With the ongoing skills shortage fresh in everyone’s minds, we’ve talked a lot about the most in-demand and lucrative opportunities for IT professionals in 2022. While it is crucial that organizations acquire the skills they need, they first need to consider what they are acquiring these skills for. The reason for such significant growth in demand for specific IT roles is the development of new technologies. 

If organizations are looking to recruit the niche talent required for modern technology, they need to know which technologies they’re hiring for. For this reason, we’ll dive into the most prominent technologies emerging in 2022 and the opportunities they present for your business so that you can keep them in mind as you work to close your skills gap. 

1. AI and ML

You may be thinking that AI and ML are not new to 2022, and you’re right. Still, they are technologies of such prominence that they must be mentioned - and if your organization has yet to adopt them, now is the time. 

While AI may not be an entirely new opportunity, it has hardly reached its full potential, and we expect to see more advancements in the upcoming year. One of the most beneficial uses of AI will be its data-wrangling ability. As companies become increasingly dependent on technology, their databases need to manage and process significant volumes of data. With AI, enterprises can easily handle such volumes, reducing bottlenecks and accelerating data speed within your network. 

AI is also instrumental in the boosting of RPA efforts. While automation itself is invaluable to companies, when supplemented with AI, it can also provide process-related insights that can’t be obtained otherwise. As such, organizations optimize automation while obtaining more accurate insights for business decisions. 

Ultimately through AI, companies can enhance their supply chain efficiency - something that every company today is in need of. The future is bright for AI, and we can only imagine the opportunities it will introduce in the near future. 

Machine learning often operates in tandem with AI as it holds more capabilities concerning historical data than its counterpart. ML devices will analyze post-historical and real-time data and present users with recommendations based on their information. Essentially every sector can benefit from utilizing ML, as it automatically improves processes based on past actions.

2. Hyperautomation

Speaking of automation, we can expect to see the growth of its successor in the upcoming year, hyperautomation. Hyperautomation is the large-scale concept of automation, enabling more intelligent automation through AI, ML, RPA, and other technologies. Combining such technologies allows organizations to drastically scale their automation efforts, essentially automating all business processes within an organization. While automation may speed up one process, hyperautomation can expedite all. 

Similar to AI, hyperautomation has been considered a top trend in IT over the past few years but has not yet become a widespread technology. As such, we can expect it to continue emerging in 2022. In the future, it’s likely that automation, and hyperautomation, in particular, will be seen as a necessity rather than an option. As the IT industry is all about speed, this trend is essential for organizations to keep up. 

3. Blockchain

Blockchain solutions are expected to see significant growth in 2022, led primarily by the financial sector. While Blockchain was previously centered toward cryptocurrency, it has extended far beyond that. Many organizations utilize blockchain technology to eliminate human error from data processing and verify the path and origin of data. 

Essentially, Blockchain serves as a digital ecosystem managed entirely by its users. As there are no owners or intermediaries, all transactions are processed through and verified by the nodes within the network, eliminating the risk of human error. Blockchain allows users to connect their data to thousands of others while remaining decentralized. As a result, businesses can significantly cut costs by eliminating middlemen while still ensuring the credibility of their data. 

4. VR and AR

Initially used for gaming and entertainment, AR and AR technologies have taken significant strides in other sectors like IT and healthcare. While we are still far from seeing mass application of these technologies, integrating them into preexisting systems is a highly feasible opportunity. 

Using VR and AR combined with AI, businesses can create artificial business scenarios and models. Whether determining the most efficient shipping routes for products or determining market changes, these technologies can provide companies with accurate insights, allowing them to make better business decisions. With a combination of historical and real-time data, such tools can create realistic models for future business operations. 

5. IoT

The Internet of Things (IoT) is everywhere, and we can expect it to stay that way in 2022. This technology enables interoperability between thousands of devices, allowing different devices on the same network to communicate. For businesses exchanging mass volumes of data, this capability is vital. 

While this technology itself may not seem like a new opportunity for IT organizations, it opens the door for countless other opportunities. With IoT, organizations can more easily adopt and manage solutions such as AI and ML, integrating them with preexisting technologies and networks. Such an enhanced level of interoperability ensures that organizations can share, exchange, and access data from numerous devices quickly and accurately. 

6. 5G

Hand-in-hand with IoT is 5G, which stands for the 5th Generation of mobile network technology. 5G, when combined with technologies such as IoT, presents numerous lucrative opportunities for businesses looking to get ahead this year. 

As 5G offers users the internet at a faster speed, with the ability to connect several devices simultaneously, it can drastically enhance the performance of IoT networks. In addition to speed, 5G offers users increased stability and internet performance. As companies today cannot operate without a reliable internet connection, this capability is essential. 

7. Cloud Computing

We could not discuss emerging opportunities in technology without mentioning cloud computing. The cloud has been and will continue to be one of the most innovative technologies available. This technology has reached mass adoption worldwide and will only continue to grow in the opportunities it offers in upcoming years. 

In 2022, we expect to see greater advancements in cloud computing, particularly in hybrid and edge computing. In particular, the hybrid cloud poses a tremendous opportunity for businesses as it combines capabilities from both public and private cloud environments. As a result, companies store data in the most compatible platform and share it between platforms easily and efficiently. 

Edge computing can take this one step further, allowing users to store and move data according to convenience. Frequently used data can be stored on the “edge” for faster access, while data not used for daily operations can be securely stored deeper in the cloud. 

Endless Opportunities in IT

As more and more developments in technology appear, so do the opportunities for businesses to grow and improve. Adopting the right technology is more important today than ever before. Not only do modern companies rely on this technology to operate and stay competitive, but they can also use it to overcome the current skills shortage. 

Emerging technologies such as these can alleviate the workload of an organization’s current workforce while also attracting new talent. In today’s IT world, the goal is to work smarter - not harder. By taking advantage of these lucrative opportunities in technology, companies can do exactly that.