The Covid-19 pandemic showed the economy: Digital technologies not only enable companies to arm themselves against crises. To survive the competition, you have to drive digitization forward. A study by the IT service provider Tata Consultancy Services in cooperation with Bitkom Research investigated which technologies companies will use in the future. The survey identified five key IT trends for 2022:
IT Trends 2022: High Demand For Cloud Solutions
In the study, 89 per cent of the companies surveyed stated that they currently use cloud computing. This exceeds the already impressive level of the previous year by a further five percentage points. The few companies that have not yet introduced the technology are currently planning or discussing its use (seven per cent). This means that cloud solutions will also be among the most frequently used technologies companies in the coming year and are one of the prominent IT trends.
Businesses Make Decisions Using Big Data And Business Analytics
The importance of big data is also increasing. Every second company now uses big data and analytics (51 per cent) to make data-based decisions. Meanwhile, another 17 percent of companies are planning to integrate analytics methods and tools. Another 18 per cent discuss the use. Accordingly, a significant increase is also to be expected here. The study shows a more widespread use among large companies: in fact, three-quarters of large companies already rely on big data and analytics (76 per cent).
IT Trends: IoT Offers The Most Significant Potential For Growth To Date
Although only 29 per cent of companies are currently using the Internet of Things (IoT), another 38 per cent intend or are discussing using the technology in the future. Therefore, the Internet of Things has the most significant growth potential for 2022.
Artificial Intelligence Determines Future Competitiveness
Every second company (54 per cent) considers the use of artificial intelligence a decisive factor for its future competitiveness. Although only every eighth company (13 per cent) uses AI, more than a third (35 per cent) are planning or discussing its use. The growth potential is therefore considered in the medium to long term. This is shown not least by the five-year comparison: the number of companies using AI has doubled since 2017.
3D Printing Shows Cross-Industry Potential
Companies have also discovered additive manufacturing for themselves: Across all industries, three out of ten respondents (29 per cent) rely on 3D printing, and another 27 per cent are planning or discussing its use. This means that more than every second company will use the technology in the future. So far, the automotive industry and mechanical and plant engineering have relied on 3D printing. But the technology is also often used in chemical and pharmaceutical companies. In this way, medication can be produced as needed, or dosages can be highly individualised to meet unique patient needs.
The use of blockchain, on the other hand, is stagnating. The technology enables online transactions that cannot be manipulated. However, as in the previous year, it is only used by 7 percent of companies and is still in the digital niche. The technology is mainly used in large companies, of which 21 per cent currently use this technology.
IT Trends 2022: Digitization Is Progressing
The digitization of companies will therefore continue in 2022. But digital technologies alone do not advance a company. “At the same time, consistent change management is required. This allows companies to shape the ongoing change instead of just reacting afterwards actively,” says Dr Kay Müller-Jones, Head of Consulting & Services Integration at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Six out of ten companies (59 per cent) use such methods. In 2017, the value was still 36 per cent – a five-year growth of 23 per cent.
The focus for the companies is on new work, home office and mobile working. Eighty-three per cent of the companies that rely on change management focus on establishing new work structures. After all, the success of integration always depends on the acceptance of the people who use it. Therefore, the expert from TCS adds: “Companies that have not yet dealt with this question run the risk of falling behind.”
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