Gartner’s top strategic technology trends for 2022—our top 5 takeaways

As businesses navigate beyond COVID-19, how can they accelerate growth and scale innovation in the most efficient way possible? Gartner lays out the path to revival in its top strategic technology trends for 2022 exploring the most important technology trends leaders need to be aware of to build future resilience.

Building the right foundations for success

Growth, digitalization, and efficiency are the top three priorities for CEOs right now, according to Gartner. But, how do they achieve these goals? Gartner believes the CIO’s role is now crucial to achieving growth and competitive advantage:

“…as an IT leader, the responsibility for supporting the technical end of digital business rests squarely on your shoulders. You have an opportunity to embrace force-multiplying innovations to accelerate growth and strategically drive your organization forward,” says David Groombridge, Research Vice President at Gartner.

But, first things first, Gartner believes CIOs must establish a resilient and efficient IT foundation at the core of the business “…without a well-designed base, there is no way to scale cost-efficiently,” adds Groombridge.

So, what else should be on the CIO to-do list? Here are our five key takeaways from Gartner’s top strategic technology trends for 2022:

1. Data fabric: the key to bridging silos and boosting efficiency

One of the most valuable assets of any modern business is data. But, tapping into its true potential can be challenging. Data fabric enables the blending of complex data from multiple sources across your business to unlock valuable insights and intelligence in real-time. Gartner believes by 2024, data fabric deployments will quadruple efficiency in data utilization while cutting human-driven data management tasks in half.

“With inbuilt analytics reading metadata, data fabric is able to learn what data is being used. Its real value exists in its ability to make recommendations for more, different and better data, reducing data management by up to 70%,” says Gartner.

Top tips for success:

• Make data a business imperative.
• Leverage all the data sources available to you. 
• Apply the right technology solutions to bring more context to your data. 
• Start small, focus on the data that is key to delivering the right business outcomes.

2. Cloud-native platforms: the right foundation for success

Gartner predicts “...by 2025, cloud-native platforms will serve as the foundation for more than 95% of new digital initiatives—up from less than 40% in 2021.” Cloud opens the door to many new opportunities for businesses, boosting agility and scalability like never before. But, in many cases instead of bringing simplicity, it’s adding complexity. With the move to cloud, observability and complexity challenges must be considered with respect to any legacy left behind. Specifically, the operability of the platforms across data centers and hosting platforms can become more challenging.

Top tips for success:

• Make automation a key part of your cloud strategy—from the outset.
• Avoid migrating outdated processes, redesign and automate where possible.

3. Decision Intelligence: the key to faster and better decision-making

Gartner predicts “…by 2023, more than a third of large organizations will have analysts practising decision intelligence, including decision modelling.” To enhance the customer experience and drive competitive advantage, faster decision-making is going to be crucial for every business. However, without an effective framework in place to bring the data and decision-making process together, it can make it very challenging. 

Top tips for success:

• Put the right decision intelligence framework in place for success. 
• Focus on areas of your organisation where decision making is inconsistent or unclear or where multiple people are involved in the process.

4. AI Engineering: putting best practices at the heart of artificial intelligence

Embedding best practices in your approach to artificial intelligence is key to unlocking its true worth. According to Gartner “...by 2025, the 10% of enterprises that establish AI engineering best practices will generate at least three times more value from their AI efforts than the 90% of enterprises that do not.” 

Top tips for success:

• Make artificial intelligence part of your organisation’s DNA. 
• Establishing a dedicated AI engineering team will help give AI the focus it deserves. 
• Start simple when it comes to AI implementation – focus on areas where it can bring the most value.

5. Distributed Enterprises: moving at the speed of the customer

To drive a competitive advantage, businesses need to meet consumers where they are. This means creating a distributed enterprise that takes “…a virtual-first, remote-first architectural approach to digitize consumer touchpoints and build out experiences to support products.” Enterprises who get this right will reap significant revenue rewards according to Gartner, “…by 2023, 75% of organizations that exploit distributed enterprise benefits will realize revenue growth 25% faster than competitors.”

Top tips for success:

• Successful distributed enterprises start with the right foundations.
• Ensure operating models and processes are fit for purpose in a virtual-first world.
• Re-examine the technology and skills you have available to drive better experiences across every customer touchpoint.

Read Gartner’s full report for more insights on the top strategic technology trends tipped to change the digital landscape in the next 3-5 years—and what they mean for your business.