Technology That Will Impact Business In 2022 & The Years Ahead

• By Rohit Bhateja
• 01-08-2022
• Technology

In 2022, the business world is set to get even more technology-driven. Customers expect highly intuitive and outstanding digital experiences, and currently, delivering on those expectations is the top priority for businesses.

Tech innovations like artificial intelligence, IoT, neural networks, blockchain, predictive analysis, digitization, intuitive security, etc., are being extensively engaged to achieve those enterprise objectives. Technology has smoothened the workflows, along with increasing productivity for numerous businesses. However, reaping the benefits requires keeping your organization at the top of these technological innovations, understanding their potential, and making rational strategies accordingly.

On that note, let’s discuss the top technologies that will impact the business world in and beyond 2022.

Artificial Intelligence
Present-day life is filled with AI-based applications. Conversational AI like Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa are commonplace examples with sizable market shares to their names. Tesla and Audi are experimenting with Level 3 driving automation. There are many other examples where Artificial intelligence has carved its utility in an individual’s life, forcing businesses to take up more AI-based initiatives to satisfy the changing user requirements.

Businesses are literally racing to utilize AI and machine learning technology to enhance operations and improve their market standing. They are constantly on the lookout to integrate cutting-edge personalized features in their solutions and deliver a more intuitive customer experience through AI/ML. According to a Genpact survey, by 2025, firms that have adopted AI are likely to have ten times higher efficiency and double the market share than those that do not.

Also, by that time, the following AI applications are expected to get upgraded to full-fledged usage.
Self-driving vehicles
Smart assistants that adapt and evolve to needs.
Manufacturing Robots
Proactive healthcare management systems
Automated Internet Marketing and monitoring
Chat-bots with natural conversation skills
Conversational marketing bots based on deep neural networks

Natural Language Processing Tools
Additionally, the help AI models impart in automating the analysis of legacy codes will increase their usage by developers. Automated AI algorithms reduce the time taken by a platform to update itself and simplify the creation of customer-friendly interfaces.

Internet of Things
IoT is going to be a game changer for businesses in 2022 and ahead. Data from Mordor Intelligence shows the IoT market will grow upto 1.39 trillion USD by 2026.

As providing a better user experience is the focus of technological evolution, IoT will be driven by factors such as new sensors, algorithms, experience architectures & contexts, and socially aware experiences. The user’s interaction with devices without a screen or keyboard is on the rise, and this will press UX designers to create designs with fresh perspectives. Increased IoT usage will also prompt more critical thinking around general data protection and privacy concerns. Plus, businesses will have to meet the challenge of maintaining social ethics in sensitive IoT device usage.

IoT usage can be seen in smart city models through automation, remote management, and data collection from visitor kiosks, CCTV surveillance systems, bike rental stations, and cabs. As major operators roll out 5G network services, the speed and connection capacity of smart devices will also increase. This will result in a higher degree and dimension of data collection and subsequent IoT evolution.
Moreover, the combination of IoT and AI has formed a new segment called AIoT. Tools for predictive maintenance use data from IoT sensor chips to train machine learning algorithms. Lightning systems, smart home hubs, thermostats, and even coffee makers are being used to collect data on usage patterns and preferences. Though, this might also open the door for cyber-attacks and privacy concerns, and hence has opened more room for discussions on regulations and smarter security systems in the coming future.

The following IoT systems will see a rise in demands in 2022 and beyond:

Visual inspection and distribution tools.
Satellite-powered IoT devices for disaster management and rescue.
IoT systems based on edge computing for safety and security in industries.
Wearable devices to monitor body vitals in the healthcare industry.
Manufacturing industry usage like defect detection, predictive maintenance, and generative designs.

Blockchain
The global blockchain technology market size was valued at USD 5.92 billion in 2021 and is expected to see a growth rate (CAGR) of 85.92% from 2022 to 2030. As this technology deals with a secure, structured, and decentralized method to track transactions across devices, it's going to be valuable for various industry needs.

We can see the following blockchain uses growing in the future.
Blockchain as a service (BaaS) is a cloud-based model adopted by major tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon.
Cryptocurrency with a lesser carbon footprint.
Non-fungible token (NFT) market will see growing usage of blockchain. It can soon get regulated for the better.

Digital arts industry
The Healthcare sector saw many institutions utilizing blockchain to track vaccinations during Covid 19 pandemic. This practice might see an increase in demand as it meets privacy and transparency needs.

Increased usage in supply change management. Selling, renting, and purchasing a property

Apart from these, this technology can find trend-setting usage in the gaming industry, digital voting, and defense industry, etc.,.

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
With the introduction of the metaverse, augmented reality has found innovative usage by businesses. VR & AR is expected to see a 48.8% growth CAGR and reach 161.1 billion USD by 2025. According to Shopify, sellers using AR/VR technology are likely to get as much as 94% higher conversion rates than those without.

While virtual reality gives an immersive feel with isolation, augmented reality users can feel the current situation and the simulation. Thus AR imparts a partially immersive feel.

This technology will find the following usage in businesses:

Security training through simulation to train its workforce on how to combat dangerous situations, mitigating associated risks to personnel and equipment in this process.
Product design and development
VR is increasingly used in clinical research for stroke rehabilitation, pain relievers, anxiety, and phobias.
VR-based trials of astronauts.
The construction industry uses AR /VR to monitor progress and supervise projects.
Improved and increased usage in the gaming industry.
The aerospace industry has begun its usage too in training, education, and research.

Hyperautomation
Based on the business objectives, hyperautomation is a systematic approach that organizations use to rapidly identify, vet, and automate as many business and IT processes as possible. It includes strategically planned usage of multiple technologies, tools, and platforms to empower employees and increase productivity. Technologies like robotic process automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, etc., are utilized in hyperautomation.

This approach is beneficial for businesses, especially when adopted with AI, to simplify complex business processes. The future of hyperautomation in businesses does not mean relying on robots for tasks, but recreating an ecosystem of workflow management where employees collaborate with technology to achieve set objectives.

For instance, Deloitte automated travel and expense management, thus reducing the time required to generate daily reports for senior management review from around 3 hours to 10 minutes.

Thus, hyperautomation can significantly reduce time spent on daily business operations, smoothen the workflow, reduce load on employees, and systematically generate better results. The following applications of the technology will certainly see usage growth:

Banking and financial services are using this to provide better customer experience in account payable processes.
The insurance sector uses hyper-automation to process documents and claims with accuracy and efficiency. It is useful in repetitive manual tasks of analyzing documents, claim assessment, and settlement.
Healthcare utilizes this technology in the form of digital nurses and for bill processing, medical transcriptions, and advanced analytics that provide direct statistical results.
Retail payments, shipping, inventory management, supplier management, risk management, data monitoring and other daily management activities.

Customer Service industry executives can process requests, feedback and complaints easily. It can also be used for processing caller information seamlessly, thus reducing average call handling time and improving efficiency.

To Wrap it Up
According to Statista, emerging technologies will have a growth rate of 104 percent between 2018 and 2023. Technologies like AI, IoT, VR, and blockchain are evolving under continuous research and development. They will not only benefit businesses but also significantly change the user experience in 2022 and beyond. Their rising demand also presents an opportunity to invest in their market. At the same time, though these technologies seem like a great inclusion for businesses, starting with pilot projects is advisable before fully incorporating them. Organizations need to identify the bottlenecks in the current state of operations, process requirements and create models for improvements.

Additionally, even though this seems to be the current trend on emerging technology, the future might see new inclusions to the list, along with possible eliminations. Therefore, as the technology landscape transforms, you must also be updated to stay relevant in the market.