Flying taxis and satellite phones featured in the BBC’s 2023 tech predictions, but aside from Blade Runner style inventions, what will be the tech trends that influence industries that are the backbone of everyday life?
2022 already saw the mass adoption of AI, machine learning, blockchain, AR, VR, quantum computing, DevOps, and more across verticals. At the turn of the new year, tech is set to become even more sophisticated, and its impact on global business and societal issues more profound.
In the retail, fintech, and automotive sectors, emerging tech trends will not only streamline operations and deliver greater value to end users, they’ll contribute to a fairer, sustainable world. Specifically, MACH-powered, composable platforms, cybersecurity, and sustainability will define these tech landscapes in 2023.
Let’s check out top tech trends in 2023.
E-commerce sales in the third quarter of 2022 accounted for close to 15% of total sales in the US. With such a significant market share, digital retailers have to ensure that their tech infrastructure gives them a real competitive and economic advantage.
MACH platforms (Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless) enable business to quickly create and deploy new products and services. With small, independent components that can be combined and reconfigured, retail businesses can utilize MACH platforms to launch new online shopping experiences for customers. Not to mention, MACH lends itself well to multiple implementation types, including B2B, B2C, online marketplaces, contactless stores, and endless aisle solutions, maximizing retailers’ visibility and offerings in all corners of the digital realm.
Microservices for product catalog management, payment processing, and order fulfillment tasks can also be connected and customized to better meet the business and customer needs. And, because MACH components are cloud-native, they allow for greater scalability – businesses can add or remove parts to accommodate changing workloads and demands.
More tech trends? By 2025, 100 zettabytes of data will be stored in the cloud; for reference, one zettabyte is the equivalent of around 250 billion DVDs. With swaths of corporate and personal information stored digitally, businesses have to make resilient cybersecurity a priority – particularly in fintech, where data breaches have a high price for organizations and the people they serve.
Popular fintech Revolut suffered a data breach in September, where the personal information of over 50,000 users was exposed. In 2022 as a whole, the average cost of a data breach in the financial industry worldwide was $6 million.
Improved data protection, development and operational security, design and engineering, and innovation are key to advanced cybersecurity. Engineers working on fintech platforms will implement robust encryption technologies and secure storage systems, all while adhering to strict privacy regulations. Likewise, secure coding practices and test protocols will secure the management of development environments and production systems.
At the same time, fintech players must take a proactive approach to designing systems and processes that bake security measures into early development – not simply retrofitted after a threat has taken place. Doing so means embracing new technologies to stay ahead of the curve, including strong encryption policies and state-of-the-art security protocols.
Without doubt, sustainability is (and has been) at the forefront of business in recent years. Being sustainable is about preventing the depletion of natural and physical resources, and is an element of corporate ethics to rectify long-term damage caused by a focus on short-term profits.
The automotive industry has long been under scrutiny when it comes to sustainability, but has taken measures to improve. Between 2019 and 2022, the deployment of sustainable supply chain initiatives in the automotive space rose by 15%.
Moving forward, the industry needs to uptake green coding principles to design and develop energy-efficient software that minimizes its users’ environmental impact. For example, companies can optimize their code to lower the energy needed to run it, or use cloud computing to reduce the need for on-premise infrastructure. Similarly, telematics and connected-car technologies can improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions by optimizing routes, traffic flow, and vehicle performance.
Elsewhere, digital twins can help companies become more efficient and minimize their carbon footprint by replicating production lines and entire factories or shop floors. These ‘twins’ remove the inherently wasteful trial-and-error approach from manufacturing, and according to research, push industries closer to targets like the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
As the year unfolds, MACH powered composable platforms, cybersecurity, and sustainable solutions will play a prominent role in protecting and innovating digital products, as well as promoting greener practices. For the years ahead then, these are the tech trends that will support companies to take greater care of people and the planet.