Gartner: 10 tech trends you need to know for 2023

In the ever-evolving tech landscape, IT executives must navigate beyond cost-saving strategies and embrace operational excellence that ushers in new realms of innovation. At the forefront of these shifts are technologies that optimize resilience, scale industry-specific solutions, pioneer engagement, and adhere to sustainability principles. Gartner’s 10 top strategic technology trends for 2023, unveiled at the IT Symposium/Xpo 2022, encapsulate these dynamics. These trends have a profound impact worldwide, and their alignment with the tech aspirations of the UAE, especially Dubai, is noteworthy.

1. The Multifaceted World of Wireless

• Multiple wireless technologies, including 5G, Wi-Fi 6, and Wi-Fi 7, are set to redefine connectivity across various environments.
• In the UAE’s tech-savvy landscape, these diverse wireless solutions align with the goal of providing seamless and dynamic connectivity, enhancing the experience of residents and businesses.
• The UAE’s forward-looking vision converges with Gartner’s projection that 60% of enterprises will simultaneously deploy five or more wireless technologies by 2025.

2. Rise of Superapps

• Organizations are embracing superapps that consolidate multiple app features into a single ecosystem.
• The superapp phenomenon isn’t just a trend; it’s a global movement. While Asia has been at the forefront with platforms like WeChat and AliPay, Elon Musk’s vision for Twitter as a superapp could be a game-changer in North America.
• Dubai’s ambition to be a smart city hub aligns with superapp innovation, transforming user engagement and experience.

3. Tailored Industry-Specific Cloud Platforms

• Industry-specific cloud platforms blend SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS to support specialized use cases, catalyzing innovation, agility, and faster time-to-market.
• In Dubai’s journey toward tech excellence, leveraging these platforms could amplify digital transformation initiatives and industry-specific solutions.
• The UAE’s tech aspirations resonate with Gartner’s prediction that over 50% of enterprises will employ industry cloud platforms by 2027.

4. Adaptive AI: Learning on the Fly

• Adaptive AI systems, evolving within runtime environments, learn and adapt swiftly to real-world situations based on new data.
• Dubai’s AI-driven initiatives align with this trend, driving innovation and responsiveness across sectors such as transportation, healthcare, and urban planning.
• The UAE’s focus on technological advancement corresponds with Gartner’s recognition of the transformative potential of adaptive AI.

5. AI Trust, Risk, and Security Management (TRiSM)

• AI’s transformative potential is coupled with the need for trust, risk, and security management.
• The UAE’s drive for a secure digital environment converges with Gartner’s emphasis on managing AI-related risks, ensuring reliability and data protection.
• Dubai’s ambition to be a global tech hub resonates with Gartner’s findings that managing AI risk yields enhanced project results and business value.

6. Applied Observability: Decoding Data for Insights

• Applied observability transforms data artifacts into actionable insights for competitive advantage.
• Dubai’s tech ambitions harmonize with this trend, leveraging observability to enhance decision-making and optimize operations across sectors like transportation, logistics, and healthcare.
• The UAE’s quest for operational excellence aligns with Gartner’s strategic perspective on applied observability.

7. Platform Engineering: Fostering Software Delivery

• Platform engineering focuses on building self-service internal developer platforms, optimizing software delivery and lifecycle management.
• The UAE’s drive for tech innovation resonates with the growth of platform teams, fostering developer self-service portals and fostering reusable components.
• Dubai’s goal to be a tech hub converges with Gartner’s projection for the establishment of platform engineering practices.

8. Digital Immune System: Boosting Resilience

• Digital immunity combines data-driven insights, automated testing, incident resolution, and security to enhance system resilience.
• Dubai’s pursuit of tech resilience is aligned with Gartner’s projection that investing in digital immunity can lead to significant reduction in system downtime, translating into higher revenue.
• The UAE’s tech ambition correlates with Gartner’s vision for building digital immune systems.

9. Sustainability: A Guiding Principle

• Sustainability transcends all trends, resonating across environmental, social, governance, and economic considerations.
• Dubai’s commitment to sustainability is in line with Gartner’s emphasis on sustainability as a priority for CEOs and businesses.
• The UAE’s ambition for a sustainable future harmonizes with Gartner’s vision of a sustainable-technology framework.

10. The Potential of Metaverse

• The metaverse concept offers immersive shared spaces, transcending physical and digital realities.
• Dubai’s tech-forward vision aligns with Gartner’s recognition of the metaverse’s potential, paving the way for enhanced engagement and innovation.
• The UAE’s ambition to create futuristic experiences converges with Gartner’s insights on the metaverse.

Navigating the UAE’s Tech Future: A Fusion of Innovation

As the UAE charts its course toward a tech-centric future, Gartner’s strategic technology trends for 2023 provide a compass for this journey. By embracing wireless connectivity, superapps, industry-specific cloud platforms, AI, observability, platform engineering, digital immunity, sustainability, and the metaverse, the UAE can materialize its aspirations for tech excellence. These trends resonate with Dubai’s vision of becoming a global tech hub and are poised to transform various sectors, from transportation to healthcare. In the dynamic landscape of technology, the UAE’s fusion of innovation and aspiration is poised to lead the way.