2022 has seen a wave of external shocks and unprecedented challenges hitting enterprise IT. From the escalating energy and climate crisis to deepening skills gaps and heightened business demands on data, decision-makers have been under sustained pressure to strengthen the resilience of their technology infrastructure.
As we look ahead to 2023, it’s the ideal time to learn from the insights gained and use them to better plan for tomorrow’s challenges. Anticipating the forces and trends in IT that will really matter to decision-makers next year will empower businesses to take charge of their future and proactively turn disruption into opportunity.
So, what should you be watching out for in the world of IT infrastructure in 2023?
Energy pricing and sustainability: time for responsible action
It will come as little surprise to see sustainability at the top of the tree. The past few years have seen climate change become one of the defining global issues of our time, giving it a much more prominent place on the corporate agenda.
But the stakes are even higher now. As we move one year closer to the ambitious net-zero targets of 2030 and 2050, businesses will come under increased scrutiny to monitor and report on their carbon emissions. Currently, the majority are falling short. With a recent Telehouse survey of IT decision-makers finding that over half of UK businesses are not fully optimised to contribute to net-zero targets (57%), not using renewable energy sources (52%), and are failing to closer monitor their carbon footprint (52%), organisations urgently need to take decisive action to evolve their IT strategies before it’s too late.
At the same time, the ongoing energy crisis and associated pricing pressures will see decision-makers re-evaluate where to house their enterprise IT environments for both cost efficiency and sustainability benefits. More and more will take steps towards outsourcing, as this provides greater opportunities to run IT infrastructure affordable, securely, sustainably, and at scale.
For forward-looking enterprises, 2023 will be a year of responsible action. To keep pace, all businesses should make bigger strides in their sustainability initiatives across their entire IT operation, covering all the scopes set out by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. Energy-efficient tech and digital solutions will play a key role in this.
Meeting data demands with cloud connectivity
As businesses continue to digitally transform and hybrid working increases, the volume of data needing to be handled will reach record highs in 2023. This will risk becoming unmanageable for some overstretched infrastructures, so decision-makers need to start taking proactive measures today to efficiently move, process, and manage an ever-growing abundance of real-time data.
How? By embracing cloud connectivity, businesses can develop the agility, scalability, and flexibility needed to innovate and grow alongside shifting workforce needs. Cloud applications and services provide reliable access to all the data employees need, whether they are in an office, at home, or somewhere else entirely. And with colocation data centres like Telehouse providing maximum uptime with direct, private, and secure connections to leading cloud providers, growing numbers of businesses are set to reap the rewards of a more connected future in the cloud.
AI and robotics: the next normal
The growth and resilience of IT infrastructure relies on solid, reliable, and data-led decision-making. Therefore, we will see more businesses automate their operational decisions in 2023, unlocking instant, live data to make the right calls at the right time. Over a third (35%) of global companies are already using artificial intelligence (AI) in their business – and as both consumer demands and data volumes grow, we can expect this number to rapidly increase over the next year.
Innovations in robotics will also take centre stage. Old fears about robots stealing jobs no longer ring true as new technologies prove their value in complementing human strengths and freeing employees from the most mundane tasks. With the multidisciplinary capabilities of robots helping to transform, accelerate, and streamline essential processes, data centres can boost its productivity and efficiency, enabling humans to prioritise skilled and strategic activities.
Bridging the IT skills gap with outsourcing
With the ongoing skills shortage continuing to stretch human resource to its limits in 2023, businesses will need to find new solutions to transform and futureproof their IT infrastructure. Therefore, many decision-makers will opt to outsource to a trusted provider, leaning on the knowledge, experience, and expertise of colocation data centre operators.
Utilising the resources of data centres and their remote hands services will not only help fill in-house IT skills gaps, but will also enable organisations to boost their uptime, reliability, and resilience, helping to reduce costs during tough economic times. This gives businesses the breathing space to focus on their recruitment strategies to enhance future growth.
To read more about the key IT trends that will shape 2023, download the full Telehouse report “Shape Your Tomorrow: Navigating 2023 and Beyond with Technology Infrastructure”