Digital Lifescapes

In hindsight, the outcome of short-sighted CEO Return to Office (RTO) mandates was somewhat predictable. Less than one-third of employees now report they are engaged, enthusiastic, and energized by their work, according to the latest market study by Gartner. This research was showcased during their recent "ReimagineHR Conference" event. Gartner defines engagement in three ways: Employees feeling energized. Employees find purpose in their work. Employees feel empowered to do valuable work. The problem: many are not engaged. Employee Engagement Crisis Explained "Despite organizations making investments in engaging their employees, our research shows that almost 70 percent don’t feel as engaged as they should be and aren't feeling a meaningful connection to their job," said Keyia Burton, senior principal analyst at Gartner . Figuring out how to actually impact employee engagement is a huge priority because it has a significant impact on several key business outcome...

Across the globe, the future for leaders of government agencies who crave digital business transformation progress is looking good. Artificial intelligence (AI) and no-code or low-code solutions will enable them to overcome software development challenges. Worldwide government IT spending is forecast to total $589.8 billion in 2023 -- that's an increase of 7.6 percent from 2022, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. "Global challenges like inflation and workforce scarcity and their local repercussions are testing the abilities of government CIOs to respond with appropriate service delivery mechanisms and organizational accountability," said Apeksha Kaushik, principal analyst at Gartner . Government IT Solutions Market Development In addition, the ongoing IT Great Resignation and the competing demand from the commercial sector have forced governments to re-examine their approaches to counterbalance internal talent scarcity. In 2023, government IT organ...

Nearly half of Human Resource (HR) leaders polled cited technology as their top investment priority. Gartner's latest survey revealed the other top investment areas for HR leaders in 2023 are staffing and recruiting, employee total rewards, plus learning and development. HR leaders reported intense competition for skilled talent, and global candidate supply constraints. Instead of opting for simple cost-cutting measures, leading organizations are focusing on growth and determining which investments will drive competitive advantage in the year ahead. To optimize costs and drive growth, HR leaders will act on a few key investment imperatives. HR technology can trigger cost savings in HR administration, which has seen a drastic uptick in cost due to pandemic-related tasks, and Remote or Hybrid work arrangements. HR Technology Market Development Gartner's research shows yearly spending on HR administration increased from $155 per employee in 2021 to $194 per employee in 2022. Howev...

A reduction in office occupancy and lease terminations, due to the growth of remote work, has had an inverse effect on consumer spending. As an example, despite the economic issues in some markets, spending on smart home devices grew in 2022. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, by the end of the year, smart home hardware revenues  -- including devices, hubs, and controllers -- will surpass $30 billion worldwide, that's up by 15 percent over 2021. Smart Home Market Development According to the ABI assessment, driving investments in the face of a sharper economic reality is a growing expectation among consumers for smart home capabilities that deliver greater value. "The COVID pandemic-induced emphasis on home improvement boosted the Smart Home industry," said Jonathan Collins, research director at ABI Research . The Work-from-Home phenomenon moved into a more mainstream awareness that continues to bolster spending as consumers look to replace or improve d...

Business technology leadership matters. Across the globe, more leaders have been pursuing bold Digital Transformation (DX) initiatives with the goal of creating new sources of business value through digital products, services, and experiences. As an additional benefit, the COVID-19 pandemic revealed that digital transformation efforts improve an organization's resilience against global market disruptions. Global DX investment is forecast to reach $3.4 trillion in 2026 with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.3 percent, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Digital Transformation Market Development "Despite strong headwinds from global supply chain constraints, soaring inflation, political uncertainty, and an impending recession, investment in digital transformation is expected to remain robust," said Craig Simpson, senior research manager at IDC . The benefits of investing in DX technology -- including aut...

Ongoing concerns about economic volatility and access to skilled digital transformation talent are top-of-mind for many CEOs and CFOs. And, business technology investment is being re-prioritized as more executive leadership teams focus on strategic business outcomes. Meanwhile, spending on artificial intelligence (AI) will reach nearly $118 billion in 2022 and surpass $300 billion in 2026, according to the latest worldwide market study by  International Data Corporation (IDC). The ongoing incorporation of AI into a wide range of products will drive a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.5 percent over the 2022-2026 forecast period. This is more than four times greater than the five-year CAGR of 6.3 percent for overall worldwide IT spending during the same period. Artificial Intelligence Market Development The past two years have accelerated the use of AI in IT systems, and organizations are now more willing to take advantage of the efficiency benefits and enhanced capabilities ...

Some leaders reject the notion that "wait and see" is the best response to disruptive change. Savvy senior executives are already driving digital business transformation throughout their organization in an effort to gain a bold strategic advantage. According to the latest market study by International Data Corp (IDC), Digital-First CEOs plan to drive at least half of their income from digital business products, services, and experiences by 2027 -- that's ahead of the market average of 39 percent. Driven by their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, these business leaders have changed how they think about the relationship between business and technology, and how they approach the next digital transformation era -- from scaling digital technology to guiding a viable digital business. Digital Business Market Development IDC defines digital business as value creation based on technology, which entails: 1) Automated customer-facing processes and internal operations; 2) Provision...

Urban areas within cities account for more than 50 percent of Earth's population and are estimated to be responsible for more than 70 percent of global carbon emissions. To combat this, decarbonization strategies are being employed by forward-thinking city leaders around the globe. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, smart city technologies will be a critical asset for this transformation. Municipal decarbonization will be a component of local government efforts for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policies. Government ESG Market Development "The principles behind smart city technologies, such as increasing efficiency, better data management, and better decision making are also essential for decarbonization and reaching net-zero goals," said  Dominique Bonte, vice president at ABI Research . Technologies such as digital twins, smart street lights, micro-grids, computer vision, smart city management platforms, and micro-mobility are al...

The forward-looking CEO's commitment to ongoing investment in Information Technology (IT) is persistent. Worldwide IT spending is forecast to total $4.4 trillion in 2022 -- that's an increase of 4 percent from 2021, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner, Inc.   "This year is proving to be one of the noisiest years on record for CIOs," said John-David Lovelock, vice president at Gartner . Regardless, digital transformation remains a high priority across the globe. Geopolitical disruption, inflation, currency fluctuations, and supply chain challenges are among the many market volatility factors vying for attention, yet contrary to what Gartner saw at the start of 2020, enterprise CIOs are accelerating IT investments in 2022. Digital Transformation Market Development As a result, purchasing and investing preferences will be focused on areas including data analytics, cloud computing, seamless customer experiences, and IT security. Inflation impacts on ...

Forward-thinking senior executives have taken their lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and used them for much-needed changes to their business operations. They now include new flexible working models (for progressive employees), and newly redesigned office environments (for traditional employees). Meanwhile, given the current business landscape, with rising costs for energy and a focus on reducing carbon emissions, increasing the level of automation in the remaining large metro office buildings will be a major priority. That's a likely place where a Smart Building technology might help a retrospective CEO rationalize their status-quo 'return to office' plan. When combined with higher salaries and better employee benefits, that office experience could help to retain some essential talent that might otherwise resign. Smart Building Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the number of buildings globally deploying 'sma...

In hindsight, a CEO's incessant quest for a "return-to-normal" business environment now seems odd. Today's global economy is unforgiving to the leaders who are unwilling to take remedial action in response to significant market disruptions. Clearly, applying a legacy status-quo mindset is unwise. Furthermore, long before the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, some enterprise employers already had concerns about their declining employee engagement. And, a few policymakers warned that moving essential manufacturing to the lowest-cost foreign provider was very risky. Regardless, it appears that "common sense" risk appraisals were relatively uncommon. Global Pandemic Ongoing Impact Assessment Executives are now very concerned about their ability to deliver substantive value propositions that satisfy employees, and a subsequent inability to retain and recruit talent, according to Gartner's latest 'Emerging Risks Monitor' report. Talent risks topped pandemic-r...

Across the globe, government agency leaders continue to drive digital transformation initiatives. As a result, there is a growing demand for new digital experience development talent to help drive much-needed changes in online service delivery. By 2023, 85 percent of governments without a Total Experience (TX) strategy will fail to successfully transform government services, according to the latest market study by Gartner. Governments that focus on citizen and employee experience initiatives separately will miss out on potential synergies to effectively transform their services. "Over the past two years, most governments increased their investments in digital initiatives to respond to pandemic-induced operations disruptions. However, many digital initiatives are still occurring in silos," said Apeksha Kaushik, principal research analyst at Gartner . Multi-Experience Market Development Gartner believes that governments must move from a siloed approach to a cohesive strategy en...

CEOs who have continued their quest for a "return to normal" environment during the COVID-19 pandemic created significant challenges for human resource (HR) leaders who had to develop new policies. Senior executives that resisted the need to change perpetuated a culture of ongoing denial. Now, organizations must focus on equipping people managers, who are the stewards of sustainable performance, with the right skillsets to ensure they and their teams succeed in their preferred "hybrid working" environment, according to the latest research by Gartner. To achieve these desired outcomes, Gartner recommends that organizations pursue new tactics to ensure managers are prepared to lead people in this new setting -- hoping that a hybrid work model is eventually manageable and successful. However, many troubling questions still remain. Why not simply accept the 'remote working' phenomenon, and learn how to evolve away from a 'command and control' mindset tha...

While most senior executives at progressive organizations have already evolved their human resource policies to accommodate employee desire for flexible working models, others still resist change. Unfortunately, many of the laggards are now experiencing the "Great Resignation" phenomenon. The global pandemic required business leaders to rethink when, where, and how their knowledge workers and front-line employees perform their work. Yet even with the ongoing pandemic recovery slowly underway, some organizations are still trying to determine their workforce approach. According to the latest worldwide market study and recent survey data from International Data Corporation (IDC), stability and geography will likely define the balance of future work strategies. Distributed Workforce Market Development On a global basis, physical office sites are expected to be the dominant location for work as legacy organizations eventually find themselves in a more stable environment. However, ...

In early 2020, as the world responded to the COVID-19 pandemic disruption, many organizations were forced to rapidly transform their communications networks and IT infrastructure to support an unprecedented shift to remote work. Before the pandemic, approximately 38 percent of employees were remote full-time or had a flexible work arrangement where they split time between home and office locations. During the pandemic, the percentage of remote workers that CIOs had to support reached almost 72 percent. Future Enterprise Technology Market Development Enterprise leaders have been forced to adapt to a new state, shifting from traditional office-based operations to distributed workforce environments that must still provide the same level of connectivity, security, and efficiency across the organization. According to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), addressing connectivity across geographies and transforming networks to become more virtual and agile...