IT Trends for 2022

With 2021 finally behind us, it is a good time to take stock of our IT infrastructures before the pressures of new projects and business developments shift our focus elsewhere. As with anything that is worthwhile doing, you will reap the best benefits by tackling it sooner than later. When it comes to your companies IT setup, keeping on top of changes not only makes a noticeable difference to productivity, but lowers and spreads out the costs involved. Even if you’ve been keeping on top of things, incremental changes and updates may be necessary to ensure everything keeps running smoothly. The trends for 2022 continue to follow what we have seen over the past two years, with constant improvements in security and even more workplace flexibility being especially important.

Security

It may come as no surprise to see that cyber security still ranks as the top priority for the new year. As we mentioned in our 2021 review, the shift to hybrid working opened up a number of vulnerabilities in most IT setups that criminals were all too happy to exploit. There have been numerous developments to resolve these weaknesses, and this has made it far more secure to conduct business just about anywhere you can get an internet connection. However, the evolving nature of this sector means that you can never rely on last year’s solutions for tomorrow’s problems.

A recent Forbes interview with US-based computer security service Spirion highlighted this fact. Spirion CEO Kevin Coppins said “The biggest risk companies will face in the coming year is the risk of having their data breached. Organizations for years have said “it’s not if you’ll be breached, it’s when.” Having a smaller business doesn’t exempt you from a potential breach, and there has been an increase in organisations of all sizes experience multiple security incidents in the past year. To account for this increase in security requirements, there will be regular updates and improvements to the MS365 suite of apps and programs as well as further adoption of web-based monitoring software. Keeping your hardware up to date is important, but it is also vital to ensure that all the machines that have access to your sensitive business documents have the latest software updates. If you are still transitioning to a cloud-based setup or need to overhaul your IT system, then now is a great time to get in touch with one of our consultants to guide you through whatever changes are required.

Hybrid Working

Hybrid work setups are now more than just an afterthought in the modern workplace, even if going into the office is becoming more commonplace. 2022 should see this work/home balance settle down to where most sectors are splitting the working week between the office and off-site. This will of course require a seamless IT setup that allows you to have unrestricted access to all the necessary workplace data you need. If your company has already implemented a hybrid setup then by now any particular bottlenecks and areas needing improvement should be readily apparent. Resolving these issues should be a top priority for any business as it directly impacts productivity, employee retention and profitability.

Specialised Solutions

Continued developments of the myriad MS365 software packages has made it possible to provide finely customised solutions to many of our clients. What we are seeing for 2022 is a further improvement in this field with specialised solutions being developed for law firms, accountants and medical practices. This will not only provide a far more flexible and scalable solution for these specialised industries but will allow business owners to move away from often restrictive and outdated legacy platforms that have been the only option in the past.

Get on top of your IT setup

Cloud-based networking solutions have helped ensure that modern IT setups are both flexible and secure. Moving to the cloud not only gets you access to our constantly expanding portfolio of services, but our team of IT experts are always on hand to guide you through any issues you may experience along the way. Give us a call and get 2022 off to a great start.