6 of the Hottest Tech Trends for 2022

Working in the IT field means that you’re consistently on the cutting edge of the latest technological advances. After all, understanding the latest tech trends and how they affect businesses and individuals isn’t just “nice to know” — it’s essential for keeping your own skills and knowledge up to date.

With that in mind, the following are some of the biggest tech trends that IT professionals should be mindful of in 2022. Because while they are worth following now, you can be certain that they will have an even bigger impact in 2023.

1. AI-Backed Cybersecurity

Cyber attacks have increased dramatically over the last several years, with data breaches increasing by 15.1 percent from 2020 to 2021. Hackers are constantly developing new methods to breach even the most sophisticated cybersecurity setups. The rise of remote work has made such attacks more prevalent — and in many cases, easier to accomplish.

Training employees to recognize phishing scams and other threats will always be of value in an increasingly digital working world. But many businesses are actively adopting AI-powered cybersecurity technologies to provide real-time monitoring and protection against digital threats.

The adoption of AI-powered cybersecurity provides real-time prevention, rather than leaving a business to pick up the pieces after a successful attack. When paired with end-to-end encryption, such technology can go a long way in reducing cybersecurity risks.

2. Internet of Behaviors

These days, even individuals not in tech have heard of the Internet of Things (IoT). Building off of the proliferation of connected devices is the Internet of Behaviors (IoB). Essentially, the IoB is designed to collect a wide range of data from all the internet-connected devices that have become so commonplace in day to day life.

This usage data gives the companies that manufacture these products an in-depth look at human behavior, allowing them to better analyze, track and predict what their customers want and need. This helps them better market their products or personalize their services to improve customer relationships.

The potential for the IoB will only increase as customers use more IoT devices and become more comfortable with sharing personal data in return for improved, personalized service. Research shows that the public is becoming more and more accepting of IoT devices, further fueling the potential for IoB-based business practices.

3. Privacy-Enhancing Computation

Research from Gartner estimates that 50 percent of large organizations will be using privacy-enhancing computation by 2025. Privacy-enhancing computation focuses on protecting data while it is being used.

Privacy-enhancing computation ensures that data is securely processed, even when being used in untrusted environments. This can be especially important for maintaining security compliance requirements for businesses that use remote workers, whose personal networks and devices may not be as secure as the company’s own internal systems.

Examples of privacy-enhancing computation include transforming data before it is processed with methods such as homomorphic encryption and secure multiparty computation, or using privacy-aware machine learning to support decentralized processing.

4. Predictive Analytics

As AI improves, so too can the insights gained from analytics. Predictive analytics is poised to completely transform key business operations such as risk management and marketing by drawing on data to make accurate predictions about future events.

As Clay Halton writes for Investopedia, “Predictive analytics help us understand possible future occurrences by analyzing the past. At its core, predictive analytics includes a series of statistical techniques (including machine learning, predictive modeling, and data mining) and uses statistics (both historical and current) to estimate, or predict, future outcomes.”

Quality insights from predictive analytics helps business leaders make decisions with confidence when the “right” choice may not otherwise be obvious. The use of this technology can dramatically reduce risk for just about any type of business activity, which can go a long way in protecting a company’s bottom line.

5. Edge Computing

Cloud computing has entered the mainstream — but while it has greatly streamlined operations for businesses around the world, it isn’t without its drawbacks. Quite often in an IoT ecosystem, latency matters. The ability to get real-time data and insights with minimal latency is a must — even when connectivity to the centralized location is limited.

This is where edge computing comes in. Edge computing is when computations occur closer to the network’s data generators — or at the “edge” — to provide faster and more reliable data processing than is possible with cloud computing.

Consider this use case example from SimpliLearn: “A delay in the machine’s decision-making process due to latency would result in losses for the organization. In such cases, organizations will prefer edge computing because smart devices with computation power are placed on the edge of the network. The device monitors a pre-defined metrics set for tolerance levels, if the metrics are outside of the prescribed tolerance, a warning signal is issued as soon as the machine reaches the failure level, resulting in the shutdown of the machine within microseconds to avoid further losses.”

6. Composable Applications

DevOps are constantly developing techniques to automate and enhance software development — and chief among these methods are composable applications. The idea behind a composable application is that an application’s functional blocks can be separated from a process or app. Code can be used and reused, making it easier to release new, effective software solutions for a variety of needs.

Composable applications enable faster scaling and composition of IT infrastructure, improving overall quality and reducing risk. This modular approach can be especially valuable for companies trying to adopt a more agile technology approach.

Stay Up to Date

Even though these tech advances may not necessarily be getting as much press coverage as advances like the blockchain, there is no denying that they are already making an impact in the business world.

By better understanding how to utilize these tech trends effectively, you can enable your business to take advantage of technology in a way that will help it become more efficient and profitable as 2022 draws to a close. Diving in now will give you that much more of an advantage in 2023 — and beyond.