By Jeetu Patel, executive vice president of security and collaboration at Cisco 

Beyond Malware

In 2023, we will move beyond the age of simple malware because just detecting malicious code won’t be enough to combat the sophistication of current security threat actors (who use modern ‘toolkits’ consisting of modular malware). The next evolution of security is about sensing anomalies and behaviour patterns, which will aid in predicting a security breach. Advances in AI and machine-learning will make this possible, and smart organisations will get ahead of this trend.  

The Next Critical Influencer for Technology Purchases? Human Resources

Hybrid work has changed so many dynamics within an organisation, including buying patterns. Human resources (HR) has traditionally focused on work-related software like Workday, but with hybrid work so essential to productivity and worker satisfaction, HR will continue to get more involved in technology software influencing. In 2023, look for HR to expand its knowledge of and influence in all kinds of technology and software purchases.     

Choice Over Mandates Will Matter More Than We Think

Another disruption to hybrid work will be the countless employees who will not want to go back to rigid, in-office work schedules. Many organisations may choose to double-down on workplace mandates in 2023, but they’ll ultimately lose. Progressive companies will create a flexible, secure hybrid-work experience and a great physical workspace — that people will want to visit, but only when they choose to or the work calls for it. Such organisations will win on talent, agility, sustainability, and worker satisfaction and see long-term success.   

Uptick of Technological and Ethical Dilemmas with Transformative AI

AI and machine learning have pretty much stuck to relatively rote (but helpful!) tasks. We’ve already seen mind blowing capabilities from DALL-E, for example, and in 2023, there’s no doubt even more truly transformative AI use cases will emerge. The next era of AI, and the use cases that follow, will have big implications in 2023 and beyond — both good and bad.

As AI continues to take over important decision making (such as employee recruitment or deciding who gets approved for loans), bias may become an unfortunate “side effect” of utilising such technology. Additionally, AI will also enable more advanced scams, incidents of identity theft, convincing deep fakes, and more. Despite the tremendous positive impact AI can have, it’s more critical than ever that the industry ensures responsible and ethical use cases, guidelines are implemented, and, when appropriate, restrictions win out.