Chief Innovation Officer at RingCentral Ventures.
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With the closing of 2022, the tech world continues its acclimation to a different kind of working life—one evolving around its dynamic workforce. With hybrid work here to stay, tech has to think of new ways in which to innovate, including by bringing people together via intelligent communication systems. In the year ahead, technology will adapt to modern workforce needs while growing and changing to suit our increased need for safety and security. When I consider my predictions for 2023, they fall into four main categories: increased innovation, increased responsiveness to economic stressors, increased attention to core corporate values and increased demand for better security.
Advances In Hybrid Work
With hybrid work here to stay, there are many opportunities to innovate the ways we bring people together with intelligent communication via technology enablement. For example, hybrid rooms will offer the ability to be immersive enough so that people will feel like they are together in one place even when they are not. AI will help our meetings be more interactive and experience-focused in this way. To enhance people’s ability to be fully present in that space, the more menial tasks of meetings, like the creation of notes and task lists, will be automated. We also will see the advent of the ability to remind people to remain attentive in meetings, as we have the technology available to catch and address distraction. To that end, meetings will become more efficient with participants who are more engaged, sharing a connected experience and less distracted by details that can now be automated.
The Economy Taking Center Stage
During the 2009 economic crisis, the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) published a policy response, in which the OECD illustrated how “economic crises are historically times of industrial renewal.” With challenging economic times at hand, now is a hot time for innovation. Legacy corporations are too busy figuring out how to make money just to stay afloat. Newer, nimble companies can act lean while maximizing their investment in innovation; they will come out ahead as we emerge from this economic dip.
For many, these leaner times mean job losses. Downsizing is rarely a feel-good thing, and yet such change at work yields time to reflect on your path. Consider these articles I wrote about building your career curriculum in early, middle and later years. It is wise to take time to reassess where you are and even to make a change if you have been considering it. Sometimes turnover at companies offers richness in how talent is rotated. Fresh eyes can be an important factor in fostering innovation.
Spotlight On Core Values
In leaner times, value for the dollar is highlighted, and values in terms of priorities also warrant consideration. When I think of my highest priorities for companies, they are to strike a balance between taking great care of employees while also placing the customer front and center in terms of understanding why we do things, what value we create and how we account for that value. It remains of high importance to me that my company is a diverse and inclusive place where everyone feels welcome, whether as an employee or as a customer.
Another top value of mine involves paying constant attention to improving via results-driven measurement and evaluation. Too many companies make the mistake of collecting data only on occasion, inconsistently or, worse, only when something is wrong. The most successful companies hold constant assessment as a core value. Excellence cannot be assumed; it must be proven, and what proves it is data—and data is far more than sales figures. Ask questions like, “Are our employees happy? How happy? Are our customers satisfied? How satisfied?” Your impact should be measured in how management motivates employees, how you treat customers and how you create social impact by prioritizing an inclusive workspace where people know their voices hold power.
Toward A More Secure Future
We all want more convenient lives without compromising our security to get there. Soon, the day will come when the facial recognition technology we use to unlock our phones also will allow us to pay for our shopping or enter the gym. For those and other technologies, we want to know that our information is safe and that our privacy is, too. Cyberattacks are on the rise, which means there are incredible opportunities for innovation and advancement in the cybersecurity world. McKinsey recently released a survey showing that there is a $2 trillion market opportunity for cybersecurity technology and service providers. There will be much growth in this realm in 2023.
Home and personal security matter, too. Consumers are so focused on safety that the smart home security market was predicted to grow significantly from $2.69 billion in 2021 to $3.27 billion in 2022, and it’s expected to reach $6.81 billion by 2026. This, too, is a security field with huge growth potential and many innovations forthcoming.
Conclusion
2023 will begin amid uncertain economic and geopolitical climates. When the world feels like an unstable place, we can turn to what is known in order to make sense of things. We know that hybrid work is here to stay and that we need to find the just-right balance of distributed, hybrid and in-office workforces supported by technologies that facilitate togetherness, whether in person or in cyberspace. We know that economic downturns are wellsprings of revolutions in industry. We know that revisiting and staying true to core values during seismic industry shifts helps us stay on course. And we know that we need more security; people want to feel as safe as possible. These are the things we have to look forward to in 2023—the things we know we need and the opportunities we have to ensure that we secure these things to stabilize and improve our future.
