Three Trends To Expect For 2022 And Beyond

Three Trends To Expect For 2022 And Beyond

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Jeff Abbott is the CEO of Ivanti, overseeing all aspects of product and go-to-market strategy and execution.

Where are we going next?

You’d be forgiven for thinking, “Are you kidding? We barely know where we are right now.”

It has been a whirlwind, to say the very least. However, savvy business leaders understand that it’s not enough to keep reacting and playing catch-up; it’s essential to look forward and start planning for a post-pandemic business landscape.

How to start? Here are three trends that are likely to steer work throughout the rest of 2022 and beyond.

1. Employee experience will become an executive-level priority.

It’s no secret that the “Great Resignation” has decimated team rosters around the globe and across nearly every conceivable industry. Businesses have taken to throwing all manners of perks and incentives at employees, and it’s not working.

They’re focusing on the wrong thing. In 2022 and beyond, employees don’t want swag. They don’t want pool tables in the breakroom because they’re not at the office. They don’t want a stocked snack bar for the same reason. PTO means far less than it used to. While a promotion and/or more money might be compelling, it doesn’t carry the weight that it did pre-pandemic. A recent survey we conducted found that more than seven in 10 employees would forego a promotion in favor of something else — the ability to work from anywhere at any time.

Most employees want freedom and flexibility. They don’t want to be told when, how or where to work. They don’t want to be told which tools and devices to use. They don’t want to have to put up with cumbersome logins or barriers to productivity. They don’t want to get hassled for going to a kid’s soccer game partway through the day. In short, they want to be treated like humans with full lives.

Employers should look to incorporate AI and other technology that’s designed to create a seamless, secure, collaborative user experience anywhere on any device. It’s that simple.

That leads to the second trend.

2. Organizations will realize the need to gain control over IT investments.

The “everywhere workplace” is perimeterless. No longer are employees and devices confined by firewalls and a local area network. Even if only part of your workforce is hybrid/remote, you need to accommodate secure access everywhere.

This monumental shift requires rethinking IT investments. Modern asset management, license management, endpoint security, self-service — all of these elements look very different in the “everywhere workplace.” By 2026, I predict that only one in five organizations will still use a single tool to support enterprise-wide software asset management. By 2024, I believe 40% of cloud-native organizations will rely on a SaaS management platform. This is the direction we’re going, and those who go there sooner should be at a distinct advantage.

3. Cybersecurity will evolve to focus on management, automation and prioritization of security programs.

Of all the departments hit by the Great Resignation, IT arguably has it the worst. Not only is it facing a massive global shortage of workers (estimated at a stunning 2.7 million people), but it’s also the one dealing with the shift to the “everywhere workplace” and all of the security risks, frustrated employees and frantic IT helpdesk tickets that come with it.

To relieve IT, alleviate security risks and make the “everywhere workplace” workable for everyone, security programs need to be managed, automated and prioritized. No IT team, no matter how robust, can realistically keep up with the massive uptick in ransomware and other threats that continue to emerge as threat actors capitalize on remote and hybrid work. Automation and risk-based, intelligent prioritization are essential to manage and remediate threats. Plus, automated, unified endpoint management is becoming the only realistic method of discovering, managing, securing and servicing the myriad devices being used in the BYOD-centric “everywhere workplace.”

Far from replacing IT, this cybersecurity evolution is poised to make IT far more efficient and effective, reducing helpdesk tickets and eliminating routine, mundane tasks. That means IT can take its rightful place at the center of the “everywhere workplace,” where it’ll be integral to the strategic and technical advancements that will keep employees connected, engaged, productive and happy.

To be fair, these are all predictions. No one has a crystal ball. Yet there is very little to lose by embracing these likely trends. If nothing else, you can be a more intentional, more secure and more employee-focused organization — and that’s a universally good idea.

One thing we do know for sure is that the “everywhere workplace” is here, and it isn’t going anywhere. It’s time to shift lanes and move forward.

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