With the New Year officially upon us, it’s time to start looking ahead at all the rapid changes and advancements that 2022 has in store. As usual, many tech experts have weighed-in to project the top trending insights that are expected to deliver growth and security to your organization’s digital environment.

The question is, how will these trends impact you, the user?

Here’s our happier take on 2022’s most trending Technology and Security insights and what they have in store for you!

Technology and Security Trends for 2022

Security trends

We Stand On Guard

Prediction: Canadian businesses will be targeted by cyberattacks at a higher rate in 2022. With our neighbors to the south anticipating more standards in cybersecurity regulations on reporting and legislature, US businesses will be held more more accountable and will begin investing further into cyber security practices. The heightened security requirements paired with the US government’s recent action against global ransomware networks will force more threat actors to migrate their attention to Canada.

What it means for you: With the expected increase in attacks north of the border, you can expect to see more rigorous cyber security awareness training and higher expectations of digital accountability fall on the shoulders of Canadian employees. Protecting organizational networks will be a key focus to defending our borders against cybercrimes.

Safeguarding Supply Chains

Prediction: Last year, we saw a troubling trend of large-scale attacks on industrial infrastructure, third-party vendors, and other critical areas that affected the supply chain of one or several organizations at a time. The strategic approach in targeting a supply chain creates a loophole for cyber criminals to target highly secured organizations which they would not normally be able to penetrate. It also allows bad actors to affect multiple organizations or even an entire industry with one fell swoop.

What this means for you: This year, more businesses will be looking to fill the gaps in supply chain security. You’ll see businesses begin to expect higher security requirements from external organizations and a more selective approach when vetting vendors/suppliers and anyone else that is connected or has access to their network and data. Backup planning and secondary options will need to be considered in the event of an emergency or disaster.

You can also expect to see more protocol and procedures when internal departments are processing and verifying payments or handling requests from third parties.

Attack Vectors Getting Personal

Prediction: Cyber criminals will be more frequently using IoT and mobile devices as attack vectors to find unsecured backdoors into organizational networks. At the same time, employees increasingly using more professional apps and connecting work email accounts on mobile devices will continue to blur the lines between business and personal use. This will make things even more complicated for digital data security and keeping up with the evolving demands for compliance requirements.

What it means for you: The need for a more flexible and potent cybersecurity mesh will be in high demand as most organizations will be looking to improve their security posture. You can expect to see more emphasis on endpoint protection, implementation of revised Best Practices for mobile management, and a blend of other security features for each connected device. The overall goal will be to find more ways to secure organizational data in untrusted environments.

Employers will be turning to password management apps to prevent password reuse and credential stuffing attacks as employees will likely continue to use professional email accounts for signing up across various platforms, professional or otherwise.

IT Trends

An Even More Modern, Modern-Workforce

Prediction: Global technology is expected to deliver a more sustainable model for the newly created digitally reliant remote workforce. This means from industry-to-industry, government-to-public sector, and even from our educational establishments, a major investment in institutionalizing technology and building the infrastructure to support it will soon be underway.

What this means for you: What’s the best way to accelerate an already advanced digital ecosystem? In the words of Tim ‘The Tool Man’ Taylor – MORE POWER! The counterbalance to the burnout and fatigue we’ve all been facing from the pandemic is the promise of advancements that will not only support a more digitally secure world, but also inspire new innovations and capabilities, the likes of which we’ve never seen before.

Remote workers and organizations using digitally advanced operations & facilities will soon see upgraded technology capable of running on faster performing networks like 5G (and beyond), more intuitive and robust AI enabled cyber security, the simplification of previously overcomplicated processes & applications, and overall, a more highly virtualized working environment.

Thinking Inside the Box

Prediction: The need for a digital-first environment exposed many gaps in what we wanted from certain software/hardware and other applications, in comparison to what we needed to use them for. While the idea of having a perfect solution is an old ambition, developers will begin using technology that provides more built-in solutions. More applications will come with the ability to integrate the use of data across platforms. For businesses and users this will tidy up remote work environments making data available just about everywhere.

What this means for you: This year you will see big steps in data management with new programs offering more efficiency and easier data access than ever before. As well, these software and apps will be tailored with inside the box solutions that are made for a more ready-to-use, custom experience, shaped around the needs of remote workers to feel like they are in-office.

More Prepared with Hyperautomation

Prediction: Combining the previous two predictions, digital advancements and bridging technology gaps, hyperautomation is expected to rapidly push IT automation to new heights. Organizations will look to scale, grow, and avoid disruptions by placing hyperautomation at the forefront of their remote activities.

What this means for you: Further changes to remote work environments will allow for more departments to fully operate from home or hybrid work settings. Growing a more in-tune, agile remote workforce will allow users to communicate and collaborate from just about anywhere without the wait times and hassle that was initially felt at the beginning of the pandemic. Operations will be run more fluidly with benefits to the user and customer-experience.

Need Help Implementing These Trends In Your Organization?

As 2022 progresses, further trends and new approaches are sure to be in the works. At happier IT, we’re here to help find the right solutions for your current and future IT challenges. If you have any questions or need help navigating your ever-changing digital environment, contact us today and talk to one of our IT experts.