1. Virtualisation

Software is on the final leg to replacing 80% of the hardware we’ve grown accustomed to. Part of that is a result of the industry’s last ten years in transitioning to the network. The other part is the harsh reality of what happens when you can’t get hardware, which we’re now all very familiar with…

Virtualisation of video, audio and control is now very real and manufacturers are tripping over themselves to ensure they can get their protocols virtualised and reliable. If, at this point, you’re not understanding the critical nature of, and investing heavily in the developmental nature of a virtualised environment, it’s going to be a really bad time for you…

2. Managed Services

The appetite for technical managed services will grow exponentially for two main reasons.

The first is wages. Oh yes, like it or not, in the next six months, just about everyone who works for you is going to ask for a salary review if they haven’t already. The reality is, they’ll need it, and if they don’t get it, they’ll likely leave and find something else almost straight away.

Secondly, the compulsory superannuation contribution – that’s adding 2% to your wage cost over the next two years, regardless. CPI might average out to about 6% or 7% (call it 10% all up). Now employ someone to manage the aspects of leave, payroll tax, and set aside funds for facilities, tools, insurances, training… and so on.

Now does that sound appealing?

Or do you negotiate a contract with an amazing service provider, fix your price, not worry about any of the above, and get on with what it is you want to be doing with your company. You see where I’m going with this? Managing business costs for the next two years will be crucial, and outsourcing will be your saviour.

3. Meta

The Metaverse will change everything about everything.

Seriously, five years from now this world will be the place my grandparents saw me living in when they told me they didn’t have fridges as children: “What the hell, Pop? What do you mean there was no TV?”

That’s what the Metaverse is about to become for four-year-olds. Like it or not, they will grow up in a digital existence, far less physical than any generation before. They will be equipped with smart phones, smart tablets, smart watches, smart earbuds and smart glasses. Their entire sensory perception of both themselves and the world around them will be delivered to them in real time but in the Metaverse.

I was born into a world without the internet. It became mostly usable by the time I was 15; it matured to usable by about the time I was 20; by 25, the internet was part of your life. That was 17 years ago, and even I can’t remember what the world was like without the internet. Now imagine what this Metaverse thing looks like when our four-year-old turns 21?

4. Meeting equity systems

We’ve become so used to seeing everyone up close and personal in virtual meetings over the past two years that 16 faces in one shot down the length of a boardroom table just won’t cut it anymore. The industry has tried to combat this for years with intelligent tracking cameras that are neither tracking nor intelligent (sorry folks).

Looking at manufacturers like Logitech with its new ‘Sight’ experience and Crestron’s recent acquisition of ‘One Beyond’ it’s crystal clear that meeting room equity is a thing. It too early to say what the best way of achieving this will be, but its certainly a space to keep eyes on as the tech unfolds, because whoever gets it right first is going to own a massive chunk of that market.

5. Data sovereignty and security…

It’s been in the back of our minds for years; in some cases, it’s even been in the periphery, but after the recent Optus debacle it will no longer be a choice as to how serious we are about the management of client data. Everyone will need a strategy, a maintenance plan, and a damage control scenario for all elements of client data.

Exactly how this will look will be partly mandated by the government and legislation but the thing that no one will be able to hide form will be the massive penalties that come with a poorly managed data breach. For a SMB, it could literally become the financial make or break for your business so it’s something to start getting very, very serious about.