Featuring:
Rowan Curran, Analyst, Craig Le Clair, VP, Principal Analyst, Lee Sustar, Principal Analyst, Chris Gardner, VP, Research Director, and Michele Pelino, Principal Analyst
Show Notes:
While the economic picture for 2023 remains blurry, it’s clear that emerging technology will play a key role in helping firms adapt to whatever comes their way. In this episode, five of Forrester’s technology analysts discuss their 2023 predictions across a range of technology areas.
The episode starts with Analyst Rowan Curran sharing his updated predictions for generative AI, or AI-supported digital content production. Curran predicts that 10% of employees overall will use generative AI in 2023. While that may sound overly bullish, he explains that as the need to develop marketing and product content has continued to grow, the use cases for generative AI have expanded as well. Curran also provides some practical next steps for technology leaders looking to ramp up their use of generative AI in 2023.
Next up, Vice President and Principal Analyst Craig Le Clair dives into the prediction that automation technology will become a lifeline for the retail industry in 2023. From physical robots becoming cooks to robotic process automation technology supporting the finance or supply chain functions, retail’s labor shortages will be lessened with new automation uses. “Amazon’s Just Walk Out solution means being able to go into a store that has no cashiers,” Le Clair says, adding that retail firms that have already implemented some automation should take a more holistic view of their use cases in 2023.
In the cloud area, Principal Analyst Lee Sustar predicts that in 2023, 40% of firms will take a cloud-native-first strategy. “We think people are going to move in a decisive direction toward cloud native,” he says, adding that this prediction is an indication that the early adoption phase of cloud native has ended and a new phase is emerging. Sustar also provides guidance for technology leaders trying to determine where to focus their cloud technology spend in 2023.
Principal Analyst Michele Pelino explains why she predicts edge computing will see more growth in 2023. “Rising businesswide networks, confidential computing, and Zero Trust edge (ZTE) will ignite many different edge deployments in 2023,” she says. But new and fragmented use cases will bring new security issues, and Pelino provides steps that tech and security leaders can take to secure their edge environments.
Lastly, VP and Research Director Chris Gardner predicts that in 2023, the growth of low-code and citizen development will lead to at least one headline security breach, or possibly more, as many firms haven’t established governance policies around citizen development. Gardner provides tips on how citizen developers can work more closely with security teams to reduce their risk.
To hear more of Forrester’s 2023 predictions for technology executives, be sure to register for our live webinar on Feb. 28 or watch the replay.
