2023 Tech Predictions Revisited: A Humble Reflection of a passionate technologist

As I look back on the last 12 months, it's incredible to see how the tech landscape has evolved and shaped our lives. From the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence to the transformative potential of blockchain technology, the digital world continues to push boundaries and redefine what is possible. As a passionate content creator in digital transformation and technological innovation, I shared my tech predictions for 2023 in a series of LinkedIn posts earlier this year.

Now, as we approach the end of this eventful year, I find myself reflecting on those predictions and the impact they have had on our ever-changing economy and society. Join me as I dive into the successes, challenges, and unexpected surprises that have shaped the world of technology in the past year and explore what lies ahead on the horizon of innovation.

In today's rapidly evolving tech landscape, simply hunting for technological advances is not enough.

It is crucial to recognize the significance of technology and leadership, understanding that shaping technology deployment is essential to achieve broad benefits and societal progression.

Additionally, focusing on trust and skills is paramount, as technology alone cannot foster growth and innovation without a skilled and trustworthy workforce.

Lastly, embracing focused change is key, as it allows us to adapt and navigate the challenges and opportunities that arise in the ever-changing world of technology.

This is how I categorized the predictions earlier in this year.

Technology and Leadership: From Buzzwords to Imperatives

Here's what I said in January

?????Technology fluence in leadership will be in 2023 more important than ever in the past. Technology adoption can’t be delegated anymore into IT, operations or other departments - instead it needs to be conveyed as credible leadership message.

?????AI will become a trustable co-worker in organizations. Co-generation of software code, reliability in testing and generative AI use cases will populate organizations in an unprecedented way. Leading these “hybrid” organizations means putting human first, that they are still feeling rewarded, respected and safe.

?????With Metaverse we’ll see first precursors of technically immersive environments - but in an early stage, as it requires perseverance and courage to sustain relevant innovation budgets amid the current market dynamics asking for resilient results.

?????Cloud migration will be of focus for decision makers how to modernize their tech stack and infrastructure in the company. On-premise solutions will move in the background and the next challenge will be to observe the market share of the tech giants regarding their dominance on certain tech domains for cloud.

My thoughts today

Technology always changed the anatomy of work and the way to do business, the speed, however, requires a totally different leadership attention: becoming a digital mindset will be decisive for leaders and individuals likewise. It’s about speaking tech and master fundamental concepts how to use data, design algorithms and employ AI.

The role of AI is now ubiquitous and its integration in our everyday tools and systems is on the rise. AI is not “just another tool”, but an integrative part in our daily work. It’s about us, i.e. our willpower to increase self-efficacy, to make the best use of AI tools at our reach to be prepared for ever more increasing demands to our working environment.

Immersive environments are coming but slowly … the potential in the entertainment sector is huge but requires high stands in underlying infrastructure, while manufacturing companies have started to (seriously) explore the industrial metaverse as a logical consequence of IIoT and digital twins of their machines, tools and systems.

As a sub-category, the advances in spatial computing were much more tangible - at least with Apple’s Vision Pro - even though its market entry won’t happen before late 2024 - however, it raises the imagination what’s possible.

What’s still an evergreen in tech challenges: cloud migration to simplify hybrid landscapes as a result of accumulated tech debt. Legacy systems are still dominating decision taking regarding pace and evolution of modernization activities in corporate environments. This will be a “dark-side” companion of digital transformation for a while … but so much necessary so for large corporations to make use of their data broadly.

Trust and Skills: The Foundations of a Digital Workforce

Here's what I said in January

?????Related to working environments, companies seem to push back their advanced decisions to hybrid models, which were taken and welcome during the pandemic. In my view, a fatal move that may destroy a lot of trust in the workforce and thus be detrimental for talent retention.

?????Amid some remarkable layoffs communicated by tech companies, talent retention in sparking domains remains as a severe challenge for organizations to cope. Co-generation of new working policies, that’s built on a sensible dialogue instead of cut-throat guidance may be in turn the mutually accepted governance.

?????With a challenging environment for talent attraction, up- and reskilling will become ever more important, which translates into creating learning environments that don’t see learning as an employee downtime. Instead (micro) learning is an integrative part of the operational job execution - delivered individually and encouraging for mastery.

?????Changed engagement patterns and customer demands will require a much higher mastery level of data analytics skills. Starting in CX design teams and going through the entire organization, these analytical skills are important to deliver unique experiences in the virtual AND the analogue world.

??????Ethics and trust will play an important role when data is being used, which has been created by humans utilizing tech - no matter whether as an employee or as a consumer / customer. Transparency how this utilization data is being employed in continuous improvement measures that make users feel as exclusive beneficiaries will be the right strategy instead of purely monetizing data for ad strategy.

My thoughts today

There are only a few more polarizing debates than the ones about wether productivity increases with more flexible / hybrid working environments as compared to onsite settings. Considering all the existing leadership preferences (sometimes motivated by executing power and control as a consequence of a gap in leadership capabilities), leaders and individuals will need to become more adaptive to fast-changing environments. Thanks to new tools, education and training in upskilling, activities can be adopted to the specific needs of the learner to the extent that learning is not employee downtime anymore - at least when looking at knowledge work.

In an era, where routine tasks can be performed by machines and autonomous systems, the remaining work will require much more typically human skills, like being resilient, systems and critical thinking and certainly explore new areas in a scientist mode to gain mental agility and avoid complacent overconfidence. As so often - conflict resolution in highly debatable and emotional topics will require a moderation attuned to the needs of the people involved.

What holds true in working environments is even more relevant when observing consumer engagement patterns and customer demands. The digitised user does not only request product and service specific data for any buying decision but also a high level of transparency about supply chains, environmental impact and ethical considerations regarding used algorithms. It’s becoming mandatary to testify that data utilization is happening with consent and compensation of the user.

What started as human-centered design will become a movement targeting at align technology with humanity’s best interests - to use technology that respects our attention, improves our well-being and strengthen communities.

Focused Change: Navigating Uncertainty with a digital and an agile mindset

Here's what I said in January

?????Economic uncertainty as a result of persistently emerging compelling events will still dominate decisions whether budgets are spent in innovation projects or for increasing resilience in delivery and supply chains.

?????Software projects for traditional on-premise systems will be pushed back for the benefit of open-architecture platforms with high integration capabilities, with a focus on ensuring maximum value from the functions provided.

?????Agility frameworks known from software development will be applied as a concept to the entire organization to keep up with the need for integrated change agency - in the sense that every company becomes a software company.

My thoughts today

When there was one year that showed us the importance of resilience to deal with unparalleled compelling events and uncertainty, then welcome to 2023 with constant climate events, several geopolitical conflicts and breathtaking technology innovations that are permanently changing our lives.

And economically? Stability tools from an apparently ancient past have been applied consistently to fight a racing inflation rate with a potentially cumulative effect to the already brewing global hot spots.

It didn’t matter, whether looking at an individual, micro or macro level, adaptability and agility where the virtues to master this challenging environment.

Multidisciplinary approaches in the domains of technology, engineering, finance and energy will be needed to solve today’s problems and avoid overly resource- and energy extracting production. Instead leveling up with intelligence and software will foster an innovation that relies on less externalities than used to in the past.

Collaboration among institutional, private and academic organizations will be needed to provide broad learning facilities for equal access of digital technologies and earning and entrepreneurial opportunities.

Being a digital mindset will be decisive in the future and is base on lean-agile leadership principles as a set of attitudes and behaviors that enable people and organizations to see new possibilities and chart the path of their future.

What lies ahead? Embracing the future means reinvention, rethinking and learning

2023 will remain in our memory for some time. Adaptability goes beyond being in survival mode and hoping for better times after a perfect storm, what we’ve seen in 2023 and how often we said “this has never happened before-” may become the new normal. As we move forward into the future, the concept of reinvention becomes more critical than ever, especially in leadership. The rapidly evolving tech landscape demands leaders who are willing to adapt, learn, and embrace change. Leaders must develop a digital mindset and master the fundamental concepts of technology. By speaking the language of tech, understanding data utilization, designing algorithms, and harnessing the power of AI, leaders can navigate the complexities of the digital age.

In this ever-changing landscape, we must also guard against complacent overconfidence. With prevalent automation that doesn’t halt at knowledge work, we must cultivate resilient and critical thinking, exploring new areas with a scientist's mindset. By continuously seeking new knowledge and challenging our assumptions, we can avoid stagnation.

However, embracing the future goes beyond individual reinvention. It requires creating equal access to opportunities, allowing everyone to participate in shaping their own lives. By eliminating barriers and promoting inclusivity, we can empower individuals to make choices that align with their aspirations and life design - a natural antidote against societal division and conflicts.