It’s that time of year to look into a little crystal ball and try to predict the key technology trends to watch in 2023. Given the volatility of global markets, especially the ongoing war in Ukraine, companies are looking to: Tighten the budget even more while trying to sustain growth.

One thing is certain: the shortage of semiconductor chips has put the spotlight on the importance of having a more distributed manufacturing environment. Companies like Broadcom, Nvidia, and Intel will continue to decentralize chip manufacturing beyond their existing operations in the US, China, or Taiwan.

The advantage of this is that each region has more sovereignty and can be responsible for its own supply chain. This enables cost-effective manufacturing, which spills over to other parts of the supply chain, resulting in significant cost savings.

This could provide a tailwind for digital innovation and further drive the adoption of cloud-based technologies.

Web3 is coming in 2023 in a big way. This decentralized web will drive the implementation of blockchain, machine learning technology, synthetic intelligence, and faster connectivity.

It could be the year of more widespread adoption of distributed capabilities and distributed computing techniques. From a security perspective, the spotlight turns to Zero Trust as an effective means of securing data and distributed systems.

With the emergence of so many ransomware and other advanced threats in recent years, more companies will focus on investing in Zero Trust-enabled technology. This allows us to spend less time curating cybersecurity internally and more time delivering strategic value to our shareholders.

The convergence of operational technology (OT) and IT could start in 2023. This could lead to a centralized platform that hosts both of these functions, as opposed to the separate methods that are done today.

Promoting these technologies on the same platform not only increases simplicity, but also increases the efficiency of your organization’s processes. These environments are already targeted by the same types of cybersecurity threats, such as ransomware and denial of service, so it makes sense to integrate them and defend them as part of a cohesive whole. .

The elephant in the room is the Metaverse. Like it or not, the fully virtualized office could start to make a positive impact next year. As interest in the metaverse grows, so will investment in related technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality.

Ultimately, businesses will leverage these technologies to enable fully virtual offices. Doing so will unlock different use cases for the metaverse as business and consumer users become more familiar with the technology. Hybrid work is already standardized. It’s not surprising to think that the Metaverse will start creating a much more virtual way of working, while providing a more flexible environment for businesses and employees.

This could also help drive investment in desktop-as-a-service and other distributed technologies. As distributed computing and cloud technologies become more integrated into existing business operations, the metaverse and related solutions will spur further investment in such environments.

A final trend to consider is the rise of low-code/no-code technology. As enterprises rely on fewer on-site personnel to manage their data center infrastructure, their reliance on low-code/no-code technologies increases.

As the labor market plummets, these technologies will begin to proliferate. This means that solutions that enable DevSecOps, Kubernetes automation, Infrastructure as Code, Microservices architectures, and even Database as a Service will become highly sought after. For example, Nutanix offers a Database as a Service that enables enterprises to automate the lifecycle management of their entire database estate, regardless of database size, type or scale.

That said, this year will be an exciting year for technology. Once the situation in Ukraine is resolved, the implications will have to be addressed. This can affect everything from food and fuel prices to technology investments.