IT Trends 2023

IT Trends 2023

We take a look into the IT crystal ball to tell you what to expect in 2023

Work from home – driven by COVID and continuing the trend of the past couple of years, we expect work from home (WFH) to be a permanent fixture of the new Australian workplace. Employees now expect a balance of home and office duties. Equipping staff with the right tools to be productive, while helping them stay in touch with their colleagues is high on the list. Likewise, security concerns will need to be addressed.

Security / Cyber security – no other topic will come close to security for dominating the IT spend of organisations. Ignore this at your peril. There is not a day that goes by without serious hacks making front page news. With technology embedded at every layer of business and life, 2023 is the year of Cyber Security.

Artificial Intelligence – for years AI has promised much but delivered very little to early adopters. We are seeing AI appear literally everywhere – talking to your web visitors, answering questions, even writing blog posts. It isn’t perfect but it is getting very good. You use it every day you search in Google.

Cloud Computing – has been adopted by big companies over the last 5 years and this is the time for SME’s to catch up. Pricing has reduced significantly in the past year and many businesses already have the building blocks using Microsoft 365, SharePoint etc.

Further breakdown of bricks and mortar selling– COVID has driven a boom in online retail sales, and this has greatly reduced foot traffic in physical stores. If you have a B2B or B2C business, it is time to think about taking your business online and getting serious about it.

Decentralised phone systems – traditional phone systems are fixtures of typical office setups but with employees demanding work from home, the need to adapt to a decentralised workforce is high. Microsoft Teams offers excellent communication tools for staff and clients to communicate without the need for expensive phone systems.

Outsourcing – really comes into its own in employment markets where the employment rate is high. It is very hard to attract and retain staff, so companies are already looking to lay off some of their positions to an external provider. The rate that people are changing jobs is accelerating so it is very hard to attract and retain staff. It is getting easier to out-source in conjunction with a good knowledge management system.

5G / Star link – 5G has really come into its own in 2022 and we expect a rapid expansion of 5G around the country. This gives a very viable alternative to fixed line internet, particularly for locations neglected by the roll out of faster NBN services. Star link has also started to gain momentum in Australia – Elon Musk’s sky satellite system is a terrific solution for businesses and home users who are unable to get access to traditional internet delivery solutions.

SEO – be found or go home – Search engine Optimisation needs to be a priority for business marketing in 2023. 80% of new engagements with business start with a Google search, followed by word of mouth. If you can’t be found, you may as well shut shop. Keep in mind that SEO isn’t something that you just “turn on”. An investment in SEO returns value and opportunity many times past the investment.