Every company is already an IT company today. Corporates or SMEs, every workplace today is accessing digital tools and solutions most organically. We are adapting to futuristic technologies faster than ever, thanks to the disruptive year of 2020. And India is one of the fastest-growing IT markets in this race, after the US and China. The IT industry here has witnessed growth in the last two decades, and soon, it is expected to touch the $100 billion mark.
The Government of India has also been pushing for rapid digitization, leading to increasing investments in the IT sector. In the recent Union Budget of 2022-23, the Government of India has made a few announcements which will lead to some major developments in India on the digitization front. Apart from direct digitization in banking, higher education, and health sector, the country will soon have its own Digital Currency issued by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s apex bank. Also, the government has announced that datacentres will be given infrastructure status in the country allowing it to play a key role in enabling a digital economy.
Here are some of the major technological trends that will continue to transform the Indian IT industry in the present year are – the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain Technologies, Cloud Adoption, and Data Security & Cyber Protection.
1. Internet of Things (IoT)
The Internet of Things is a network of devices, vehicles, home appliances, and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors and network connectivity that enable these objects to collect and exchange data. In 2022, the IoT will be firmly entrenched in people’s everyday lives. The number of devices connected to the IoT will triple by 2022, reaching 25 billion. Most cars and homes will be connected to the internet by 2022. Both individuals and companies will benefit from this connectivity.
IoT makes the autonomous collection of big data possible, which helps businesses get insights into customer behaviours and product performance. IoT also facilitates the continuous optimization and automation of business processes and even helps to improve employee engagement and performance.
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI has been one of the most buzzing technologies in recent years. This has led to significant advances in many areas such as speech recognition, natural language processing, robotics, machine learning and computer vision. According to Gartner, AI and machine learning (ML) will be used in over 80% of IoT activities in enterprises by 2022. Hyper Automation is one of the major outcomes of AI, and this will be one of the driving forces behind digital transformation in 2022. Hyperautomation ensures streamlining of processes to increase efficiency, accuracy, and productivity. In 2022 we will see AI and ML increasingly active, infusing more automation and taking over most mundane tasks, freeing us to focus on activities that shall require more human touch and intervention. With AI and humans working together, the workforce is becoming an augmented one. AI will not replace humans but will be working along to add efficiency to our work.
3. Blockchain Technologies
Blockchain is a technology that enables digital information to be distributed but not copied. It is a vast and globally distributed database, which can be applied to anything from payments and banking to complex computer programs. A report by trade association IDC predicts that worldwide spending on blockchain technologies will reach $9.7 billion in 2022. Blockchain is a highly disruptive force for enterprise software. One of the most intriguing applications of blockchain technology is supply chain tracking, which gives the ability to track products from the time they are created to when they are stored in warehouses and finally sold to customers.
Blockchain is also used to reduce fraud in digital contracts and create faster data retrieval for distributed ledgers. The technology is continuously developed, with some of its latest applications being Smart Contracts and crypto-currencies. In the future, blockchain technology will be used to manage personal health records, deliver payments, and even Smart buildings.
4. Cloud Adoption
Cloud computing has become an increasingly popular way to store and manage data, which means more sensitive information is on the cloud than ever before. Cloud computing is often looked at as a more secure alternative to on-premise solutions. It is also a better choice for most businesses, as it reduces hardware and maintenance costs by paying for resources only when needed. By moving some of the infrastructures to the cloud, companies can also significantly improve their security posture.
Also, companies using single cloud resources earlier are now exploring Multicloud options. With single cloud earlier, companies were often suffering in vendor-lock ins, and it was also risky and costly to store all data in a single server. Multicloud is a better option when it comes to disaster recovery. Instead of establishing a traditional on-premise disaster recovery capability, cloud resources can be used as and when required. As each provider will be coming up with their unique selling propositions, be it in AI, machine learning, or analytics, a Multicloud strategy will give organisations the advantage of each platform’s competitive edge.
5. Data Security and Cyber Protection
Data security and data protection will remain areas of highest concern in 2022. Businesses in the last two years were riddled by constant ransomware attack threats, data breaches and major IT outages, which became even bigger nuisance than supply chain disruptions, or the COVID-19 pandemic, all of which have heavily impacted businesses in the past year. 2022 will still be a difficult year, as there is still a large talent pool to fill up for efficient cybersecurity management. Also, it is estimated that cyberattacks will be relentless in attacking small and medium scale businesses.
End-to-end encryption is already becoming mainstream along with zero-trust policies when it comes to network security, and data access control. However, things will continue to look grim for the coming years as ransomware attacks are gearing up menacingly. As per research agency, Cybersecurity Ventures, the frequency of ransomware attacks on a consumer or business will only ramp up to every two seconds by 2031. Cybersecurity insurance premiums will be hiked up with the increasing numbers and complexities and there is more likely a chance that Ransomware-as-a-Service will only be a growing darknet business in the year, also giving rise to a gig-economy for hackers.
Conclusion
India is a fast developing digital economy, and all global technology trends will also be impacting the Indian IT sector. As mentioned, digitisation will pervade all industries in 2022, making each organisation an IT venture. Smart and immersive technologies such as AI, AR (Augmented Reality), ML, IoT will become mainstream and play a constructive role in improving business efficiency. Multicloud adoption will be on the rise, and so will cyber security vulnerabilities. Together 2022 will be an interesting year with technologies playing the lead roles in our lives.
