eweekchat

A9: Digital transformation will continue to grow. Companies have shifted to a digital focused strategy with the pandemic and many reaping the benefits it comes with it.

A9: With COVID forcing companies to continue reinventing their operations to improve flexibility and agility, while also driving down OPEX, it’s hard to see why there would be less focus on digital transformation, especially as internet connectivity increases worldwide.

A9.since most companies have to a large extent started/completed a big part of this transformation, the term will fade. However, there is still a massive wave of "application modernization" just starting (cloud native)!

@SujathaSagiraju It seems so certain I felt funny asking the question -- of course it will, in my view.

A9: There is a lot to do but this will be different across geographic regions. It is amazing how many manual, non-digital process we have across society and these can all be part of digital transformations. One big opportunity I see will be in government.

a9: It's a broad umbrella, but I'd have to say continue to grow for all the reasons we typically talk about (remote work, new customer behaviors, etc.)

We are seeing that specifically with the increase to AI budgets. Budgets from $500K to $5 million have increased by 55% YOY, with only 26% reporting budgets under $500K.

A9. Not necessarily grow larger, but it will become a methodical march forward in new domains. ITOps will start to move in earnest. Medical tech is quickly completing the transition for basic first-pass appointments.

A9: Grow! In 2022, digital transformation continues across the enterprise. Lots of legacy applications still need to be transformed.

A9: And increases touchpoints between applications, compounding these problems and leaving behind those who are not automating. In 2022, it is no longer optional to invest in digital automation and transformation

A9. It will grow larger. The push of 2020-21 highlighted triumphs & pitfalls and businesses that have been watching on the sidelines will join in with more solid infrastructure and implementation plans. With AI also a big factor in easing that transition, DT will continue apace.

@marsanfra Healthcare still has a lot of work to do there, I agree. Seems the value is obvious, but the job is hard.

A9. 5G & IoT traffic between API services and apps will make them increasingly lucrative targets. The reach/popularity of these cloud apps and treasure trove of business-critical data and capabilities that lie behind these APIs, make them a lucrative target for threat actors.

A9 Its growing, for sure. We are still in the middle of the digitization of all businesses and processes around the globe.

@RikChomko "In 2022, it is no longer optional to invest in digital automation and transformation"

BOOM!! 💥 You win the chat today mate!

@WaldropMike - there are industries that are marching down this path slowly, I agree healthcare is one that has a longer road.

A9 And all of this digitization is causing even more growth of data production at the edge. Where does it all go? how is it used? Huge problems/opportunties to the IT vendor community to help.

@AndiMann Reality check, It was not optional in 2021 either.

@RodSimmons I would love to see some traction in public sector and citizen experience. Seems to move very slow.

A9. It has to continue. As an industry, Id guess we have really barely started. DX is not evenly distributed, so many are well ahead; but I feel like most are still way behind. #eWeekChat

@AndiMann I mean, just look at the panic COVID caused for so many businesses. And is still causing. Digital transformation is abs. critical for an effective response to pandemic(s - there will be more) yet most orgs struggled to cope. #eWeekChat

A9: Larger, as companies see the bottom-line advantages of transformations around them and the further digitization of society, work and the workplace. #eweekchat

@marsanfra LOL, fair point!

A8: We’ll see an emphasis on attempts to “greenify” blockchain, for example by moving to less energy-intensive models such as those that rely on “proof-of-stake” algorithms rather than “proof-of-work” to generate consensus. @ethereum has announced POS plans.

A8: It is becoming clear that NFTs are here to stay. Their enterprise applications are still emerging, but the nature of the technology means it can impact several business sectors including healthcare & manufacturing.

A8: we see increasing pressure to make blockchain more efficient (power, resources etc) - this will put it under the spotlight.

A8: I believe fintech is already big and already here. Blockchain will continue to get bigger

A8. The world will get real on NFT. It’s a fad and a failure. Blockchain may finally find its traction in identity and crypto will continue to be the premier place to avoid financial governance and compliance.

A8: I think it is blockchain but someone who knows how to speed up the system to make it viable for real-time use cases. Blockchain is too slow today...

A8: I feel like a luddite, but I really don't see it impacting the mainstream business world in 2022. It seems to hold promise, but I'm not sure I see it yet. Maybe we will start to see some early movers this coming year.

A8 NFT finding unique ways to engage the average person to use. Even disposable use cases would allow understanding and adoption.

A8. Ugh, this is the part I hate. No-one knows, I certainly don't. But my guesses:

Blockchain - ⬆
Crypto - ⬇
Fintech - ⬆
NFT - ⬇

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@RodSimmons I just don't see it.

@AndiMann big unknown indeed, but I do agree with you

@marsanfra I never got the use case in art but people are spending millions.

@marsanfra the art world frenzy has really obscured the truly valuable applications of NFTs.

A8(1): Disruptors — across industries — will invest in identifying blockchain-based products to take share from legacy brands ill-equipped to scale the tech. #eweekchat

@AndiMann A8
Blockchain - ⬆ but for real use cases - EMRs, Fraud Prevention
Crypto - ⬇ but up first coz memers don't care about fundamentals
Fintech - ⬆ most finance industry still doesn't get fintech
NFT - ⬇ they are the most risible of the meme stonks

#eWeekChat

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@Llanor_A looking forward to see and understand more. It is way too abstract for me right now.

@marsanfra No crystal ball in my remote office. But I can look out the window and see some stuff coming like a freight train!

A8(2): Crypto competition, mass-media advertising and government efforts will create a maturing crypto market with broader acceptance and adoption. #eweekchat

@AndiMann But again - Amara's Law. Likely none of these will have the major impact we expect in 2022. But will probably be huge by 2030.

A8(3): NFT experimentation will continue in consumer markets, and the marketplace will self-correct, creating more commercial applications and openings. #eweekchat

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A7. No, there is too much sophistication in ransomware actors, and too many unexploited targets. Unfortunately this means ransomware has nowhere to go but to increase and grow in threat. Cloud, IoT, remote workers all targets.

A7: No. A new trend is Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS). This is pay-for-use malware, which enables attackers to use a ready-made platform that provides the necessary ransomware code and operational infrastructure to launch and maintain a ransomware campaign.

A7: No! There is still easy money to be made from ransomware. If we’ve learned anything it’s that ‘tried and true’ attack pathways stay in fashion for a long time, I don’t suspect ransomware attacks will fade in 2022.

A7. You wish! LOL, nope. 2021 was the year of governmental enablement of ransomware payouts. Prepare your secops and incident response teams. They will all be experts in ransomware recovery by the end of the year.

A7: No. In in other shocking news, in 2022 the sun will tend to rise once a day :). I think it is bound to get worse before it gets better.

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A7 (2) - Be on the lookout for a marked uptick in stressed out IR teams.

"Hint: no they won’t" - 😂😂😂💯💯💯

@cdashton - agreed, and its too easy for naive and sophisticated malware actors to get into this arena.

A7: You are right, security attacks will continue to increase. Today's ransomware may seem trivial when new techniques come around... Imagine what someone can do with deepfake... :-(

@thinkingkiddo This is indeed what I hinted below, AI techniques applied to ransomware - yikes!

A7. In 2022, expect more self-reliant cybercrime groups to rise and shift the balance of power within the RaaS eco-climate from those who control the ransomware to those who control the victim’s networks. Less-skilled operators won’t have to bend the knee in RaaS model power.

@AndiMann I mean, obvs, no. They will get worse. The arc of tech is toward complexity, atomization, consumerization; all of which expand attack surfaces, create new attack vectors, reduce protections. #eWeekChat

@AndiMann I would also add that increasing lack of concern for privacy is tied at the hip to decreasing expectations for security. Two sides of one coin. #eWeekChat

A7 No way. We'll see even more as they really cannot be stopped. Organizations will just need to find way to protect their data with some type of air gap storage strategy.

A7. Companies should now anticipate that a ransomware attack on them is a "when", not an "if".

A7: No. But the threat of market-moving ransomware attacks, more digital transformations and remote work will give cybersecurity proper visibility within enterprises. #eweekchat

@AndiMann And unfortunately, there is a massive commercial interest in continuing to erode privacy, which will perforce continue to erode security. #eWeekChat

@andimann Cyber Resilience must be no.1 priority - assume breach and have plan in place

"If anything can go wrong, it will" Murphy's Law, will you be ready for it the day it does.

@w3knight Agree 💯. Cybersecurity should be job 1 for every CIO/CTO. When a major attack will take you out of business completely, everything else becomes secondary. #eWeekChat