2022 and Beyond: Technology & Our New Reality

As we look ahead into 2022, we reflect on all we have learned, discovered, and experienced over the past year and how the pandemic has impacted the technology we use. We see a bright future ahead as the next reality continues to take shape. There’s no doubt that technology will play a crucial role in creating opportunities that will transform the way we live and work.

Sustainable Tech

As we are faced with more environmental problems every year, we learn how green technologies have the potential to ensure efficient use of resources. More importantly, we see technology providing a smarter way forward and helping us build a better future for our planet.

As customers urge businesses to use more sustainable products and practices, the role of the IT provider will continue to transform as we build in services and solutions that help our customers offset the environmental impact of their technology and support them in reaching their own sustainability goals.

Most businesses here in South Africa are looking at solar as the future for their electrical requirements. With Eskom’s rates increasing each year, solar generated power makes more financial sense for businesses to cut costs while lessening their carbon footprint.

On that note, we are pleased to announce that you will soon be able to start your solar journey with us, giving you access to solar panels, inverters, power stations and more right at your fingertips!

Work from Anywhere

Some of us work better in an office, some are more productive at home. People work most effectively when they are given options, and research shows that 83% of IT leaders expect at least half of work in the future to happen outside a traditional office. We’ve seen remote work become hybrid, and work-from-home becoming work-from-anywhere as people and companies continue to think beyond the office. And perhaps, it supports a better work-life balance. A life-work balance.

As the next reality continues to take shape, technology will play a pivotal role in creating efficiencies and opportunities that transform our work and our lives, including:

More products, solutions and services designed for the employee experience, considering the office as a destination for collaboration, while protecting the sense of personal space people have experienced by working from home.

Artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to benefit us, though its ability to remove background noises during video calls may be among its lesser-known contributions to the future of collaboration.

Other emerging technologies, such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), natural language processing, spatial audio, sensors, and world-facing cameras will continue to change how people interact with technology and one another, transforming the concept of “workplace” and “workforce” in ways that allow them to integrate seamlessly and succeed as one.

More companies will shift spending to improve IT infrastructure. They will lean on outsourced and managed services increasingly secured through Device-as-a-Service (DaaS) IT acquisition models to support their teams as they try to keep up with digital transformation and increased demands.

Foldable Tech

The potential of foldable tech is being explored in its entirety by influential companies like Samsung and Huawei. The idea, of course, is quite interesting to those who are open to the possibility of the bendable screen. In addition to this, foldable tech will have serious implications for convenience and transporting tech from point A to point B with ease.

Many brands are already quite deep into the implementation stages of foldable tech. Huawei, Honor, and Motorola have recently unveiled their plans for folding phones, while Samsung has already established a lead in the market and has the advantage of producing their own flexible display panels.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 was one of the coolest devices we checked out in 2021, while Oppo just unveiled the aggressively priced Find N in China. Other companies like Royole, are exploring the possibility of the rollable mobile device, as well as the feature being applied to tablets.

This suggests that foldables could go more mainstream in 2022.

The Monitor Moment

Monitors are finally getting the attention they deserve. In fact, monitors will soon have all the features necessary to be the next central hub for the office and home (not to mention the home office).

Through cutting-edge hardware and intuitive software solutions embedded into a display, users will be able to seamlessly multitask through single and multi-display window controls. At the same time, monitors will offer easy remote asset management for IT managers and customer service representatives.

With 5G or Wi-Fi 6, the future of monitors will be faster, wireless, reducing desktop mess and offering new possibilities. A thinner, more compact design makes it convenient, especially to those who use multiple monitors.

Monitors will also complement additional form factors beyond PCs and extend functionality to support devices such as smartphones and gaming consoles. Not to mention some having Smart TV and productivity apps built directly into the monitor, enabling seamless entertainment and work without the need of a PC.

The Future of Gaming

Last but not least, we expect the gaming experience to become even more immersive. From virtual reality to artificial intelligence, these technologies are shaping the future of video games.

• Cloud Gaming: Instead of creating video game systems that require more powerful hardware, developers are looking to lighten the load with the cloud. Games no longer need be limited by user’s hardware, or the amount of memory consoles have to offer. Using the cloud opens games up to massive server-size limits where images are streamed to your screen through the Internet.

• Augmented Reality: As AR becomes more mature, players will begin to experience gaming content within their own environments. So far, AR gaming has gained the most traction on mobile phones. But tech companies like Facebook, Apple, Snap, and Magic Leap think the future of AR will take place through specially made glasses. Imagine playing tennis on a real court, but from your living room!

• The Metaverse: As the metaverse experience continues to expand, we foresee a big boom in gaming, socialization, and shopping through this platform with more sophisticated software libraries that bring all three conveniently together in one place for more enjoyable gaming experiences.

• High-Fidelity Graphics: Recent advancements in connectivity will enable high-fidelity, low-latency graphics for more realistic gameplay that can mirror physical movements when played through a headset. This is the latest sector to cut the cord, but it will not be the last.

Be patient though. While we will make some progress toward these capabilities over the coming 12 months, there is no guarantee that all these technologies will be readily available this year. It will still be a few years until we can predict with confidence that any of these advanced technologies are finally on the horizon.