International Data Corporation revealed its worldwide information technology industry predictions for 2022 and beyond. The predictions were published in a new IDC FutureScape report and presented in a live webinar hosted by Rick Villars, group vice president for worldwide research at IDC.

According to IDC, while the disruptive forces unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic continue to shape the global business ecosystem, one important trend remains unchanged: the steady march toward a digital-first world. By 2022, IDC expects more than half the global economy will be based on or influenced by digital, with most products and services utilizing a digital delivery model or requiring digital augmentation to remain competitive. To compete in a digital-first world, organizations will need to prioritize their investments in digital tools to augment physical spaces and assets. As a result, more than half of all information and communications technology (ICT) investment will be linked to digital transformation by 2024.

“Digital is now a permanent yet dynamic fixture in our world, and the IT and communications industries themselves will be among the most transformed in the next few years. CIOs must establish procurement, development and operations teams that align with as-a-service and outcomes-centric technology delivery models, while ICT providers’ primary task is to help enterprises share, use, govern and increase the value of data,” Villars said.

IDC’s FutureScape 2022 research focuses on the social, economic and technology crosswinds that organizations will need to navigate as they pursue their digital transformation goals over the next three to five years. The ability to adapt to these crosswinds and accelerate digital transformation will ultimately determine an organization’s fate in the digital-first economy, according to IDC.

IDC’s Top 10 IT Industry Predictions

1. Bringing digital-first to customers and operations: By 2024, digital-first enterprises will enable empathetic customer experiences and resilient operating models by shifting 70% of all technology and services spending to as-a-service and outcomes-centric models. These investments will be needed to support diverse customer engagement and data-driven operations models.
2. New fundamentals of the cloud: By 2023, 40% of the G2000 will reset cloud selection processes to focus on business outcomes rather than IT requirements, valuing access to service providers’ portfolios from device to edge and from data to ecosystem. Managing, optimizing and securing diverse cloud resources and data sets will pose the most critical IT operational challenges for IT organizations.
3. Governance will become a primary task for IT teams: By 2023, 80% of enterprises will use artificial intelligence-assisted, cloud-linked governance services to manage, optimize and secure dispersed resources and data, but 70% won’t achieve full value due to IT skills mismatches. Virtually all IT organizations see major barriers to their ability to effectively employ governance-focused automation across their enterprises.
4. As-a-service delivery will become pervasive: By 2022, 40% of large enterprises’ IT budgets will be redistributed due to adoption of integrated as-a-service bundles in areas of security, cloud platforms, virtual workspace and connectivity. While the benefits of agility, rapid enhancement and alignment with actual business use are well recognized, IT teams will need to constantly monitor for portfolio inflation.
5. Systemic technology transitions are coming: By 2026, industry leaders facing systemic or mandated transitions in the coming decade will triple IT spend for new environments but struggle to achieve the needed six times gains in IT operational efficiency. IT organizations across many industries are advised to start thinking now about how several systemic changes (i.e., 5G, electric vehicles, blockchain) will influence their organization’s technology plans and priorities.
6. Automate and augment: By 2024, 70% of the G2000 will gain twice as much in terms of meaningful returns on technology investments that augment employee and customer activities compared with ones that automate individual processes. The greatest gains will come from comprehensive efforts that emphasize augmenting the experiences and decision-making activities of customers, patients, students and workers.
7. Data stewardship presents challenges and opportunities: By 2025, regional divergences in data privacy, security and placement/use/disclosure mandates will force 80% of enterprises to restructure their data governance processes built on an autonomic foundation. Successful organizations will use digital sovereignty as a critical spur for new investments in resource/data control planes and target IT automation efforts that reduce trust risks in areas like cybersecurity while also providing a foundation for new customer experiences, employee experiences and remote operations efforts.
8. Rethinking the digital experience: By 2023, 50% of the G2000 will shift half of their new technology hardware/connectivity spending to modernize and reconceptualize in-person experiences for customers and employees in their own locations. Organizations that deliver digitally optimized experiences to work, play and health spaces will establish a long-term advantage in capturing and retaining customer loyalty.
9. Sustainability gets real: By 2025, 60% of the G2000 will have digital sustainability teams tasked with assessing, certifying and coordinating use of business and IT sustainability data and analytic platforms offered by ICT providers. Over the next few years, new tools, data and analysis will make it easier to establish meaningful sustainability goals, but how to meet these business and regulatory objectives will remain a challenge.
10. Data controls will be scrutinized: By 2025, public enterprises’ valuations will be based as much on confidence in data controls for proper/effective use of data as in financial controls, focusing increased spend on data-centric solutions. IT leaders should prioritize selection of technology and services partners based on their ability to address the most important challenges.