Top Trends for Digital Innovation in 2022

How are the digital innovation trends of today affecting the outlook of tomorrow for businesses? So far, the 2020s have been a time of adaptation and change.

Impossible-to-predict circumstances are constantly forcing businesses to find solutions to new problems, as demonstrated by the strain placed on supply chains since the beginning of the pandemic.

The digital innovation trends of 2022 will see an acceleration of the many familiar themes of the past few years, along with some new emerging technologies to watch out for that will improve the way people do business. 

Read on to learn what you can expect in 2022 in the world of digital innovation.

What Happened with Digital Innovation in 2021?

2021 was another year of uncertainty and innovation as companies continued to handle changing pandemic-related circumstances.

Digital innovation trends throughout the year echoed this, as businesses continued to push technology initiatives throughout in order to address various shortcomings in their digital infrastructure.

87% of organizations have low analytics and business intelligence maturity, meaning data isn’t being utilized.

These included moving to the cloud, utilizing subscription-based software that requires a more palatable financial investment for SMBs, and enabling citizen developers with low- and no-code software.

The main difference between 2020 and 2021 was the acceleration of these trends to match a constantly changing situation that was prompted in many ways by the pandemic, but in reality has been a long-running issue regarding a widespread lack of digitization that needs to be addressed urgently.

As organizations understand that their underlying operational infrastructure requires digitization in order to more effectively compete in their markets—predominantly in areas like data analysis, data flexibility, and tech scalability—there has been a greater emphasis from companies of all sizes in reassessing whether their current technology posture is adequate for their business goals.

Many of these trends are expected to continue in 2022 and beyond, becoming more mainstream and more integrated into businesses of all industries.

The biggest drivers of IT services spending are managed services, data/platform integration, cloud orchestration, and business process automation.

Digital Innovation Trends in 2022 and Beyond

Here is a rundown of the digital innovation trends our experts at Impact predict will be the biggest and most significant for businesses in 2022. 

1. Everything Will Become More Cloud-Based

The trend of moving increasing amounts of information, data, and processes into the cloud will continue in 2022.

This is already prominent in the workplace with 94% of enterprises already using a cloud service in some fashion.

In 2022, businesses will use even more cloud-based data storage, communication, file sharing, collaboration, and other tools to help connect disparate teams. 

The momentum of this trend will rely heavily on the future of “work from home” and the status of the pandemic throughout the year.

Some businesses will need to focus more on the cloud if they choose to remain remote-focused, others will come back into the office. Remote work requires a certain level of cloud usage to communicate, share files, store information, and make everything more accessible for all employees. 

2. Cybersecurity Becomes a Bigger Focus

As with the cloud, cybersecurity is an area of digital innovation that has seen tremendous growth over the past few years.

With exponentially more information being stored via the cloud and people accessing a business’ network remotely, it’s become incredibly important for organizations to protect themselves and their workers from cyberthreats. 

In 2021, 71% of organizations said their security budget had increased, and 76% of businesses say the number of attacks they face has increased. Hackers are attacking more often and in ways that are constantly changing. Keeping up with them is a full-time job.

However, it continues to be worth the effort as a breach can cost businesses an average of $170,000 to recover from.

3. The Evolution of “As a Service” Models and Anything as a Service (XaaS)

The evolving types of “as a service” models has shown that anything can become a service because consumers are becoming more comfortable with the model. Here is a rundown of the typical service models and how they affect businesses:

On-Premises Software

With on-premises software, installation and maintenance is installed and operated by a business’ in-house team utilizing its own servers and computer infrastructure. 

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

With IaaS, the business still retains the responsibility of installing, maintaining, and backing up the software, but doesn’t need to manage the physical hardware required to run it.

This is done via the cloud to make the necessary information accessible. 

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

PaaS allows the business to determine the uses, applications, and data involved in their software, but using cloud-based data storage.

For example, web hosting is platform as a service because you build your own website using the given tools but don’t have to worry about running the servers. 

Software as a Service (SaaS)

With SaaS, the responsibility falls on the service provider to maintain the operations of the software.

As the user, businesses consume and use the software without worrying about much else.

For example, SalesForce, Quickbooks Online, etc. are software that can be run using a browser from anywhere without needing to install or maintain the software. 

Anything as a Service (XaaS)

As the above shows, anything can become a service, and that has been a major trend in business technology as providers get more creative with their offerings.

This is possible because consumers are becoming more comfortable with subscription models. They are willing to accept and opt-in to anything as a service because it’s easier, more convenient, and more cost-effective for them.  

This opens the door for many new opportunities for businesses because of the cost-saving nature of the “as a service” model. More software is available to more businesses because the initial cost of entry which might’ve kept many SMBs away has been removed. 

4. Low-Code Software and Citizen Developers 

The rise of “citizen developers” from low or no-code software allows businesses to customize applications to fit their needs more perfectly. This end user empowerment means apps are being created by true experts in the field who have deeper understandings of what they need from the software rather than by developers who have less pertinent knowledge. 

What’s Driving These Changes and Trends?

The main driver of these trends is that they make things easier for the end user. The cloud, managed cybersecurity, low code, and XaaS all make things easier for businesses to utilize better software that’s customized to fit their needs and help them meet their goals.  

These trends help businesses by: 

• Reducing up-front costs of software, equipment, licensing, etc. 
• Removing risks of sinking money into things you don’t need
• Eliminating the money and time needed to maintain a large security or IT team in-house
• Minimizing the requirement for large, expensive hardware
• Providing the ability to connect a widespread workforce and access information from anywhere 

Bottom Line

Digital innovation in 2022 aims to continue making life easier for businesses by removing the time, money, and risks associated with software, cybersecurity, and cloud usage in the past, and introducing new options for businesses who were previously locked away by a cost or location barrier. 

If you have questions about any of these trends or are wondering how you can use them in your business, contact us today to speak with an expert.

If you would like to learn more about some of the biggest 2022 digital innovation trends that are shaping the business world today, watch our webinar on the subject and discover everything you need to know about the changing landscape of digital transformation.