Technology trends drive business. In 2022, top tech trends are positioned to accelerate growth, engineer trust, build digital capabilities and position technology executives as crticial strategic partners within their organizations. Gartner’s recent insights report details 12 trends that will meet CEO priorities to scale, adapt and grow over the next three to five years. What’s particularly interesting about these trends is how they solve common business challenges, transform operations, and ignite organizational change.
However, the report acknowledges that the adoption of digital transformation is tempered by future economic risk while IT leaders and their teams shoulder a lot of responsibility in executing on the technical end of business success.
In 2022, CIOs and cross-functional teams must leverage tech trends to deliver three key outcomes:
Engineering Trust. Implementing technologies that build an agile IT foundation and drive digital business transformation in our connected world.
Sculpting Change. Optimizing artificial intelligence, automating business activities and enabling faster decision-making to scale organization-wide transformation.
Accelerating Growth: Implement technologies that “maximize the value of what the organization creates” to win business and market share.
Technology, process, and people are at the intersection of these outcomes and there is a growing requirement for IT and multidisciplinary “fusion teams” to manage the pace of change to transform business. Fusion teams blend business domain expertise, analytics and technology. They also share in the accountability and execution of business and tech outcomes.
Over the next five years, the success of digital transformation initiatives will rely on the capabilities of people, but 2022 poses unique challenges for teamwork:
Many employees continue to work from home.
Hybrid policies are being piloted with mixed results.
The “Great Resignation” and “War for Talent” are driving record-high turnover rates.
Isolation has eroded hard and soft skills.
Across all industries, organizations have been reactive in talent management and organizational alignment during the past two years. Now is the time to bring people back together, restore culture and rebuild teams. When it comes to digital transformation success, there are three in-person experiences that can empower and energize employees.
1. Tech-Focused Executive Leadership Offsite
Technology leaders should approach 2022 with clear intention. Digital transformation plans should include a framework for the successful transformation of people, processes and technologies. Because digital transformation drives systems, workflow and culture, affecting every level of the organization, the entire senior leadership team should be included in the roadmap planning and execution. A dedicated offsite is best. Time away from the office enables the C-suite to fully connect and focus, without disruption, and map organizational digital goals.
2. Retreats for Remote Tech Teams
Implementing new organization-wide technologies puts a lot of pressure on IT and digital team frameworks. The isolation, feelings of loneliness and anxiety from the past two years has exponentially eroded engagement, productivity, physical and mental wellness. Before rolling out a new technology strategy that will put a lot of stress on teams and demand longer hours, bring everyone together in-person to raise morale, reignite relationships, celebrate new initiatives and provide a space to discuss 2022 strategy. Dedicated time and space will result in a more cohesive team that trusts each other and remains accountable to one another.
3. In-Person Training
Rolling out new technologies, processes, workflows and team alignment requires training. With the advent of work from home and hybrid policies it’s more important now than ever for in-person trainings to ensure all employees have the resources, knowledge and practice to succeed. Launching new initiatives in person with highly-skilled expert facilitators and trainers also shows how much you value your employees and their professional development.