Hitachi Vantara predicts industry trends for 2023

Gajen Kandiah, CEO, Hitachi Vantara

Business trend:

“Moving into 2023, we expect to see growing demand for technology and services that drive operational efficiencies to improve business performance and resiliency. Traditional areas like application, data and infrastructure operations will receive greater focus, but of equal importance will be increased adoption of automation and what Gartner calls “applied observability,” or how data is analyzed, integrated, and used across an organization to make faster and better decisions. This will all be against the backdrop of a heightened focus on cybersecurity and sustainability and a push for solutions that deliver on both fronts.”

Radhika Krishnan, Chief Product Officer, Hitachi Vantara

1. What lessons have you learned about data management over the past year that will guide you through the next?

• Digital transformation is speeding up. We are seeing it as a catalyst for implementing DataOps as part of an enterprise-wide change. We often see our customers building a data operating model to serve their new digital customer experience.
• More data is expected to shift from centralized analytics to localized analytics. Gartner predicts that “by 2023, over 50% of the primary responsibility of data and analytics leaders will comprise data created, managed, and analyzed in edge environments.” I’ve learned that data integration and preparation are critical as the data comes in from multiple sources. Furthermore, data discovery and data governance are equally important.
• The continuation of the “everything-as-a-service” trend underscores how cloud technology is redefining virtually every industry and activity, down to tapping a simple keg. As IT and OT converge, the demand for DataOps will end up serving more interconnected applications, devices, algorithms and machine learning models that drive digital experiences.
• In a recent DataOps Survey by 451 Research, data privacy, compliance, and data access and preparation are top priorities for data-driven organizations.

2. What challenges will keep data managers, CIOs and chief data officers up at night? And where will relief be found?

Addressing data lakes – This is a classic problem with lots of our customers. The reality is 87% of data science projects never make it into production and the majority of data lakes have become unmanaged and ungoverned. We’ve seen AI-enabled meta tagging be a quick solution to sorting through data. Based on what we’ve seen with our customers, using AI techniques to dynamically tag substantial amounts of complex data, companies can accelerate their ability to glean insights by as much as 300%.

3. What opportunities are emerging that will move data-driven enterprises and operations forward in the year 2023? 

• We are seeing demand increase across all industries, with the most exciting DataOps innovations in banking, technology, consulting, government, telecommunications, insurance, and healthcare.
• AIOps and using artificial intelligence to automate IT operations. Our infrastructure customers talk about the need to make infrastructure invisible, the ability to automate it to make it more self-driving, self-healing. Through a robust data management program, collecting data in real-time and a combination of data analytics, powered by AI and ML, you can actually get to the point where you really, truly can deliver on that vision of self-driving infrastructure.
• Data intelligence and the ability to rationalize data. Until very recently, data storage has been centered around storing data and doing it well (good data reduction techniques, etc.). In the year ahead, Hitachi Vantara is focused on leveraging advanced operational analytics capabilities to increase data optimization. Having the ability to understand the data that is being stored is a significant challenge moving forward and it is a combination of analytics and what we’ve been able to deliver on the data storage spectrum.

Bjorn Andersson’s, Senior Director of Global Marketing for IoT Solutions, Hitachi Vantara

IoT Trends expected in 2023:

1. Private 5G: The use of private 5G networks in industrial settings, such as manufacturing where sensors and robotics are heavily used, will begin delivering on the promises of device connectivity, machine reconfigurability and real-time data analysis. Increased use of private 5G will enable troves of new connected devices, collecting more data at the edge than ever before, in addition to a broader adoption of IIoT-enabled solutions in 2023.
2. Sustainability: Digital solutions and data-driven processes will become intrinsically important to achieving corporate sustainability goals, by tracking and visualizing progress in a more automated way. Ambitious sustainability goals will only be met by companies that embed these goals in their offerings and can digitalize their processes to address sustainability, while balancing the pressure to show immediate action and business results. Sustainability is becoming an important requirement not just in terms of addressing today’s climate challenges, but it’s also increasingly important for investors, customers, and employees who recognize its impact [on the bottom line].
3. Edge Data: 2023 will increase opportunities for cloud and network convergence and force a rethinking of IT architectures, especially at the edge and for mobile environments where It meets the physical world. The explosive growth of edge data, driven by IIoT adoption and 5G, will allow companies to quickly process and analyze data where it lives and where quick responses are required.
4. Computer Vision: Computer vision will take a more prominent role as new technology, including low-latency 5G networks, edge-computing power, and AI tools, makes AR and VR more accessible to frontline workers. This will lead to expanded use of AR and VR on the edge, including the expanded use of AR in field services.
5. Increased workload choices enable more freedom and flexibility: With increased bandwidth, lower latency and mobility from 5G, there will no longer be any “obvious” decisions for where to process workloads. IT pros will have greater flexibility in designing networks that better suit their organizations’ changing needs. Bandwidth and physical constraints will no longer dictate business decisions as they have in previous years.