It’s become customary for technology manufacturers and even more so for analysts and consultants to begin the year with voicing their predictions about the direction business technology market will take. At Digital Mind we certainly have our own vision of how this year is going to unfold, so here is our resident expert, Digital Mind CEO Rinalds Sluckis with his Business technology trends for 2017.
GLOBAL
It’s quite easy to come up with a short summary of predictions, as Gartner, Forrester, IDC, IBM, OpenText and many more of the giants all expect a very similar scenario. Forbes have extended their predictions to multiple articles here, here and here. Buzzwords, numbers, opportunities and threats in these publications are very similar. I also find that I’m in agreement with most of them.
So here is what I expect to happen in a nutshell:
- Manufacturers will continue to develop the capabilities of artificial intelligence(AI) and machine learning, which will lead to more robust autonomous devices, smart assistants and robots.
- On the foundations of blockchain technology, multiple practical solutions will be introduced and widely accepted in so called traditional industries, i.e. financial services and logistics. Just google “banks test blockchain” to see how many pilot projects and experiments with blockchain have already been done by banking industry lately.
- Information security. Neither the sexiest, nor the latest of topics, yet one that continues to grow in complexity and demand. Seeing sudden spike in interest after the latest presidential elections in U.S., conversations about information security is no longer just the favorite pastime of geeks, but a frequently discussed topic in the executive corner offices.
- All the devices in the world will join hands, communicate with each other, think and act autonomously. I believe something like this is bound to become a reality very soon and Internet of Things (IoT) or Internet of Everything (IoE) will finally deliver something more impressive than an app controlled coffee maker and a ransomware infected TV. Surely?!
This and other more specific technology, as well as the ongoing changes in ways consumers act and consume information, will necessitate much wider spectre of competencies and skill from both IT and marketing leaders. Organizations will be even more exposed to the undeniable need to undergo a digital transformation which will require both a significant change in the way they approach their business and a growing stack of technical skills. IDC predicts that 7 out of 10 Global500 companies will have dedicated digital transformation and innovation departments by the end of 2017, and that significant portion of IT and marketing leaders will lose their jobs as they will lack the necessary combination skills and results.
BALTICS
Returning back to Earth – what do I see as the main technology related topics of conversation in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania? There might be some hyper-local differences, but in general they should be these:
- Increased number of IT systems will be purchased by governments as the latest portion of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) millions will become available. This should keep everyone in the software development business busy for the next 3 years. It is quite possible that the amount of projects and lack of qualified workforce will increase the average salary in the IT industry significantly more than the 6.2% that Fontes research is predicting for the Latvian market. (1)
- Organizations of all sizes will be forced to review the way they manage personal data of their customers and employees. Compliance with the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that will become fully enforceable on May 2018 and bring along significant fines for offenders, will require significant investments in both internal business processes and technology. Multiple organizations have already been hard at work at solving this for quite some time, as total compliance to GDPR can take up to 20 months to achieve for larger companies.
- Based on recent conversations with companies in multiple industries, I’d like to predict that business data analytics (business analytics, information analytics) – a topic that’s already become somewhat commoditized in the Western Europe and USA – will grow in importance for industries beyond FinTech and banking, that are already utilizing it. The availability of BA technology and increase in awareness and knowledge within organizations will enable more of them to use data and not gut feeling to make business decisions.
Ar Digital Mind we are carefully monitoring these trends and the latest technology, especially focusing on the Baltic Sea region. Our plan and ambition for 2017 is to expand our business by adding an office in Vilnius, Lithuania to our already successful Latvian and Estonian operations. We also plan to improve and expand our Digital strategy and Transformation service and to add CRM solutions to our technology stack.
Let’s have a successful and fulfilling year together!
