IDC FutureScape: Top 10 Predictions for the Future of Operations

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• Michael Shirer  Email: press@idc.com  Phone number: 508-935-4200

NEEDHAM, Mass., November 15, 2022 – The top 10 predictions for the Future of Operations from International Data Corporation (IDC) illustrate how the next five years will be transformational for operations as organizations find new and more effective ways to manage, analyze, and collaborate around their operational data. The impacts will extend beyond the data, affecting how decisions are made and who makes them. It will also impact which roles are needed, who fills those roles, and how organizations manage their operations. Operational excellence and resilience continue to present challenges across industries, as businesses struggle with supply chain disruptions, rising energy costs, talent constraints, and pressure to improve sustainability metrics.

Becoming a data-driven organization is a journey that requires an honest assessment of the current state and a willingness to embrace the changes necessary to improve operational performance. Recognizing the need for new approaches and technologies, IDC has developed the Data-Driven Operations (DDO) framework and maturity model to help organizations benchmark themselves and develop plans to improve operational performance across multiple dimensions – efficiency, productivity, quality, safety, reliability, and sustainability.

According to Leif Eriksen, research vice president, Future of Operations at IDC, "Data-driven operations is a journey but this should not be interpreted as a reason to be complacent. The pace of change in operations is beginning to accelerate and will result in significant realignments across a range of industries. Organizations that recognize the opportunity will thrive; those which fail to see it will not survive."

IDC's predictions for the Future of Operations are:

Prediction 1: By 2025, 50% of G2000 industrial organizations will make real-time decisions balancing economic and sustainability metrics, simultaneously improving both sets of metrics by 5% across the enterprise.

Prediction 2: By 2026, 40% of product-centric organizations will use digital tools to measure life-cycle carbon footprint, creating demand for better integration between PLM and operational data.

Prediction 3: By 2023, talent shortages and pressure to improve operational performance will force organizations to reevaluate their approach to digital transformation, resulting in greater use of outside services.

Prediction 4: By 2027, the use of extended reality technology, including AR/VR/MR tools, will increase by 40%, creating a new breed of digital worker and reducing operator/field worker errors by 30%.

Prediction 5: By 2026, the use of robots in nontraditional sectors, most notably remote inspection and maintenance, will increase by 35%, resulting in a 50% drop in inspection errors.

Prediction 6: By 2023, digital-first operations enabled by 5G connectivity will improve worker safety, resulting in a 20% reduction in lost time accidents.

Prediction 7: By 2027, 50% of remote operations will use satellite-enabled AI/ML technology to collect and analyze data at the edge, reducing costs and improving yields and energy usage in the natural resource sectors.

Prediction 8: By 2024, the cloud will surpass on-premises infrastructure as the primary location where operational data is stored, managed, and analyzed for 50% of G2000 organizations.

Prediction 9: By 2024, 30% of industrial organizations will have become leaner and more agile than their competitors as a result of making real-time operational insights available anytime, anywhere, to anyone.

Prediction 10: By 2025, 50% of organizations will increase the use of IoT and OT cybersecurity solutions at the edge, cutting OT cybersecurity breaches in half.

IDC's Future of Operations predictions are presented in full detail in the report, IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Future of Operations 2023 Predictions (IDC #US48669222). Copies of this report are available to qualified members of the media.

An on-demand replay of IDC's Worldwide Future of Operations 2023 Predictions webcast will be available as one of more than 40 FutureScape webinars that will address the CIO Agenda, Digital Business, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud, Sustainable Strategies and Technologies, and a range of industry-specific and Future of X topics. To register for any of these webinars, please visit www.idc.com/futurescape2023.

About IDC FutureScape

IDC FutureScape presents information about technologies, markets, and ecosystems that help CIOs better understand future trends and their impacts on the enterprise. They also present guidance on complex, fast-moving environments and offer prescriptive, actionable recommendations. Every year, IDC identifies the key external drivers that will influence businesses in the coming years. An IDC FutureScape establishes 10 predictions derived from these drivers, analyzes the impacts on the IT organization, and proposes recommendations for the next five years. To learn more about IDC FutureScape reports, please visit: https://www.idc.com/events/futurescape.

About IDC's Future of Operations Practice

IDC's Future of Operations research practice helps organizations understand what it means to be data-driven, which technologies are critical to supporting the DDO journey, and why now (the business drivers). It is closely tied to other operations-centric programs at IDC including IT/OT Convergence, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Operational Technology (OT). To learn more about IDC's Future of Operations research practice, please visit https://www.idc.com/promo/future-of-x/operations.

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,300 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology, IT benchmarking and sourcing, and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading tech media, data, and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDC and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the IDC Blog for industry news and insights.

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