The pace of change is faster than ever before. But it’s not only possible to keep up, but get ahead – and stay ahead safely.

It’s not easy keeping up with everyone else. This has always been true – but it’s even harder now, when technology is changing faster than ever. Artificial intelligence, the cloud, the metaverse – how many of these had you even heard of just a few years ago?

New technology means new opportunities, of course. But it also means new threats – threats that can cause serious harm or even destroy your business or organisation.

But not embracing new technologies can also be devastating. You risk being left behind by both your competition and customers who themselves are using new technologies and expect you to do the same to make their lives better and easier.

Yet never fear! It’s more than possible to both harness the advantages of new technologies to get ahead and build trust with your customers while also staying safe from the new threats out there.

What are the big technology trends to watch out for?

It’s first important to understand what some of the technologies driving changes are. Among the biggest are:

1. Artificial intelligence and chatbots

AI’s the topic on everyone’s lips. When chatbots like ChatGPT can pass bar exams to get into law school, and there’s active discussion about it one day replacing journalists and authors, then you know it’s a technology with lots of potential.

You name it, and experts think AI can one day – and possibly soon – do it. The potential advantages are obvious for you: some of the most annoying, boring work currently done by humans can be done almost instantly by AI. That alone can save you tremendous amounts of time and money. That’s just one advantage, too.

Yet many people are worried about AI replacing their jobs or forcing them out of business. Another concern is, as AI becomes even smarter and faster, humans will use it for bad things – AI-led cyber-attacks are already a problem.

2. The cloud

Do you use Google Drive, OneDrive or iCloud to store data online, or share documents? Those are all examples of the cloud.

But the cloud is more than just storing files online. We can now work on documents together online at the same time, no matter where we are – the same document, shared by everyone as if physically in the same room. Information can also be quickly uploaded, too – think field data like from safety inspections at a construction site loaded into an app for everyone across the organisation to see. No more having to drive for several hours all the way back to the office, or handing in physical timesheets to staff who then have to enter data onto a computer.

But the cloud has risks, too. If hackers get into your documents and applications, they can wreak havoc – and, unfortunately, many people don’t think to back up what’s in the cloud, assuming it’s backed up already .

Read more about how to do data backup for business.

3. Web3 and decentralisation

When we think of the internet, we often think of it as one big, centralised place. We can get to it from anywhere, and go anywhere from it.

But the internet is actually much more decentralised. This is the idea of Web3, sometimes called Web 3.0, as it can be considered the third “evolution” of the internet, evolving from basic websites (the original World Wide Web, or Web 1.0) to pages that run applications (Web 2.0 – think social media or shopping websites where you can do things on the page).

This has a lot of potential for business. It means you can directly store data, run programs and applications, process payments from customers, and do all sorts of other things directly, without a third-party and a middleman. Think of it like having your own physical shop people can shop at, versus renting out space at someone else’s shop or in a mall.

But a decentralised internet means cyber attacks can come from anywhere – and at any time. If we return to the shop analogy, there’s a greater risk that shop can be burned down in an attack, since it might be more vulnerable with less security than a large facility like a mall with its cameras, security guards, and more. It means the responsibility is yours to keep your organisation’s data and systems safe, as well as your customers – just like a shop owner.

4. Cybersecurity mesh

The phrase may sound strange, but cybersecurity mesh basically refers to your cyber security at the office, on company devices (wherever they may be), and the security of the data you hold. With the threats more sophisticated than ever, cybersecurity is more important than ever. Because we do almost everything online and almost everything today is interconnected, we’re at a point now where your organisation probably can’t exist without good cyber protection.

5. Distributed business / remote work

As the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic seem to be behind us, it also seems safe to say remote working is here to stay. Existing staff who’ve become used to being able to work from home may push back against requests for them to work at the office full-time again. 

New hires may also expect to be able to work remotely. In fact, Buffer’s State of Remote Work 2021 report shows 97.6% of respondents would like to work remotely at least some of the time for the rest of their career. At least 46% of businesses that went remote due to COVID-19 intend to permanently allow remote work, too.

This means a few things for you. Do you have policies about remote working, such as certain days – like Tuesdays and Wednesday, for example – where all staff, or members of certain teams, are expected to be in the office? What about policies for staff using devices at home? 

Are those devices secure, do they require passwords and other authentication, et cetera? What if staff want to work from a location other than home, like a café or at the airport? Do you have policies around that, and ways devices and data can be kept safe in public places? If not, it might be worth considering.

How can these trends benefit me and my organisation?

What all these trends have in common is they can allow you to interact more directly with customers, and give you more control over the technology you’re using. They can also increase efficiency, since being able to work on the same project at the same time from anywhere means no time-consuming commute to an office. AI, in particular, can also make tasks like data entry and basic customer service much faster and more efficient, allowing you to do more in less time, ultimately saving you time and money. 

These trends may mean exciting possibilities, but as discussed they also have real risks that are important to keep in mind. As you harness these technologies, so too are hackers.

Getting ahead – and staying safe

You can indeed harness these technologies to achieve more than you ever did before, and stay ahead of hackers, if you have the right partner. NSP has been helping businesses in New Zealand and around the world get ahead safely since 2002.

Among NSP’s suite of products and services specifically tailored to help you maximise the potential of emerging technologies include NSP Cybersecurity, which includes end-to-end protection for your devices so they’re safe at all times, everywhere. There’s also NSP Cloud, to help you move data, documents and applications to the cloud and keep everything safe.

NSP Immutable Backups can protect backed-up data from attacks – especially important because today’s hackers often target backed-up data specifically because they think it’s important. If something does happen – be it hackers, or human error like accidentally deleting something – NSP Data Recovery can help you get what you’ve lost back.

Other solutions like NSP Network Performance can help your operations run more smoothly and efficiently, even with staff working remotely. NSP Modern Workplace and NSP Managed Services can also help staff work remotely safely.

No matter what solutions you decide to use, a 24-hour security operations team of humans who understand you and your organisation can help whenever you need it. A one-hour security consultation before committing can also help determine what solutions might be best for you.

Embracing emerging technologies and keeping ahead of competitors in a rapidly-changing environment doesn’t need to be risky. With a partner like NSP at your side, you can have confidence that you’ll be safe from cyber-threats and can unleash your maximum potential.