Top 10 Tech Trends to Prepare for in 2023

Development and Operations (DevOps) is an organisational approach that enables faster application development and simplified maintenance of existing applications and services.It was first mentioned in 2009 by Patrick Dubois in his article "The New DevOps” and has since established itself as an indispensable software development tool for successful digital transformation. 

Though DevOps has already hit the mainstream, recent technological advancements like cloud-native computing, low-code/no-code application and AI automation mean that it is constantly pivoting and driving transformations in business processes. According to a recent market survey, the DevOps market will exceed $20 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 24.7% from 2019. Advances in technology will allow DevOps teams to employ deep learning, data mining, statistics, and modelling to remove much of their challenges from the DevOps pipeline. 

The idea of Web3 – a decentralised web where blockchains, cryptocurrencies and NFTs allow users to interact and spend money without the input of centralised entities – has sparked the attention of huge tech corporations in recent years. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg declared Web3 as “the next chapter of the internet overall,” believing it could be integrated into digital spaces to change the way the online economy functions. 

The advancement of blockchain technology, non-fungible tokens or NFS and the rise of decentralised organisations have allowed Web3 to rapidly develop from an idea into a potential project for the future. From web3-based social media to a decentralised metaverse, the internet could be transformed into a space of data centralisation and transparency. 51% of gen Z and 48% of millennials said they could envision doing some of their work in the metaverse in the next two years, according to Microsoft’s Work Trend Index 2022.

For years, wearable technology has been limited to small gadgets used to listen to music, tell the time or receive notifications. But when the pandemic forced the world into lockdown in 2020, it sparked demand for healthcare to be accessed from home without the need for a medical professional. It was from this demand that wearable health tech was born. 

From earbuds that can measure heart rate to smartwatches that read blood pressure to oxygen levels, these wearable wellness gadgets give people remote access to health as they exercise, work, or sleep. These technologies are currently in the development process, while some like Acer’s eKinekt BD3 exercise desk, and Aplhabeats wellness headband have already hit the market. ut as AI, machine learning and scientific research progress, it is likely that new health tech technologies will emerge in the near future.

Some of the biggest tech manufacturers around the world have spent billions developing smart appliances that modernise home living. But with the launch of Matter 1.0 last year – which allows home gadgets to communicate regardless of their manufacturer – it is now possible to introduce technology into the home in ways like never before. 

Over the past year, Samsung, GE, Nanoleaf and Phillips have all announced they were developing Matter-supported products, while other companies have brought out updates to existing devices that will allow Matter to be implemented. This could lead to the creation of new wellness and sleep solutions, kitchen appliances, smart locks, light systems and voice-activated assistants that can communicate with each other.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of connected sensors and infrastructure that has been used to collect data on everything from traffic jams to household heating. It uses data analytics software and AI to make intelligent decisions and drive efficiency across the enterprise landscape. Although IoT is already present in a multitude of different industries, it remains noticeably absent from others such as health and manufacturing due to the risks associated with its implementation. 

This is set to change in 2023, however. As the cloud transforms industries and the development of 5G improves device communication and data analytics, IoT is set to become more secure and sophisticated, granting new use cases for previously inaccessible industries.

Recognition technology hit the mainstream when Apple introduced its recognition iPhone in 2018, but new advancements in recognition technologies could see the technology being used for more than login to phones. In November last year, a mum was denied entry into a theatre show after face recognition identified her as an attorney working for a company involved in a lawsuit against the venue’s operator. Meanwhile, just last week, face recognition identified six football fans involved in a pitch invasion and stored their faces in a blacklisted face database, preventing them from attending any games in the next ten years 

But beyond the realms of security, finger and palm vein pattern recognition technologies, and and behavioural biometrics could soon give personalisation a whole new meaning, allowing everything from clothes stores to airports to use recognition to customise and facilitate processes for user needs. The most recent example of this anticipated trend is the introduction of DigiYatra in India, an app-based service that uses recognition technology at the airports of Delhi, Bangalore and Varanasi to allow for a contactless air travel experience.

At the start of 2022, the Metaverse dominated headlines as people around the world waited in anticipation to be transported to Meta’s exciting virtual spaces. By the end of the year, however, Zuckerberg’s grand project had become a laughing stock, with Meta losing a billion a month trying to keep the sinking ship afloat. But amidst the gloom and disappointment that still surrounds the Metaverse in 2023 is the fact that the Metaverse is now implanted in the public consciousness, leading experts to believe if it is to make a comeback at any point, it’s now. 

Meta is set to continue cutting its losses and continuing development on its metaverse workspaces project into 2023. This has encouraged developers to invest their money and time into new projects like The Sandbox which could bring new users to the platform when it releases this year. Meanwhile, with AI advancing at unprecedented levels, it could greatly improve the scalability of the metaverse in the near future, introducing, the enterprise and the rest of the world to applicable use cases for the technology.

In 2023, Sustainability is set to remain at the forefront of business processes despite inflation and macroeconomic headwinds. As new environmental standards come into effect around the world, decision marker will have to adjust their strategies to make their business more sustainable. AI will have great involvement in this shift. 

AI has the power to improve product forecasting so that businesses do predictions faster, enabling businesses to create products based on customers' needs by using data to make decisions. 

This will allow companies to naturally become more sustainable automatically as AI advances, leading to new sustainability goals being reached in 2023 and beyond.

In 2022 the European Union introduced several new laws that are set to transform the way the enterprise operates in and out of the European Continent for the years to come. The Digital Services Act and Data Governance Acts will force tech firms big and small to alter the way they handle data whilst also encouraging them to increase security to protect themselves from breaches. Those that don’t are set to be slapped with hefty fines. 

In 2022, the total cost of GRC fines surged by 168% across the enterprise, with large tech corporations being forced to pay hundreds of millions in penalties. Meta alone faced penalties totalling almost half a billion ad the European Commission cracked down on its infringement of multiple data laws, while other corporations like Google, Clearview and Tiktok each paid tens of millions in fines. Unless the enterprise adapts to concord with new and proposed legislation, it is likely many other firms will find themselves faced with huge penalties.

Nothing took the tech world by storm more than Artificial Intelligence in 2022. It started with the launch of image generators like DALL.E 2 in July 2022 and ended with the sudden rise of generative AI chatbot ChatGPT in early November 2022. Since then, AI has dominated headlines. It has captured the attention of not only the tech community but also regular people who have finally started to think about how AI could transform their lives.  

At the forefront of this AI explosion is OpenAI. Its ChatGPT project has made waves across the tech landscape, leading tech behemoth Microsoft to eye up a  $10 billion investment into the chatbot. In 2023, the iteration of the chatbot, ChatGPT-4 will launch, massively improving the capabilities of the AI engine and removing many of its limitations. As AI technology evolves,  tech firms will likely begin their own AI projects to try and take hold of the promising AI market. Once this happens, the AI revolution will truly begin, and it will then be a question of how we use AI in society.