One of the traditions of turning the calendar over to a new year is to make a list of personal and professional resolutions for the upcoming 12 months. The tradition has become popular enough to warrant short clips on the evening news. Another tradition that does not receive as much attention concerns picking out the business trends that should develop over the next year. For IT professionals and C-Suite executives, that means it is time to list the top strategic technology trends for 2023.

During the recent Gartner IT Symposium, analysts presented the findings of research that revealed a few unexpected trends, as well as mentioned trends that represent extensions of current strategic IT trends. Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner, Frances Karamouzis, summarized the top six strategic technology trends for 2023. “The Gartner strategic technology trends for 2023 are built around three themes-optimize, scale and pioneer-where technologies can help organizations optimize resilience, operations or trust, scale vertical solutions, and product delivery, and pioneer with new forms of engagement, accelerated responses, or opportunity.”

Let’s review the six top strategic technology trends for 2023, according to the analysts at Gartner.

1) Transformation of the Metaverse

Much has been said and written about the Metaverse and in 2023, a complete metaverse should transform into a digital tool that provides improved immersive experiences from a platform that utilizes an independent device. The ownership model consisting of just one vendor should change as well. By 2027, more than 40 percent of large companies operating around the world should use a combination of Web3, AR cloud, and digital twins as part of Metaverse-driven IT projects.

2) Introduction of Super Apps

The definition of an app should change as well, as super apps combine an app, a platform, and an entire IT ecosystem into one huge application. Super apps not only deliver a large set of functions, but they also offer third parties a platform to develop and share their proprietary applications. Karamouzis said, “Although most examples of super apps are mobile apps, the concept can also be applied to desktop client applications, such as Microsoft Teams and Slack, with the key being that a super app can consolidate and replace multiple apps for customer or employee use.”

3) Sustainability Becomes a Priority

A recent Gartner survey of CEOs discovered that social and environmental changes have emerged as a top-tier priority for investors, after the importance of increasing revenue and profit margins. The trend to pay more attention to sustainability issues means C-Suite executives must invest more financial and human resources into devising cutting-edge solutions that meet sustainability goals. The new sustainability paradigm must include building an IT framework that increases the efficiency of both energy and materials by implementing technologies such as analytics, traceability, and renewable energy sources.

4) Continued Development of Digital Immune Systems

Gartner estimates that more than 75 percent of IT teams that are responsible for developing digital products also have assumed some degree of responsibility for increasing revenue. The overlap of the two goals means CIOs must find new practices and approaches to create more value for their businesses. At the same time, CIOs have to focus on decreasing risk factors while increasing customer satisfaction. The continued development of digital immune systems should help CIOs juggle the additional responsibilities.

Digital immunity integrates thoroughly researched data into operations, software engineering, and security found in the application supply chain to bolster the stability of an IT infrastructure.

5) More Emphasis on Applied Observability

Applied observability delivers observable data, such as logs, traces, and API calls, back into a closely integrated platform to increase the speed of the decision-making process. “Applied observability enables organizations to exploit their data artifacts for competitive advantage,” said Karamouzis “It is powerful because it elevates the strategic importance of the right data at the right time for rapid action based on confirmed stakeholder actions, rather than intentions. When planned strategically and executed successfully, applied observability is the most powerful source of data-driven decision-making.”

6) Growth in the Use of Industry Cloud Platforms

Industry cloud platforms combine software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and infrastructure as a service (IASS). As we move into 2023 industry cloud platforms should use the three types of services to provide support for industry-specific business models. Organizations should be able to leverage the features of industry cloud platforms as foundations to create unique and highly effective business initiatives that target specific industries. This should enhance operational agility, while reducing the amount of time it takes to take a product or service to market.

The Bottom Line

Other potential trends, such as the refinement of adaptive AI, also received attention during the Gartner IT Symposium. The strategic technology trends for 2023 should produce more opportunities over the next five to 10 years for organizations to improve the processes that drive innovation.