Hello from our very own Mystic Meg, bringing you our technology predictions for 2022!

It’s a brand new year and of course, things aren’t going to stand still in the technology world or anywhere else for that matter. As Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, famously put it, "Change is the only constant in life."

So, will this year finally bring flying cars and hoverboards? Can we expect to teleport just like in Star Trek?

Well… let’s find out what we think is in store for this year:

Our technology predictions for 2022

Sadly, we can’t promise you flying cars and teleportation, but we can give you an idea of what we think you can expect as a business this year:

1) Hybrid work

It doesn’t take a genius, or a crystal ball, to predict that more and more people are working from home. Of course, with a veritable Greek alphabet soup of Covid variations, it’s sensible for people to continue to work from home at least for the present, but more and more businesses are thinking of continuing the practice of employees working from home even when things are back to normal.

Hybrid work can be good for both employees and businesses, giving flexibility and a more relaxed working environment to employees, without the endless back and forth commute. It also allows businesses to look at working from smaller premises, while still being able to provide all the services they normally do to customers. Bringing in hybrid work can also boost employee motivation, improve employee wellbeing and morale, and give a better work/life balance, so there are many advantages.

However, businesses have to consider two things:

Firstly, you need to consider what technology needs you’re going to have if employees are working completely from home or part-time in the office and the rest of the time at home. You could just let them use their own laptop and mobile with their own broadband connection, but it’s far safer and more secure if you put in place the right technology and company policies from day one, including hiring in a specialist IT company, like Yoozoom, to help with IT support and cyber security.

The other thing to think about is that according to Forrester, “One in three firms that make a new shift to hybrid work models will fail.” The reason for this is that many companies are arranging for work from home, without looking at how the rest of the business is run and whether anything else needs to change. As Forrester puts it, “…shifting to a hybrid model while still designing meetings, job roles, and promotion opportunities around face-to-face experiences will send productivity plummeting and lead execs to question the model instead of the processes they cling to.”

It's time to adapt and be willing to change if you want the new way of working to actually go well.

2) Going digital

With the pandemic and more people working from home, the move to buying online has speeded up and it’s time to take a look at how you interact with your customers now, how you market to them, and whether your website user experience needs to be improved. The more people who buy online, the more they expect a personalised service and a genuinely good experience from start to finish. This doesn’t just apply to B2C customers, but increasingly to B2B transactions. Even big companies are starting to buy their services online with less in the way of face-to-face sales meetings.

Yoozoom can help you ensure a seamless experience for your customers with efficient, well-supported IT systems and great connectivity and communications.

3) Cyber-attacks

Unfortunately, cyber-attacks are on the rise, especially with the advent of more people working from home. It’s far easier for a cybercriminal to attack home workers than it is to attack a full business IT network. It can be done as easily as sending an email by using a phishing scam or an attached virus if the right protections aren’t in place.

There are increasing levels of ransomware attacks, where business files and data are locked by cyber criminals until a ransom is paid.

Phishing attacks are increasing too, including versions where employees get an email saying one of their colleagues has been infected by Covid and asking them to click on a link to find out how to keep safe. Of course, the link will either contain malware or encourage the employee to fill in sensitive information that may enable the hacker to get into the company network.

Not only can a cyber-attack be expensive for businesses if they pay the ransom to get their files back or have to pay for repairs and upgrades to their network, but the disruption caused and time lost can affect their reputation and impact their customers. In some cases, it has resulted in businesses shutting down permanently after an attack.

A cyber-attack isn’t just an annoyance but a real threat, so businesses need to remain vigilant and keep up to date with the latest scams and cyber-attacks.

Choose Yoozoom today

The good news is that partnering with a company like Yoozoom can give you all the protection and security you need to keep your company safe. We can block spoof emails from ever reaching your employees, monitor your network in real-time to watch out for attacks, keep your systems constantly updated and patched to protect against new vulnerabilities, and of course, provide regular secure backups. We can also help you put in place a disaster recovery plan.

Why not book yourself our free Gap Analysis Report? We’ll do a strategic overview of your current IT systems and provide you with a thorough report on both negatives and positives in your current systems. We can find areas for improvement and, if you’d like us to, we can fill the gaps and implement all the IT support you need to streamline your business and keep it secure.

So, there you have our technology predictions for 2022. Yes, there’ll be a lot of change, but we think it’s an exciting time, with the potential for massive improvements in the way we do things that will bring a positive impact to employees, businesses, and consumers.

Before we go, the lottery numbers for this week are… Oops. Sorry. The dog just ran off with our crystal ball!

Whatever happens in 2022, you can count on Yoozoom for all your IT needs. Give our friendly team a call or drop us an email to see how we can help.