Moving from tech hype-cycles towards strategic investments
Now more than ever, business leaders need to understand what technology they should be prioritising for modernisation and what is just a hype-cycle, writes Mike Young, Head of Sales at Endava.
Business leaders are often inundated with information when it comes to technology purchase decisions.
In our ‘Emerging Tech Unpacked Report’, Endava explores what technologies businesses see as the next ‘big thing’ in the face of a challenging global economic environment, identifying key themes that are influencing purchase decisions and separating what’s just hype from technologies that are driving efficiencies.
Big Data and Automation
Big Data and AI-driven automation are two of the most important technologies among businesses, having proven early-on their ability to aid companies in gaining a competitive edge. Companies adopting big data strategies are experiencing increased operational efficiency and productivity, making their IT systems far more reliable.
Big Data (75%) and AI-driven automation (71%) were rated some of the highest-priority for initiatives among companies surveyed. Respondents are extremely familiar with Big Data and AI automation, considering it highly relevant to their business objectives and services in 2023.
This is likely because 33% of respondents have already implemented some form of AI-driven automation and of the remaining organisations that haven’t, more than half are currently in the process of doing so. Adopting Big Data or Automation strategies is becoming imperative for businesses to meet the demands and benchmarks being set within industries.
Environmental, Social, & Governance
ESG is a concept that most organisations are quickly having to become acquainted with, this is largely due to climate impact, government mandates and future-proofing to mitigate risk.
Organisations identified increasing operational efficiency as a driving factor for implementing ESG plans with 89% of respondents rating ESG relevant to their business. However, interestingly enough only 38% of respondents actually have an implementation strategy in action. This indicates huge intent in the market, yet businesses are still lacking action when implementing ESG strategies.
Implementing an ESG plan can help increase operational efficiency, attracting more customers and helping improve their IT systems. Many look at ESG as a way to make their businesses more efficient and attract new customers, with only 4% of respondents deeming it an irrelevant service to their business.
Web3 and Metaverse
Distrust in over-hyped technologies continues; while the metaverse was cited as one of the most recognised emerging trends, 30% of organisations lack any form of strategy for including it in their corporate strategy, and half of those said it was because the technology is irrelevant to their business.
In comparison, less scepticism is shown to Web3 with nearly a third (27%) of respondents having implemented a strategy and 30% of businesses in the process of doing so. While Web3 isn’t the simplest software package that can be installed, organisation should start preparing for it, as the technology helps make IT systems, increase productivity and improve end products.
Building digital ecosystems and microservices are also validated trends for businesses looking to invest in building strategic frameworks, with 33% of respondents planning to incorporate these services in some way.
Strategic investment with digital acceleration
While it’s necessary to be sensible with investments, we’ve seen time and time again what can happen if businesses rely on aging infrastructure and the gains made by being an early adopter of some of these more innovative technologies and practices.
Working in a fast-paced industry means having to keep up with the ever-evolving nature of tech stacks. Businesses are now looking to invest in more agile and bespoke solutions that meet the challenges of today as well as the future. The ‘Emerging Tech Unpacked’ report shows that organisations are excited about the number of emerging trends but heads a warning to look beyond the initial hype towards greater opportunity for strategic investment.
