How Are 2022 Predictions Stacking Up In A Changing Economy?

Carlos M. Meléndez is the COO and Co-Founder of Wovenware, an artificial intelligence and software development company. 

At the beginning of the new year, virtually every tech company under the sun got out their crystal balls and prognosticated the trends that would drive the industry over the next 12 months. As one of the companies joining the act, Wovenware’s predictions were centered on the rise of human-centric everything, the growing need for data and the role of responsible AI. Yet, as we slide down the other side of the summer solstice, it’s always a good time to revisit those predictions and see how well we’re faring After the last few years, we thought we’d seen everything. But as we know, change is never a static thing. While January has seen a major focus on the side effects of the pandemic, the Great Resignation, the struggle to find top tech talent and the rise of the remote workforce, new forces such as the war in Ukraine and a looming recession are throwing a curveball and forcing a shift in how we see the year really unfolding Talk of recession will certainly tweak our predictions but won’t put a damper on the continued need for tech innovation as the way forward. A Wall Street Journal article points out that CIOs expect solid tech budgets despite recession fears. CIOs said that “the Covid-19 pandemic and the rise of cloud computing have illustrated the importance of enterprise technology and digital transformation.”While I believe companies will continue to turn to technology as the key to business resilience and growth, it may look a bit different for the remainder of 2022 and beyond. Technology projects will be driven by the promise of automation as a productivity and efficiency booster instead of a competitive differentiator. They may not be as focused on optimizing the next big thing in technology for technology’s sake and more on leveraging the technologies that are proven to reduce costs, help people do their jobs better and keep businesses running smoothly.  

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Below is an update to 2022 predictions that are a bit tempered with a changing reality.

The Design-First Imperative User experience (UX) will be even more critical than we thought at the beginning of the year. According to the Wall Street Journal article referenced above, “discretionary spending such as proof-of-concept tests—which validate whether an emerging technology is ready for commercialization—could get pushed back, but businesses see more value than ever in tech that will enhance the customer experience and give them an edge in an increasingly tight market.”