Business
Digital Transformation 2.0: 5 Trends to Know About in 2022
Digital Transformation 2.0: 5 Trends to Know About in 2022
Published by maria gbaf
Posted on January 26, 2022
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by maria gbaf
Posted on January 26, 2022
By Niranjan Ramsunder, Chief Technology Officer, UST
The state of the digital playing field continues to evolve at an extraordinary rate. As industries globally strive to adapt to both the surge in firms adopting hybrid ways of working, and the shifting expectations of consumers that now anticipate a digital-first experience, we are now seeing the next generation of digital transformation.
The dawn of a new year always serves as a prime opportunity to look ahead to what comes next. As our world continues to shift and adapt to ‘new normal’ ways of working and being, there are five key next generation trends on the horizon that are set to be highly influential in 2022.
While numerous industries had made strong headway with evolving digitally, the fundamental way in which our lives all had to change over the last two years with the pandemic, has made many organisations, and their workforces, rethink their priorities. While the focus on customers will always drive change, there is an increasing focus on the ‘associate’ experience.
Alternative lifestyle choices, and a greater emphasis on work/life balance, have been embraced by much of the global workforce during the pandemic. This has bolstered a greater demand for productivity, to use available time as effectively and efficiently as possible. For example, we’ve already seen, and will continue to see, video and vision analytics tools replacing manual inspections in large production lines, and the explosion of no-code tools such as PowerApps are leading to further democratisation of technology use.
Cryptocurrencies have grown in awareness and prominence in recent years; the value of Bitcoin, considered to be the original online-only currency, reached an all-time high in 2021, while more esoteric verification processes such as Non-Fungible tokens (NFTs) also surged in popularity. The adoption of NFTs, considered by some to be “an evolution of fine art collecting” for the modern era, really began to take off in 2021, and is set to leap into the mainstream this year. As more people across all age groups are turning towards the digital world, whether through the use of video conferences or apps to make financial savings and investments, this has empowered the world of alternative investments, now taking off in terms of both value and volume. Trusted experiences driven by these technologies is thus crucial. Of course, closely linked to an upsurge in time spent online is a rise in the need for safe and secure payments – expect this to be a key area of digital innovation in 2022 and beyond.
It’s becoming ever more challenging to live life offline; the rapid uplift in digital’s adoption means that, now, there are numerous less experienced technology users out there who are having to live and work predominantly online. This calls for extensive education when it comes to online security, with these users placed at heightened threat of being cybercrime victims. Educating and empowering this ‘newly digital’ population has now become critical and must be a priority for all organisations this year. The success of a digital transformation project can quickly be stopped in its tracks without the trust and credibility of the new processes by all users. Focus in 2022 will be to enable the ‘less digitally mature’ population, gain trust and confidence in digital processes – driven by pervasive but ‘easy to use’ multi factor authentications and other ways to continue the fight against ransomware and cyber exploitation by cross-border criminals.
The use of AI and Big Data has been pivotal to Industry 4.0 thus far, yet some industries, such as the retail and banking sectors, have been lagging behind the likes of manufacturing and education, which have more rapidly capitalised upon AI’s rich capabilities. For banking, especially, AI’s impact is beginning to move from backend functions like algorithmic high-speed trading to increasing use of seamless omni channel experiences by widening use of contextual AI chatbots which are non-intrusive and easy to use. 2022 will be the year in which AI’s potential is truly realised within these sectors.
We’re living in the era of climate emergency, and with ever-changing global temperatures and biodiversity loss comes the realisation that we all need to play a part in handing a safer earth over to future generations by curbing our negative environmental impact now. Thanks to the rise of IoT technologies and smarter ways of tracking data, the ability to monitor and report on corporate ESG commitments looks set to become a sector itself; emerging Blockchain technologies are destined to be crucial to proving a tangible impact in addressing environmental, social and governance goals.
We have all become increasingly reliant on technology in recent years and the capabilities of digital transformation continue to transform our world. There’s never been a better time to be a ‘technologist’ and, as tech continues to dominate the corporate landscape, we can expect to see more Chief Information Officers make the strategic transition to Chief Executive Officer this year. By harnessing the right technology in the right way, these leaders can continue to deliver both innovation and impact, building profitable, sustainable organisations in the process. This is truly the time for digital transformation to take center stage at scale.
By Niranjan Ramsunder, Chief Technology Officer, UST
The state of the digital playing field continues to evolve at an extraordinary rate. As industries globally strive to adapt to both the surge in firms adopting hybrid ways of working, and the shifting expectations of consumers that now anticipate a digital-first experience, we are now seeing the next generation of digital transformation.
The dawn of a new year always serves as a prime opportunity to look ahead to what comes next. As our world continues to shift and adapt to ‘new normal’ ways of working and being, there are five key next generation trends on the horizon that are set to be highly influential in 2022.
While numerous industries had made strong headway with evolving digitally, the fundamental way in which our lives all had to change over the last two years with the pandemic, has made many organisations, and their workforces, rethink their priorities. While the focus on customers will always drive change, there is an increasing focus on the ‘associate’ experience.
Alternative lifestyle choices, and a greater emphasis on work/life balance, have been embraced by much of the global workforce during the pandemic. This has bolstered a greater demand for productivity, to use available time as effectively and efficiently as possible. For example, we’ve already seen, and will continue to see, video and vision analytics tools replacing manual inspections in large production lines, and the explosion of no-code tools such as PowerApps are leading to further democratisation of technology use.
Cryptocurrencies have grown in awareness and prominence in recent years; the value of Bitcoin, considered to be the original online-only currency, reached an all-time high in 2021, while more esoteric verification processes such as Non-Fungible tokens (NFTs) also surged in popularity. The adoption of NFTs, considered by some to be “an evolution of fine art collecting” for the modern era, really began to take off in 2021, and is set to leap into the mainstream this year. As more people across all age groups are turning towards the digital world, whether through the use of video conferences or apps to make financial savings and investments, this has empowered the world of alternative investments, now taking off in terms of both value and volume. Trusted experiences driven by these technologies is thus crucial. Of course, closely linked to an upsurge in time spent online is a rise in the need for safe and secure payments – expect this to be a key area of digital innovation in 2022 and beyond.
It’s becoming ever more challenging to live life offline; the rapid uplift in digital’s adoption means that, now, there are numerous less experienced technology users out there who are having to live and work predominantly online. This calls for extensive education when it comes to online security, with these users placed at heightened threat of being cybercrime victims. Educating and empowering this ‘newly digital’ population has now become critical and must be a priority for all organisations this year. The success of a digital transformation project can quickly be stopped in its tracks without the trust and credibility of the new processes by all users. Focus in 2022 will be to enable the ‘less digitally mature’ population, gain trust and confidence in digital processes – driven by pervasive but ‘easy to use’ multi factor authentications and other ways to continue the fight against ransomware and cyber exploitation by cross-border criminals.
The use of AI and Big Data has been pivotal to Industry 4.0 thus far, yet some industries, such as the retail and banking sectors, have been lagging behind the likes of manufacturing and education, which have more rapidly capitalised upon AI’s rich capabilities. For banking, especially, AI’s impact is beginning to move from backend functions like algorithmic high-speed trading to increasing use of seamless omni channel experiences by widening use of contextual AI chatbots which are non-intrusive and easy to use. 2022 will be the year in which AI’s potential is truly realised within these sectors.
We’re living in the era of climate emergency, and with ever-changing global temperatures and biodiversity loss comes the realisation that we all need to play a part in handing a safer earth over to future generations by curbing our negative environmental impact now. Thanks to the rise of IoT technologies and smarter ways of tracking data, the ability to monitor and report on corporate ESG commitments looks set to become a sector itself; emerging Blockchain technologies are destined to be crucial to proving a tangible impact in addressing environmental, social and governance goals.
We have all become increasingly reliant on technology in recent years and the capabilities of digital transformation continue to transform our world. There’s never been a better time to be a ‘technologist’ and, as tech continues to dominate the corporate landscape, we can expect to see more Chief Information Officers make the strategic transition to Chief Executive Officer this year. By harnessing the right technology in the right way, these leaders can continue to deliver both innovation and impact, building profitable, sustainable organisations in the process. This is truly the time for digital transformation to take center stage at scale.
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