COVID-19 and working from home has really shaken things up over the last 2 years. The ‘pandemic years’ have seen a rapid uptake in technology as businesses have needed to evolve to stay operational. More and more SMEs are shifting greater focus towards smart IT practices and rightly so. So what will the tech trends of 2022 be as the world takes on a hybrid way of working? We’ve got out finger on the pulse and have made a few predictions…
Trend 1: Acceptance that technology has evolved
Before the pandemic, businesses needed more persuading that server technology was on the way out and that the cloud was the way to go. Now businesses – and importantly the C-level decision-makers – have accepted that operating in the cloud is vital, it’s not a question of if we will move to it, it’s when. Focus has now shifted to finding the right partner in solution delivery, and in utilising the cloud in the best way possible.
Trend 2: Optimising cloud potential
If you’re in the cloud, this year you should be assessing if the cloud is setup right for your business? How can I optimise my setup to improve business productivity and get better bang for buck. One potentially weak area in a company’s migration that we see often is security. “Sometimes when we log in to a system, we find the business’s security is not configured properly, leaving them vulnerable to threats,” says Travis Carter, Director, Retrac. Travis stresses that businesses don’t need to go outside of Microsoft 365 for security. “Everything they need is there – the business simply has to have the right subscription and it needs to be set up correctly,” he says. “This is where having the right partner is vital, as many people don’t know what’s possible with fast-changing technology.”
Trend 3: Increased adoption of Teams features
Teams has become the norm for companies with over 145 million users today. Users have a growing understanding of its features and how best to utilise them. People know how to structure content, how to share information, and how to get the right things from the right people via Teams. Securing content shared in teams will now become more of a focus. According to Travis, AI will play a big part in this and will facilitate who should have access to information, deciding whether it’s appropriate at that time for that person at that location to do what they need to do with content. “For example, if an employee deletes five files, it’s probably not an issue,” says Travis. “But if they start deleting hundreds of files, AI can notify the right person so they know what’s going on.” All this can be done through Microsoft 365, and will be facilitated with algorithms that work to set rules and regulations in line with company policies so it’s simple, effective and affordable.
Trend 4: Preparedness for cyber threats
According to an Australian Cyber Security Centre survey, there were over 67,500 reports of cybercrime in the 2020-21 financial year – an increase of 13% on the previous financial year. According to the survey, loss from cybercrime totalled more than $33 billion in Australia. Cybercrime isn’t going away, so companies need to have confidence that their security is the best it can be. Businesses need to choose a partner who knows how to optimise security, who is proactive, not reactive and who is up to date with new threats that arise, as well as the technology that can combat them. Retrac’s Security Bundle offers advanced protection that gives you peace of mind so you can focus on growing your business, rather than worrying about cybercrime. If this is something you haven’t looked at before – now’s the time!
Trend 5: Using automation to your advantage
Every year it’s becoming clearer that technology is your friend when it comes to the modern workplace. Customer problems can be solved digitally through the use of automation, saving time and money. While it’s possible for businesses to set up automation processes themselves, by utilising the tools in Microsoft Automate, it is a complex process and can be tricky. The challenge for businesses is to understand what they want to achieve and then look at the best way they can do it. At Retrac, we take best practice knowledge and apply it to the business productivity problems we are presented with. We look at which parts of the process we can manage, and what parts our customers can to make sure the options we present and implement see ROI.
The importance of finding the right partner
Coming through all these trends is the need for the right partner, to help businesses feel confident in the new technology they’ve now adopted. Retrac has a reputation of helping businesses make smart technology choices, so they get the most out of their technology investments and are safe in the process. Talk to us if you want to discuss some of these trends and how they could be added to your current IT strategy.