Digital services are as effective as the data that drives them in a constantly changing business environment. Data is increasing astonishingly, with experts estimating it will double between 2023 and 2026. However, the ability of organizations to process and analyze data to inform strategic business decisions depends on the deployed IT infrastructure and cybersecurity measures implemented to protect it from attacks.

In this regard, here are the top IT and cybersecurity trends companies should look out for in 2023.

Technology Trends for 2023
 

1.Managed IT Services

Most companies are unprepared for unique IT challenges that result from deploying new IT infrastructure and remote working strategies. Fortunately, managed IT services bridge this gap, where managed IT service providers maintain organizational IT functions, such as managing data center infrastructure, backup and recovery, and on-demand support services. Many organizations have already outsourced the management of critical IT services to MSPs, but this trend will steepen in 2023. Also, challenges in acquiring enough IT talent will see companies increase spending on managed IT services by 18% in 2023.

2.Hybrid Cloud

A hybrid cloud infrastructure combines different types of cloud, such as private and public cloud and or on-premise infrastructure and public cloud, to optimize workloads, reduce costs, enhance data security, and gain better access control. As a result, 80% of companies have deployed a hybrid cloud infrastructure since it provides enhanced scalability, increased control, and strengthened support for remote workers. Furthermore, the adoption of hybrid cloud platforms will continue increasing in 2023 since 66% of IT decision-makers perceive them as a permanent solution for extended IT infrastructure.

3.Business Continuity

As companies look ahead to 2023, they should anticipate challenges like economic uncertainties, staffing shortages, supply chain constraints, and conflicts. As a result, IT chiefs must align organizational processes and systems to ensure business continuity amid evolving business processes, IT infrastructures, and networks. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), 50% of organizations will use diverse technologies to augment cloud-first and multi-access network approaches to ensure business continuity between 2023 and 2025. In addition, the modernization of business continuity tools and methodologies will be crucial in 2023 since companies will require to leverage machine learning, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence to anticipate, detect, and mitigate incidents that may cause business disruption.

4. Advanced Virtualization

The rapid digital transformations that businesses witnessed recently require strategies that enable employees to work from anywhere effectively, underscoring the essence of unified virtualized environments in 2023. These include virtual desktop infrastructures, hyper-converged platforms, mobile device management, and disaster recovery management. Research firm Gartner forecasts that desktop as a service will grow rapidly in 2023, registering a compounded annual growth rate of 58.8% billion or an increase of $ 2.6 billion. An increase in remote workers and the need for companies to increase collaboration between distributed teams places advanced virtualization at the center of IT trends to watch out for in 2023.

Cybersecurity Trends
 

1.    Patch Management

A 2022 study by the Ponemon Institute found that effective patch management practices could have protected companies from 47% of cyber-attacks. Also, the same study revealed that 34% of the participants were aware of existing vulnerabilities but failed to patch them before a cyberattack. Shockingly, a different study revealed that 75% of cyberattacks exploited at least four years old vulnerabilities. These statistics indicate that a consistent patch management approach will be crucial to preventing known, older vulnerabilities and zero-day attacks. Appropriate patch management practices to consider in 2023 include identifying the most relevant patches, implementing patches as soon as they are available to protect against zero-day exploits, deploying automatic patch management solutions, and leveraging virtual patching.

2.    Zero Trust Network Access

Digital transformation initiatives create an expanded attack surface, requiring companies to focus on robust cybersecurity solutions, such as zero-trust network access platforms. In fact, zero-trust network access is among the fastest-growing cybersecurity approaches, with Gartner forecasting that it will grow by 36% in 2022 and 31% in 2023. Furthermore, zero-trust network access adopts the trust no one principle, where users and devices must authenticate and validate each time they request to access network resources. Therefore, as the threat landscape evolves in 2023, companies should consider implementing zero-trust network architectures to strengthen their cybersecurity postures.

3.    Managed Security Services

Hackers will become smarter and use sophisticated tools to attack their victims, but companies will find it much harder to hire talented cybersecurity professionals to defend them in 2023. Only 14% of organizations are adequately prepared to protect against attacks. In this regard, managed security service providers will play a central role in protecting companies from attacks in 2023. MSSPs utilize advanced technologies and qualified, competent personnel to monitor their clients’ networks for malware, data breaches, network intrusions, and malicious activities that can compromise information systems and data. Due to the persisting shortage of cybersecurity talent, organizations will turn to MSSPs to outsource cybersecurity functions for affordable prices.

4.    SOC as a Service

A 24/7 security operations center has been a longstanding practice required to attain a strong cybersecurity posture. Unfortunately, only a handful of companies have the resources to navigate the complexities and expensive costs incurred when implementing and equipping a modern SOC. Thus, SOC as a Service (SOCaaS) comes in handy since organizations outsource critical security functions, such as continuous threat monitoring, detection, and response, to SOCaaS providers. Resource-constrained companies should consider SOCaaS models in 2023 to address challenges like high costs, frustrations, and complexities of building an on-site SOC. A managed SOC service permits companies to outsource technologies, people and processes required to identify and mitigate security threats.

5.    Network and Security

Network and security services protect corporate networks from intrusions, unauthorized access, and breaches. However, a shortage of network security professionals requires businesses to consider other alternatives in 2023. These include secure managed networking services where managed security providers provide a fully managed network security solution to monitor and protect network resources. They also consist of next-gen firewall solutions that provide advanced network security features, such as application control and awareness, cloud-delivered threat intelligence, and integrated intrusion prevention.

Concerned About Your IT Services? Sentia is Here to Help

Your business might be concerned with a lack of time to focus on business objectives, change management, knowledge transfer, system availability, cyber security issues, and a lack of qualified staff to manage your IT environment. Even if your organization does not operate 24/7, chances are your IT infrastructure does.

You can partner with Sentia’s Managed IT Services to meet the unique needs of your business. Besides, you can safeguard your business while saving time and resources by leveraging Sentia’s fully managed solution with built-in security. Sentia also lets you focus on your core business as the team of experts manages your data center infrastructure while providing backup and disaster recovery planning and design.