Key IT technology trends in 2023

The beginning of January is a good time to create New Year’s resolutions, but also to take stock of the past twelve months. Although a year is a relatively short period of time for many people, there have been a lot of changes in the IT industry. The development dynamics proved incomparably greater than in previous years. These changes have been so significant that we can detail a number of digital milestones and technology trends over the course of 2023. So let’s summarize the key elements building the IT world for 2023.

Review of the most important technology trends 2023 – subjective report

As every year, we look at the digital transformation and the most important changes resulting from the natural evolution formula. In 2020, the pandemic has initiated changes in the labor market, forcing a dynamic shift to a mode of remote execution of work tasks. Based on this experience, 2021 will see intense development in the metaverse, or virtual world supported by various VR teletechnology tools. The next year, 2022, is looking for opportunities to increase storage space for significant amounts of data. As a result, business processes and analytical tasks have moved to cloud computing and multicloud solutions. Therefore, it can be expected that the last three years have directed a certain path of IT trends not only for 2023, but also for next year. On the basis of our IT experience, observations and orders carried out for business clients, we have prepared a subjective list of key moments left by the past year.

Artificial intelligence a determinant of development

Our summary of trends cannot begin except by focusing on AI and ML, or artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). We will write a little more about machine learning itself later, now we will focus on the dynamic development of artificial intelligence. The concept of AI itself is not new, we know it at least from computer games or online translators. However, we can confidently say that a gap separates what level artificial intelligence was at in 2022 and what it is at the end of 2023. The vast majority of repetitive tasks – which we will write more about in a later section – are performed by specially adapted algorithms. The development of AI can be seen not only in their application at technology companies, as in the case of Microsoft, but also in the widespread availability of such a solution. While executing orders for our clients, many briefs involved the development of solutions based on OpenAI and integration with ChatGPT. Artificial intelligence makes it possible to immediately relieve some of the workforce and even fill a certain group of vacancies. This, in turn, makes it possible to optimize costs and reduce global expenses in the company. Undoubtedly, however, AI-based software will be developed both next year and in 2025, forming a kind of ecosystem of modern digital technologies. Let the fact that “artificial intelligence” has become the International Word of the Year 2023 according to the Collins Dictionary Chapter be an indication of the tremendous importance AI has had in our lives.

Implementation of machine learning technology

Machine learning is becoming a prominent part of IT artificial intelligence solutions. As the name implies, the machine somehow “learns” the behavior of individual users through interaction and a pre-implemented data library. Based on this, the system learns to make decisions so as to predict the user’s behavior or expectation. Examples of early machine learning include autocomplete text written on smartphones or a memorable dog or paperclip in Word that searches for solutions to a question. Today, the most popular examples of machine learning are ChatGPT and DALL-E. As a reminder: the first program provides answers to questions based on criteria set by the user and available resources. It is so advanced that it can independently create an entire spread of a fashion magazine, prepare a paper on the propagation of protozoa or develop a call for payment. DALL-E, on the other hand, is a system that generates arbitrary images based on queries or entered passwords – and we mean literally any image, even the most abstract. Pope Francis performing a basketball dunk over a defending LeBron James? No problem. A giant rubber duck fighting the U.S. Navy? No problem. How about a panorama of Wroclaw with Ostrow Tumski in a Cyberpunk climate? It can be arranged.

Task automation not only in the IT industry

Until a few years ago, automation of tasks was seen mainly in industries related to manufacturing work and IT. Programmer used frameworks to write applications faster, and operators use properly configured machines to make higher quality products. Today, almost every corporation has implemented at least one form of IT infrastructure that has taken over some of the employees’ responsibilities. Most companies use bots programmed to help others on their website or in their communication channels. This autonomous system is designed to search for answers to questions by both handwriting and voice recognition. Thus, bots can be “employed” in a wide range of contact center professions, including. In customer service or direct marketing departments. They can be used to make appointments, redirect customers to the appropriate departments, and even streamline the various steps of the sales funnel. Task automation is also present in public institutions, where hotlines or queuing systems are managed by AI-based platforms. We are confident that task automation technology will also come to small-scale businesses – sole proprietors and the self-employed.

Cyber security and cybersecurity

The topic of online security should not be foreign to anyone, at least not to those who regularly use social media, sales platforms or banking applications. For several years now, there have been widespread public campaigns and appeals by experts, where the importance of cybersecurity is emphasized. Nevertheless, giving in to routine, credulity or greed causes us to continue losing money on exceptionally good investments or sharing data to social media. The past 2023 has brought us intensified activities and many interesting cybersecurity solutions. Existing solutions are being upgraded regularly, and where there is still development potential, a number of new applications and systems have emerged. Companies increasingly understand that prevention is better than cure and are investing in advanced security, especially in the data processing area. New technologies, therefore, are being implemented not on the basis of legislation or top-down compulsion, but out of the need to inspire confidence in the eyes of customers. These improvements, combined with modern solutions, such as 5G network or cloud solutions, guarantee the satisfaction of consumers and employees of an organization.

Authenticity in the age of AI content

In addition to its enormous advantages, artificial intelligence also has its dark side – the ease of falsifying data. On more than one occasion, one could hear about scandalous voice recordings or scandalous photos of famous people, after which it turned out that they were generated by AI. However, that wasn’t the only thing that proved to be a problem – a mass of fake accounts and bot farms on social media served to sow a particular damaging narrative. Content providers were able to manage the narrative in any way they wished, from supporting Russia’s criminal actions in Ukraine to discrediting politicians running in elections to promoting conspiracy theories. Not surprisingly, more and more Internet users are beginning to attach importance to the authenticity and reliability of information. This applies not only to the e-commerce industry, where opinions must be verified and their source presented in an irrefutable way. The last quarter of last year brought significant functionality to the X (former Twitter) platform. Users of this medium can add contextual explanations to clarify half-truths, manipulations and misstatements by authors of popular posts. It will come as no surprise that in this case the lies and misstatements coming from politicians are most often exposed. Needless to say, artificial intelligence tech has also been quite instrumental in shaping public sentiment ahead of local elections on 15/10/2023.

Popularizing SaaS investments

Among software developers, two models of program use have been equally popular for the past decade: the purchase of a license or any form of subscription. Subscriptions and subscriptions, however, won out with their popularity in 2023, and the indivisible king turned out to be a billing model called SaaS. This is the English acronym for “Software as a Service,” a situation where access to a given program and selected or all functionality is a service. It can be compared, so to speak, to a lease, except that the lease ends with a buyout, the return of the asset or the collection of a new leased asset. With Software as a Service, usage continues until the subscription is paid, and all upgrades and enhancements are available immediately. The predictability of costs, the ability to choose specific subscription plans or the scalability of this solution are undoubted advantages for entrepreneurs. We can therefore expect SaaS to lead the way in the years to come, and perhaps this model will supplant licensing exactly as CDs supplanted floppy disks.

Summary: What did the top IT trends look like in 2023?

The above summary is – again, let’s emphasize – our subjective compilation and does not necessarily match the predictions of other IT professionals. For example, we have not included here the trends related to no-code and low-code programming, as pointed out by analysts at US-based Gartner. We also did not indicate the development of the IOT concept, or Internet of Things / Internet of Things, nor did we discuss the existence of IOT sensor devices. This would already require more technical discussion and sustainable development assuming the concept of smart, environmentally friendly homes. The technology of the past year has certainly brought many interesting developments not only in the area of AI. In addition to this buzzword, in our opinion, the terms “digitalization” and “optimization” should also be distinguished. The first will refer to such content as cloud of huge amounts of data or cloud computing. Optimization, on the other hand, refers to any solution that aims to streamline previously known procedures or improve the functioning of tools. We have combined both slogans in our solutions for a variety of industries. And so food service operators can use Foodeliver, law firms can use LegallyCRM, while RES installers can use SolarCRM. What trends 2024 will bring – that remains to be seen, although we can make some predictions based on observations of the IT sector. Whether they will prove to be accurate, we will find out next year.