Each year we research prominent areas of advancement in technology, some of which are continually ongoing (and have been previously referenced). Being a big proponent of personalised medicine and the use of new technologies in healthcare already we have not included this on-going trend.
Here we share Delta2020's tech annual themes for 2022:
1. Generative artificial intelligence (GAN) – 'whatever you can do AI ‘GAN’ do better!'
GAN uses unsupervised learning algorithms to generate creative content such as audio, video, and digital images in addition to text and code. Analysts predict rapid adoption with less than 1% of the target audience being met. Furthermore, Gartner believe generative AI will be used for fraud, forgery, scams, and political disinformation, expecting it to account for 10% of all data produced by 2025 (as referenced in the Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies – see opening image).
2. Total Experience (TX) and interconnectivity – 'a seamless connection'
Total experience combines superior shared experiences by bringing together four disciplines:
• Multi Experience (MX)
• Customer Experience (CX)
• Employee Experience (EX)
• User Experience (UX)
By 2024, Gartner predict that organizations providing a total experience will outperform competitors by 25% in satisfaction metrics for both CX and EX.
Fundamental technologies such as multi-core (two or more CPUs working together on the same chip) will provide higher performances at lower energy consumption rates improving interconnectivity quality along with Silicon photonics that will address bandwidth, latency, and energy challenges in the fabric of high-end systems.
3. AI Governance – 'time to slow down to speed up?'
The speed and complexity of AI technology innovation inherently causes complications for regulators. In his thoughtful book Exponential, Azeem Azhar suggests that an ‘exponential gap’ is opening up between our understanding of our world, which updates slowly, and new technologies, which change faster than we can cope with.
Responsibilities for the governance of AI are of global concern with AI ethics Summits already scheduled for 2022 to debate some of the core issues:
• Ethics, safety, and fairness to protect businesses and their reputations
• Trust and transparency
• Diversity
4. Quantum Computing – 'Is getting cooler!'
Constrained by the laws of physics a current Quantum Computing difficulty may be resolved by a tiny new microwave controller device created by Finnish researchers. This device can work at close to absolute zero, meaning it can be placed alongside the quantum processor in the same supercooled space, eliminating the need for huge volumes of wiring ‘spaghetti’. This technological advancement may reduce one of the major limiting factors in scaling Quantum Computers. MarketWatch analysts report that the Quantum Computing Market is poised to grow by a CAGR of 19% pa to 2025.
5. Hyperautomation and cloud-native platforms – 'The sky’s the limit'
We believe that hyperautomation will be a key productivity driver in 2022 enabling modern digital enterprises to scale, automating many IT and business processes along with remote operation. Cloud-native platforms such as Cloud Foundry will also enable the building of new applications that are responsive to rapid digital change.
6. Sustainable Technologies – 'Growing a conscience'
In the build up to COP26 in Glasgow this year, a swathe of tech companies have been applying their skills to developing products and applications that aim to use natural resources to reduce our environmental and ecological impact on the planet. This trend has only just begun. One such example is my portfolio company Xampla whose goal is to replace single-use plastics with a polymer film made from plant protein that is sustainable and 100% natural. Their mission is to replace the use of sachets and flexible packaging films as well as microplastics within liquids and lotions.
7. The dematerialized economy of intangible assets – 'The ‘invisible’ gems'
To gain a competitive advantage innovation is essential and intellectual Property (IP) is critical to protecting innovation. Intangible assets are tech companies’ principal asset no matter the business or intellectual output. McKinsey’s Global institute report shows a high correlation with productivity and sector growth, and it splits intangibles into digital & analytics capital, brand capital, human capital, and innovation capital.
Recent data shows Cambridge having created the most billion-dollar private companies per capita in Europe. The Cambridge Cluster has more than 5,100 knowledge intensive firms generating £18bn in turnover (as at Oct20). These Knowledge Intensive firms continue to outperform national figures growing at 8% pa.
Despite universal acknowledgement of IP and its economic value and contribution to economic growth, many start-ups still face difficulties raising funds to expand their businesses. Inngot’s online IP valuation platform helps companies unlock IP value to use as collateral for growth funding. I expect Inngot to become much more widely known during 2022.
8. Digitization to Metaverse Evolution – 'A world of different realities'
Covid has changed our working environment for good and workforces will continue to experience virtualization of their offices. Facebook have already pre-empted this with a company name change to Meta to align its visions to the concept of a ‘metaverse’ - persistent digital worlds that exist in parallel with the physical world we live in. 2022 will see the continuing rise of digitization and ‘datafication’ where these metaverses will run in parallel with the potential to simulate our real-world actions, with greater accuracy giving a greater and more immersive experience.
9. Decision Intelligence (DI) – 'From A to D'
Decision intelligence is a practical engineering approach to enhance organizational decision making through data science. By modelling decisions as a set of processes, it uses intelligence and analytics to learn from, refine and inform decisions unlocking the value of a company’s data.
Gartner predicts that by 2023, more than a third of large organizations will have analysts practicing decision intelligence, including decision modelling.
10. Cyber Security Mesh – 'Is weaving its web'
This distributed architectural concept involves a broader network of nodes than that of confidential computing to provide dependable, flexible, and scalable cybersecurity control.
Gartner predicts that by 2025, cybersecurity mesh will support more than 50% of digital access control requests reducing the cost implications of security breaches for companies by an average of 90% by 2024.
Sources
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/top-5-strategic-tech-trends-for-2022/
https://www.computer.org/publications/tech-news/trends/2022-report
https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/insights/top-technology-trends
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/07/fight-climate-change-with-technology/
https://intellectualpoint.com/what-is-cybersecurity-mesh/
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/britain-leads-way-in-tech-investment-p7br63r6r
https://www.cambridgeahead.co.uk/cambridge-cluster-insights/
Disclosures
All Simon Thorpe’s portfolio companies can be found on Delta2020’s website at www.delta2020.com and include Inngot and Xampla