If nothing else, Covid-19 forced C-suite leaders and corporate stakeholders to align priorities. The global pandemic placed great pressure on businesses in every segment and though disruption may seem commonplace now, the demand for dynamic solutions in our personal and work lives has not eased. Particularly as they need to keep pace with such rapid change.

Though it was not true of the pre-pandemic, in 2022, every company can be considered a technology company and out of that, the need for iterative innovation has been heightened. As the speed and scale of technology increases throughout the next decade the more we can expect it to influence business strategy and the strategic goals of our organizations. In this way, it does not make sense not to engage.

Innovation will separate the leaders from the laggards over the next few years and to maintain their place in the market, businesses must be able to capitalize on technological innovation when it presents itself. For CIOs, the assessment, introduction, and surveillance of technical solutions will prove critical to their role in the day-to-day and at the time of writing, there are 3 key technologies that we continue to see executives target again and again:

AI

The role of AI has changed dramatically in the last decade. We now live in a world where AI technologies are being used by 77% of consumers; CIOs have started to take note. At the end of 2019, 72% of tech executives saw AI as the business advantage of the future, citing its potential to automate time-consuming operations and free up staff for high-value tasks as its core advantage. In fact, it is estimated that AI could increase productivity by 40% delivering as much as $2.9 trillion in business value by the end of 2021. Some of the key benefits of AI include:

• Saves time and money via the automation and optimization of routine processes and tasks
• Eliminates the potential for, and problems associated with, human error
• Identifies and maximizes sales opportunities
• Increases productivity and operational efficiencies

Internet of Things

We’ve also seen rapid progression in the adoption of IoT. At the end of 2019, the number of connected IoT devices reached 26 billion, in 2021 it could rise to as much as 46 billion. IoT is of specific interest to the CIO as it’s a tool which promises to reduce the shortage of response times whilst improving bandwidth across an organization, it’s potential in the edge is obvious. Agility is everything in a the current business climate and IoT can jumpstart opportunities here. Helping to generate and communicate real-time data without the need for human involvement, it’s value is clear. The benefits include:

• New capabilities to predict and react
• Creates additional revenue streams
• Increased time management
• Easy access and increased speed innovator

Cybersecurity

As businesses move towards remote work structures, the need for effective cybersecurity systems has increased and, as such, CIOs must be looking to strengthen their systems against attacks. Data breaches are now one of the most pressing business concerns globally and it’s a problem that can quickly get out of hand if left unchecked. For example, in the first half of 2019, data breaches exposed 4.1 billion records globally. The risks to employees and their information safety rises even higher when we consider that many staff use a less secure IP address when working from home. In order to counter cyberterrorists and other threat actors, an effective security system must:

• Protect networks and data from unauthorized access
• Reinforce information security and business continuity potential
• Improve recovery time following a breach
• Shield from DDoS, Phishing and Ransomware attacks

Continue the debate at the CIO Insight Summit, a GDS Summit, where we bring together senior supply chain executives who are actively seeking to share, learn, engage, and find the best technology solutions.

GDS Group hosts experts to help experts. We strive to provide an atmosphere for our attendees that enables them to confidently lead their companies through major transformation projects. For information on upcoming events, view our view our Digital Summits. To remain current on our activities, visit GDS Group on LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter.