modified_gmt":"2022-07-15T11:19:16","slug":"5-key-digital-transformation-trends-in-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2022\/07\/5-key-digital-transformation-trends-in-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"5 key digital transformation trends in 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Although the speed of digital transformation seemed to have slowed down across the Caribbean region, it is still happening with impressive growth in IT and ICT investment being projected. We thus highlight five trends that are having an impact on digital transformation in the region and worldwide.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In recent research conducted on the Caribbean region by global &nbsp;IT research firm <a href=\"http:\/\/idc.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">IDC<\/a>, for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.se.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Schneider Electric<\/a>, the following findings were published in an article in <a href=\"https:\/\/newsday.co.tt\/2022\/07\/07\/idc-report-it-investment-to-grow-in-the-caribbean\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trinidad and Tobago Newsday<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>business IT investment (excluding devices) reached a total of USD 709 million in 2021 and is projected to grow by 9% in 2022<\/li><li>between 2021 and 2025, IT investment will have an average annual growth rate of 12.5%<\/li><li>Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) represented 31% of IT investment, and by 2025, is expected to have a compound annual growth rate of 45% and represent 41% of hardware investment.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the IDC findings anticipate considerable growth in IT investment over the next few years, there have also been reports of a slowdown in digital transformation efforts across the region. For example, the Minister for Public Administration in Trinidad and Tobago, Allyson West, highlighted the cost of the digital transformation and delays in the speed of implementation as challenges that were hindering the Government in fully transitioning to a digital economy (Source:&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/newsday.co.tt\/2022\/07\/07\/digitisation-still-possible-despite-challenges\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trinidad and Tobago Newsday<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is likely that these challenges are echoed across the region \u2013 especially if many of the \u2018low-hanging fruit\u2019 initiatives have already been executed, and the more costly, complex and longer-term activities now need to be tackled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having said this, the IDC trends suggest that there will still be considerable investment in IT in the Caribbean region in 2022 and beyond, which arguably, should not be surprising. Thanks to the experience of the past two years, there may be a greater focus by countries, and their private sectors, in particular, on resilience and so be better able to withstand a broad range of internal and external risks and shocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is through that lens that we are highlighting five trends that are having an impact on digital transformation in the Caribbean region and worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1.&nbsp; Greater integration of hybrid work modalities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As was noted in our recent article, <strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3nsgMcg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">5 trends that are shaping today\u2019s workplace and that of the future<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, hybrid work models are here to stay. Moreover, the ad hoc and rushed arrangements that had been initially implemented are being replaced with more cogent and structured arrangements that are being properly integrated into organisations\u2019 operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To that end, and if hybrid work arrangements had not been comprehensively considered in organisations\u2019 digital transformation framework, that has had to change. Hence, and in addition to the requisite policies and guidelines, the IT systems, infrastructure and tools that allow employees to work remotely, in a manner that is not only safe and secure but is also efficient and effective, fosters productivity and organisational confidence, must also be put in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. &nbsp;Increased adoption of cloud technology<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Although cloud technology has been gaining in popularity over the past decade, adoption has been ramping up over the last few years as organisations more fully appreciate its benefits. Key benefits include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Being able to scale up and down the infrastructure or services needed to better meet demand<\/li><li>Securely storing large volumes of data and being able to access it remotely when needed<\/li><li>Enabling organisations and their employees to access data from anywhere in the world at any time, and so to be able to work remotely<\/li><li>Allowing team members to work more efficiently and collaboratively on projects<\/li><li>Reducing the internal IT infrastructural overheads that would need to be maintained, and<\/li><li>Depending on the service provider, securing world-class services and support that an individual organisation would not be able to provide on its own.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3.&nbsp; Data protection and security<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Security, be it network securing, cybersecurity or data\/information security, has been growing in importance as organisations have become more aware of the intensity and pervasiveness of the threats, along with how vulnerable they are to these threats. As a result, more organisations are prepared to invest in security internally and get external expertise and support as needed. However, there have been global reports of the limited availability of security expertise to meet demand; so strategies may be needed to narrow that gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With regard to data protection, much of the attention on this issue is being driven by recent laws to protect the privacy of individuals\u2019 personal data. More importantly, many of these laws are stipulating that data protection should not be an add-on to existing frameworks. Instead, data privacy and protection should be conceptualised and embedded early in the design of projects, and so should be a core consideration going forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4.&nbsp; Greater adoption of blockchain technology<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As an immutable, distributed ledger, there are many benefits and applications of blockchain technology beyond the fintech space. For example, organisations across a broad range of sectors and industries can leverage the technology to manage transactions and contracts, especially in environments where a secure audit trail is essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Further, and as much as organisations may be concerned about the cost and expertise necessary to use blockchain, with Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) becoming more widely available, there is the option to secure the requisite support from third-party providers. Also, it is important to highlight that organisations may also decide to employ \u2018blockchain adjacent\u2019 options, which use some, but not all, of the core features of blockchain technology, but essentially satisfy their needs and imperatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5.&nbsp; More investment in and reliance on artificial intelligence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, although artificial intelligence (AI) still seems far removed from today\u2019s reality, many organisations are already interfacing with AI systems, either through the services that they have purchased and are using internally, or those they have implemented to engage internal and external clients. A popular example of the inroads AI has been making in business is the chatbot, which many organisations are employing to deliver the first stage of their customer support process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, organisations are increasingly relying on AI-powered marketing automation software, which not only processes large volumes of data on consumer habits, behaviour and activity but is also able to more efficiently and effectively create personalised content experiences for each consumer. Essentially, AI is growing in popularity in situations that could benefit from automation to increase productivity and accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Image credit:  John Schnobrich (<a href=\"http:\/\/unsplash.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Unsplash<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Although the speed of digital transformation seemed to have slowed down across the Caribbean region, it is still happening with impressive growth in IT and ICT investment being projected. We thus highlight five trends that are having an impact on digital transformation in the region and worldwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":164717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[71,3,105,38,330,39,262,316,58],"class_list":["post-164716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ict-tech","tag-businesses","tag-cloud-computing","tag-cybercrimecybersecurity","tag-data-protection","tag-digital-transformation","tag-equipment-security","tag-it-security","tag-network-security","tag-teleworking","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/laptop-users-hands-computer-business-John-Schnobrich-Unsplash.jpg?fit=1024%2C736&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2iE1G-GQI","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164716"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164716"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":164729,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164716\/revisions\/164729"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}