Tech Trends on the 2023: Watchlist for SMB

As 2022 comes to a close, we are always looking ahead at tech trends for the coming year for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Arthur Olshansky, CEO of Klik Solutions, discusses his top five technology trends on the SMBs’ watchlist for 2023.

There are 5 key trends that I see on the horizon for 2023. 

A lot of this has to do with creating a lower cost of ownership for an organization’s technology environment.

1. Continued Adaptation of Cloud Computing and Storage

In the past, you had to own the physical hardware to run a server, especially if you were designing and implementing your own online applications. The cloud changed this, to some degree, by offering server space that could be “rented” no matter your location or business size. To ensure the ability to scale for all users, those providing cloud-based servers had access to auto-scaling, but at a significant cost. I foresee a continued push to SaaS (software as a service) and PaaS (platforms as a service) in 2023. Organizations will focus on the goal of leveraging serverless computing and eliminating on-premises hardware and software. Almost anything can be migrated to the cloud, reducing infrastructure and network costs. This will be highly advantageous to SMBs as they can use those savings to invest in other priorities.

2. Advanced Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity continues to be a huge issue for SMBs, as many don’t have the needed protection in the current landscape. There will likely be a desire for a unified approach to cybersecurity in managing the infrastructure, both on-premises and in the cloud.

A single pane of glass, the visibility of single products in one place, allows both in-house and outsourced IT specialists to secure digital assets. Imagine you are an IT specialist. You have 7 products to support as part of your managed services. You will have to maintain relationships and competencies with each product and provide top-notch support to your clients.

Leveraging AI will also be a big factor in this arena for 2023. AI is increasingly popular for all sorts of technology applications, especially to secure a broad spectrum of endpoint technologies.  AI will no doubt come into play for quickly detecting and remediating a host of cyber issues and more serious cyberattacks. This AI technology auto-learns the needs of various technologies and helps to make decisions about how to handle them. It can also automate certain services that will improve responses and detection of security threats from a centralized database, thus helping respond more quickly and more effectively.

3. A potential recession will push organizations to leverage technology as a service. 

This will include everything from security, networking, endpoint technology, and storage.  Companies don’t want to invest in hardware, software, servers, etc. They want to purchase managed services with “comprehensive solutions” to their technology needs, including servers, networking, security, et al.

4. Analytics as a Service will be a hot commodity. 

Businesses are starting to look more closely at resources, productivity, profitability, and improving customer satisfaction. We want access to key information on every aspect of running our business and we want it at our fingertips. Having not only the data along with a clear understanding of what the data tells us about the health of our organization will be a huge competitive advantage.  This is especially true as many businesses are managing a hybrid workforce while aiming for the highest level of productivity.

5. Consolidation will be key for efficiency.

Simplifying the technology footprint of our organizations will be key to saving money.  Less will mean more.  Efficiency will play a huge role in how businesses will get the job done.

If you are interested in working with a managed service provider for your needs in the coming year, contact our experts to discuss how Klik Solutions can help you leverage your technology more effectively in 2023.