Gartner’s newest strategic technology trends are in for 2023, and they echo something The Modern Data Company (Modern) has been saying for a while: simply having data isn’t going to create a competitive edge. The list prioritizes optimizing, scaling, and pioneering new technology, with a nod to sustainability. It’s the siren call of a new data era, and Modern is ready.
Optimizing Operations, Tools, and Services Requires a Shift in Thinking
Companies understand that data is valuable, but they often miss the connection between collecting data and putting data into use. Knowing they need to be data-driven is one thing, but knowing how is entirely different.
Gartner outlines three trends in optimization:
- Digital immune system: Combines several software engineering strategies — think observability, automation, and extreme testing — to protect against operational and security risks
- Applied observability: An integrated approach to using observable data across different business functions.
- AI Trust, Risk, and Security management (AI TRiSM): Tools and processes to make AI more trustworthy and explainable
Each of these trends sees companies moving toward a deliberate, orchestrated policy of applying technology across the enterprise. And each of these steps feed into the larger goal of building a truly data-first company capable of making data a competitive advantage.
A digital immune system can help companies become more resilient in the face of complex operational needs. At the same time, applied observability ensures that companies are making decisions based on data from real stakeholder (such the customer) actions rather than pure prediction. As more companies leverage AI and machine learning to power the automation and testing that makes the first two possible, they’ll also need ways to ensure those systems remain explainable.
The foundation for all three of these is a unified data platform — a decision layer that integrates every system within the organization, including legacy systems. Companies should be able to see who is using what data and for what purpose, what dependencies exist, and what governance policies are in place. With a unified platform in place, everything communicates nicely and there are no dark corners hiding weaknesses or loopholes.
Scale Is Not Just an Ideal — It’s a Must-have Capability for Post-pandemic Business
The second theme of Gartner’s predictions is scale. It isn’t a new idea, but with weaknesses in the economy and supply chain exposed during the global disruption of COVID-19, scale is one of the most important capabilities businesses can have.
The three trends in this category are:
- Industry cloud platforms: packaged cloud capabilities for specific industries
- Platform engineering: Reusable self-service tools for accelerated delivery
- Wireless-value realization: Next-generation wireless protocols
Cloud is the obvious path for scalability. Enterprises are moving to the cloud to reduce dependency on rigid on-premises systems and to help control spiraling costs. As a result, platform engineering will continue to fill a gap for companies that need customized solutions to complex software architectures.
We already know that unplanned cloud costs are catching some companies by surprise, and others are growing wary of turning control over to yet another service in the form of system integrators. They’ll need a cloud-first solution to tie all their various tools together, return control to the company itself, and help them see quickly and clearly who is using data and where processing resources are going to help control costs. In addition, a comprehensive platform that builds in reusability will help reduce the burden on IT.
Wireless value realization will put a lot of new end-point devices into an enterprise’s system architecture and will require streamlined connectivity. Between this and cloud platforms, companies run the risk of turning too much control over to their system integrator. With a unified platform like we mentioned above, companies retain control over their ecosystem and streamline the connectivity to make it all work.
Pioneering the Next Generation of Customer Experience Requires Embracing What’s New
Gartner also believes that a reinvigorated focus on what digital-native generations expect from customer experiences will drive innovation. These aspects include:
- Superapps: A composable app, platform, and ecosystem all in one
- Adaptive AI: Models that adjust in real time based on user interaction and feedback
- Metaverse: Extending the physical world into the virtual and vice versa
To leverage these pioneering technologies, companies need a way to first get their technology ecosystem in order. They require consistent access to troves of high-quality data and the ability to add or drop tools as operations demand. Companies will require a connected data ecosystem with the ability to leverage data in real time.
Existing infrastructures are too rigid to support these pioneering trends, but a composable, flexible architecture can help companies integrate superapps and adaptive AI into their ecosystem. In addition, a composable architecture helps ensure smoother customer experiences for customer-facing services in the metaverse by ensuring the right mix of processing power and integration.
And Finally, a Nod to the Sustainability That’s Driving Innovation
One final prediction places sustainable technology at the forefront of digital transformation. This is a framework rather than a single solution, and companies are increasingly aware of how much their success is tied to sustainability efforts.
An integrated data ecosystem governed by a unified data platform can help executives and teams analyze the impact of business decisions and report accurately on sustainability benchmarks. It can drive sustainable technology to achieve its full potential. Since Gartner predicts that a majority of CIOs will have performance metrics tied to sustainability impacts, having an ecosystem that facilitates reporting and decision-making is essential.
Modern’s DataOS Facilitates Gartner’s Technology Predictions by Giving Companies Control
Companies eager to embrace these new technology trends need a unified data platform that ensures all their technology works together without needing to replace the tools they use every day. The Modern Data Company’s DataOS is an operational layer that modernizes even legacy platforms without replacing them and gets up and running with no disruption to operations.
Moving towards optimization, scale, and pioneering technology requires companies to approach data differently. Find out how DataOS can streamline any data ecosystem in any industry and put control back in the hands of the teams and decision-makers who need it most. Download our e-book, Get to the Future Faster Modernize Your Manufacturing Data Architecture Without Ripping and Replacing”, for an example in manufacturing.
