We sat down with our experts to talk through their picks for 2023's biggest business and technology trends.
A new year always brings a fresh wave of innovation and opportunity and 2023 looks to be no different. Whether it’s new technology, a re-imagining of the customer experience, or an increased focus on making the most of existing assets, there’s a lot to be excited about this coming year. We chatted with some of RevGen’s leadership to hear which business and technology trends the experts were keeping on their radars for 2023.
One key trend that VP of Data and Technology Pero Dalkovski sees becoming even more important is the democratization of data and technology.
“The continued rise of ‘business technologists’ and the criticality of IT to enable those business technologists with tech expertise, safeguards, augmentation, low-code/no-code, and self-service tech is a trend that I anticipate will accelerate,” he says. “In fact, Gartner shares that 67% of CEOs want more tech work done within their business units.”
Why?
“It allows a business to more quickly leverage data and technology to impact customer interactions, optimize operations, and inform business strategy. IT is going to play a critical role by providing user-friendly platforms and guidance while adapting to this shift in operating models.”
Noah Benedict, our Director of Digital Enablement, echoed the trend towards easy-to-use, yet powerful technology. “Artificial Intelligence isn’t just for folks in lab coats anymore. It underlays much of our interaction these days, including chat bots, recommendation algorithms, image and speech-to-text, and data filtering. It is also getting easier and easier to use, with offerings from all the major cloud providers.”
Of course, this trend towards ease of use isn’t just for the non-tech savvy. Those heavily invested in data and analytics will also be looking for a new solution to a big problem.
“Data Fabrics are a key trend worth following in 2023,” says Director of Analytics & Insights, Ian Foley. “Most of our clients have so much data that it would take years to move it all into a data warehouse or other central data structure. Data Fabrics seek to address this challenge by making an organization’s data more easily findable and usable without having to always move data through that centralized solution.”
User experience is at the heart of Jen Walsh’s pick, though as Director of Customer Experience (CX), that’s to be expected. “As staffing shortages are expected to continue in 2023 and we continue to create more self-service, automated customer experiences, it will be even more important for brands to focus on creating authentic, connected experiences to build trust and customer loyalty.
“Building authenticity into a brand’s CX means allowing the brand’s human qualities and empathy to shine alongside their technology. This can be as simple as ensuring that a consumer can easily connect to a human to resolve an issue if the digital experience doesn’t follow the ‘happy path’.” She grins. “I recently got first-hand experience with this CX challenge trying to travel over the holidays.”
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The snarl of holiday travel is only one challenge we are likely to face in the upcoming year.
“I think 2023 will be a challenging year for digital transformation initiatives,” Noah says. “Budgets will be closely scrutinized amid economic uncertainty and IT leaders will have to focus on delivering business value, all while the building blocks and processes for creating software continue to evolve. It’s going to require solution teams and organizational leaders to collaborate closer than ever to find the right balance in 2023 and beyond.”
Economic concerns underpinned the challenges identified by Jen and Pero as well.
“Consumer spending growth is expected to drop in 2023,” adds Jen, “with most customers feeling the strain of inflation. This means every experience, every interaction, matters more. Brands need to showcase their empathy and build relationships for the future.”
Pero approaches it from a slightly different perspective. “With the push for higher workforce productivity, especially with looming economic uncertainty, it’s even more critical for organizations to effectively manage the comingling of the human with the digital ‘automated bot’ workforce — to not only improve productivity but improve the employee experience.”
“A key component to this is the concept of lifecycle management,” he continues, “from the identification of the right processes to automate, to the deliberate insertion of human controls, to the tracking and realization of ROI. As with everything, technology can help to crack this nut — tools like UiPath’s ‘Discover’ and ‘Build’ modules or Automation Anywhere’s ‘Optimize’ module — but a well thought through strategy just can’t be outsourced to tech.”
Ian agrees with another of Noah’s points: collaboration is always at the forefront of successful projects.
“Time and again we see change enablement and consensus building as key challenges to success in data initiatives. Taking the time to develop a shared vision, engaging key department heads, empowering evangelists, and building a plan that takes into the account the needs and responsibilities of all key stakeholders are even more critical to success now.”
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Challenges aside, 2023 has us excited for what the future brings, especially with the evolution and maturation of several technologies.
“I think ‘phygital’ experiences that blur the line between physical and digital will reign supreme in 2023 and expand to new industries, especially banking and insurance,” says Jen. “We’re already seeing immersive experiences such as trying on clothing and makeup virtually, but I think it will go beyond just kiosks and apps to innovative experiences that customers will use to make large purchases, including cars and houses. Immersive experiences, the Metaverse, and immersive AR and VR will become the norm.”
While virtual reality is quickly becoming a necessary consideration for CX, Pero’s technology focus is keyed in on the next evolution of the cloud.
“I’m interested in the continued innovation in cloud platforms to accelerate time-to-value for enterprises,” he says. “Software and data engineering teams now have a robust toolset that enables them to pair pre-baked cloud services efficiently and effectively with custom-developed components to reduce solution and product cycle times.
“In today’s cloud, there are many good options to leverage — Azure Integration Services and Power Platform, Google Cloud Platform’s AppSheet and Vertex AI, Databricks Auto ML, and more — so I’m excited to see how much faster we can be at finding value for our clients.”
Ian is also looking at maturation of data services to fuel some exciting developments.
“Data science and advanced analytics continue to be major opportunities for driving greater value from an organization’s data assets. I’ve heard from a number of clients that they don’t believe they are mature enough or that their data quality is good enough to benefit from data science.
“However, data science can be applied and targeted to benefit any organization, and there are clever tools now to address data quality that our data scientists routinely employ. Success with advanced analytics is more achievable than most realize.”
Maturity is also on Noah’s mind.
“The maturation of DevSecOps has changed how software is developed, unifying diverse teams that used to be at odds with each other. In 2023 and beyond, I think we will continue to see this become both more common and easier as tools, best practices, and industry standards catch up with the latest in collaborative thinking. I’m excited to see secure, maintainable software development tools and processes become a reality for small and mid-sized organizations.”
No matter which area — data, technology, experience — your organization is looking to grow, 2023 is certain to hold some exciting developments. These business and technology trends are only just a few of our picks. There are likely even more innovations heading our way as technologies continue to evolve.
Interested in how RevGen can help you reach your goals this year? Visit our Services site to learn more.
Pero Dalkovski is RevGen’s Vice President of Data and Technology. He has spent his career helping clients strategize and implement innovative data, analytics, and technology solutions that deliver business value.
Noah Benedict leads RevGen’s Digital Enablement practice. He is passionate about using technology to advance business and empower his clients to embrace new opportunities.
Ian Foley leads RevGen’s Analytics & Insights practice. He is driven by deriving business value from data and has spent his career helping clients develop the capabilities to do just that.
Jeniffer Walsh is RevGen’s Director of Customer Experience. She specializes in CX transformation, digital optimization, and Artificial Intelligence technologies for growth.
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