Security, trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI), hybrid cloud, net zero carbon driven by tech-enabled finance and digital-equipped human resources are the prevailing trends that could impact business in 2022, according to the Thai operating unit of American IT giant IBM.
"In 2022, technology will play a key role in building resilience and adaptability for businesses," Patama Chantaruck, vice-president for Indochina expansion and managing director of IBM Thailand, told the Bangkok Post.
Ms Patama also highlighted five trends that could define business this year.
The first concerns security, which she said will be "at the front and centre of business".
Enterprises' infrastructure complexity is creating cracked doors for cybercriminals to exploit, according to Ms Patama. Simultaneously, cloud-based technologies, platforms, and ecosystems are also introducing new threats.
In 2022, ransomware attacks will become more relentless in their quest to scale up revenue and will do so fast, she said.
"One business's ransomware attack will become the extortion for its business partners whose data it holds. Supply chain attacks by ransomware will also become a top boardroom concern," said Ms Patama.
The second trend lies in trustworthy AI.
"We need assurances that AI cannot be tampered with and that the system itself is secure. We need to be able to look inside AI systems, to understand the rationale behind the algorithmic outcome, and even ask it questions as to how it came to its decision," Ms Patama said.
According to Ms Patama, IBM found that AI is among the top technologies which 65% of Thai executives expect to deliver business results within two years.
The third trend concerns the adoption of hybrid cloud as enterprises will strategically migrate workloads.
Hybrid cloud as the dominant IT architecture will be key to making businesses holistically reinvent their operations to realise the full benefits of digital transformation, said Ms Patama.
Regarding the fourth trend, she said tech-enabled finance will accelerate the transition to net zero carbon emissions.
Assessing climate risk is not so simple or straightforward, Ms Patama said. Finance and businesses encounter issues with climate data availability and quality, methodologies and capabilities to capture relevant climate data and enable financial impact analysis.
The finance sector will be a key driver while technology is an enabler, she said.
Regarding the final trend, she said human capital is precious and scarce. Firms need to look within and make changes that attract potential talent by showing their contributions' value and taking responsibility on environmental and societal sustainability, she added.
