Trending Articles
Trending Topics
Trending
Many people fall shy of making predictions about the future. Not Michael (MJ) Robotham, Managing Director APAC at NinjaOne, who sprinkles our interview with a vision for the future of IT. Some positive, others less so.
Before we get into the predictions, some background on MJ. While he’s now based in Sydney, he began a nine-year stint at Cisco Meraki in its San Francisco office before seizing the opportunity to become Regional Manager of Australia/New Zealand in 2017. He joined NinjaOne – whose mission is to “deliver innovative endpoint management solutions that prioritize customer-centricity and automation” – in 2021 as Director of Sales.
So, what does the future hold for IT teams and leaders?
“[We] will likely see a more prominent rise of AI specialists within IT teams, such as what has already taken place with network, cybersecurity and cloud specialist roles,” he suggests.
And it’s not just AI in the way most people think of it, but machine learning specifically due to “its ability to analyse the abundance of untapped data that sits within organisations and their systems”. Data that teams will use to make “informed decisions” in the future.
How about a digital office to replace the physical ones? “We are approaching telepresence, where working collaboratively isn’t restricted to the quality of internet connection, and the ability to create a digital office is on the horizon,” said MJ. “This will bring flexibility to hiring, work hours and operating costs – transforming the ways businesses can grow.”
With all of these predictions across a 5-10-year horizon, we look forward to catching up with MJ in 2030 and 2035 to see how many of his predictions have come true.
Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence will be a persuasive tool in the IT industry in years to come. I think what is most interesting about AI is the pure scale of use cases it presents for organisations.
Whether it’s used externally to improve customer experiences, or internally within applications to drive efficiencies and support employees, it shows the potential to impact operations in a way we have never seen – and IT teams will be responsible for leading the implementation, management and optimisation of AI solutions.
At the same time, we’re witnessing businesses of all sizes become more and more digitally connected, with a plethora of data sitting within their IoT devices and systems. Organisations will need new support from their IT teams so they can harness AI to analyse and dissect this data, as they look to drive better business outcomes.
And as organisations partake in this journey, IT teams will be at the forefront of ensuring this is done securely. Cybersecurity is no longer an isolated issue, and security standards for devices, platforms and practices will face changes – likely becoming stricter to match evolving threats. In the next five to ten years, we will see the cyber unknown dominate IT workers’ mindshare even more, changing how IT teams manage devices and tech suites internally.
At a time when regular technology investment has become an expectation, the IT industry has never been more important for organisations’ success.
The unfortunate number of cyber-attacks that have plagued Australian companies in recent years has forced organisations to become more mature in their cyber practices. Security has escalated in priority – especially for IT professionals – and it will remain a top priority. IT workers will need to consider how to make all future operations as secure as possible, particularly when managing increasingly dispersed networks and environments.
Therefore, IT teams will be brought across more business decision-making – as companies evaluate the safety of new products, while also considering if platforms are cohesive with existing technology stacks. Although cybersecurity will no longer solely be an IT problem, IT professionals will play a strong role in guiding organisations on best practices.
This guidance will also be present when navigating the AI rollercoaster – recommending businesses when to hop on, when to hop off and which rides are too dangerous. IT professionals will be held to a greater responsibility and expected to advise on AI implementation, governance and execution. So, we will likely see a more prominent rise of AI specialists within IT teams, such as what has already taken place with network, cybersecurity and cloud specialist roles.
The modern IT professional will play a major role in the evolving business landscape.
Artificial intelligence’s influence both in the short term and the long term will be powerful, not just for IT teams, but organisations and global industries as a whole. With so many evolving types of AI, it offers unique and enticing avenues for companies to explore as they identify new business value.
Machine learning stands out to me especially, with its ability to analyse the abundance of untapped data that sits within organisations and their systems. For IT teams, AI can scrutinise what is happening on networks based on applied settings, and from that data, it can make informed decisions to ensure issues, disruptions, and vulnerabilities don’t occur again. Excitingly, these decisions will only improve with the more data it is fed – creating a stream of ongoing enhancements to operational efficiency and quality.
However, AI’s impact is not one-dimensional for IT teams. Understanding how much, and which data to share with artificial intelligence technology will be a prominent conversation that takes within businesses, and at a national level. The biggest red flag with AI right now is data privacy – and this needs to remain top of mind. We have all heard or seen business data being leaked onto public AI platforms, and it will be on IT teams to ensure AI is being governed correctly and safely within companies. Not to mention when new laws are introduced, IT teams will guide organisations and help them meet the standards set out.
As much as I would like to say Star Wars-like holograms will be a part of the future of work, there is likely still a long time until we get there. However, in the same vein, IT will significantly shape how immersive our experiences are when working remotely.
Looking into the future, we’ll have Wi-Fi 8, 6G and more developments, each contributing to the opportunity to truly work from anywhere on any device without recurring interruption. We are approaching telepresence, where working collaboratively isn’t restricted to the quality of internet connection, and the ability to create a digital office is on the horizon. This will bring flexibility to hiring, work hours and operating costs – transforming the ways businesses can grow.
IT workers will act as a lynchpin to making this possible. Ongoing monitoring and management of a company’s dispersed environment will be essential to the future of work. The seamless experience organisations hope to achieve when working remotely will be dictated by IT teams’ ability to bring connection and security to employees’ devices. This will particularly be the case for mobile phones, which are now a common location for employees to work from – and will require greater surveillance and management as they are more exposed to external threats.
Facing the unknown always brings uncertainty. Cybersecurity will continue to be an uphill battle for IT professionals and organisations as threat actors evolve tactics, grow in prevalence, and attack in ways businesses have never had to prepare for before. With this top of mind, a key challenge for IT teams will be ensuring platforms and applications work together in a secure fashion. The ongoing maintenance of security, with continuous stress testing as we react to unseen threats, will be vital for IT teams.
I believe IT teams will also be faced with the challenges of keeping technology stacks refreshed without the impact on downtime or operations. As the business landscape evolves and new technologies emerge, companies will want to implement modern platforms to replace legacy systems. IT teams will be expected to build a plane while they fly it – bringing in the new, and removing the old, all without disrupting employees’ work.
Consolidating to one vendor can make this simpler as it provides a single platform to manage and reduces costs, but there are many factors that still need to be considered. Will this affect security? Do we lose quality? These are some of the questions business leaders will be asking IT professionals as they try to achieve more with less.
Many companies are still in their infancy with AI. On the flip side, AI is not slowing down. This has created a knowledge gap, and there are still many questions about what information to provide AI, what information should stay on AI, and if there’s any way to take information off AI platforms.
I feel the IT industry is in a prime position to establish itself within organisations as a strong voice on digital ethics and responsible artificial intelligence – helping companies that are potentially unaware of its implications when used unsafely. AI specialists will begin to grow as a role within teams, providing an opportunity for IT professionals to be upskilled internally, or for university graduates entering the IT industry to take this spot.
By helping organisations set up AI guardrails; establishing privacy standards, implementing AI solutions securely, and more, IT teams can become more involved in business decision making too. This ultimately can have a ripple effect on other challenges within the IT industry – such as security and workload strain.
New technologies like AI will continue to emerge and everyone will have their own opinion on each one. Given their expertise, and thorough understanding of the existing platforms and systems in place, IT professionals have an opportunity to not just execute on implementing these technologies but also advise on how to best harness them.
