Technology has democratized, according to Gartner, predicting that by 2025, 55% of all successful emerging technology offerings will be delivered to “non-traditional” buyers outside of enterprise IT. This offers sellers the opportunity to expand into new markets and establish new customer relationships, according to the research firm.
This democratization empowers corporate employees to source, select, deploy and customize their own technology, and offers them opportunities to empower a new group of citizen developers and business technologists, according to the recently released Gartner. -report: Top technology provider trends for 2023. The report highlights these and other top trends that will impact technology providers through 2025.
Top trends impacting technology providers through 2025
These trends reflect three overarching themes: companies’ increasing reliance on technology, new opportunities created by technology, and the impact of external macro forces.
“The march of digitization continues even amidst disruption, and technology vendors have a leading role to play,” said Rajesh Kandaswamy, Gartner Distinguished Vice President Analyst and Gartner Fellow. “In 2023, product leaders and technology managers must strike a balance between short-term planning and long-term strategy to stay ahead of the immediate shocks to the economy and the underlying ‘permacrisis’ that are shaping business.”
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In addition to the democratization of technology, there are several other trends that Gartner has identified that will impact technology customers, buyers, products, ecosystems, business models, and business models worldwide for at least the next three years:
Federated Business Technology Procurement
In a federated buying process, buying decisions are made by representatives of the entire company. Driven by the democratization of technology, federated corporate technology buying is on the rise, with only 26% of technology buyers in a recent Gartner survey report that purchases are financed exclusively by IT.
While federated buying creates opportunities for product leaders, it also adds complexity by forcing changes in go-to-market models and requiring greater focus on value scenarios and outcomes, said Emil Berthelsen, vice president of analyst at Gartner.
Product-driven growth
Product-driven growth enables users to experience value through free product offerings or interactive or automated demonstrations. Then users are converted directly to paid accounts, or their advocacy and influence help drive purchases. By 2025, 95% of software-as-a-service providers will use some form of self-service PLG to acquire new customers.
PLG is gaining momentum in business-to-business models after success in the business-to-consumer technology market, Kandaswamy said. The benefits are lower costs to acquire customers and shorter sales cycles.
Co-innovation ecosystems
The emerging co-innovation ecosystem approach enables the convergence of internal, external, collaborative and co-creative ideas to create new value. As companies actively use technology to differentiate themselves, succeed and meet customer needs, they are increasingly partnering with technology providers.
Digital marketplaces
Tech buyers are embracing digital marketplaces to easily find, purchase, deploy, and integrate technology offerings. Non-tech buyers are also increasingly looking to marketplaces to meet their requirements for curable and easily consumable technology products.
“Technology and service providers are increasing their investments in market channels as they look for growth opportunities and competitive advantage,” said Kandaswamy. “A digital marketplace accelerates time to market, extends reach to target segments, expands partner ecosystems, and accelerates the sales cycle.”
Intelligent applications
Intelligent applications will create value and disrupt markets by learning, adapting and generating new ideas and results. For example generative artificial intelligence is an emerging technology that is rapidly gaining ground for commercial use in intelligent applications. Generative AI can produce new media content, including text, images, video and audio, as well as synthetic data and models of physical objects.
“Product leaders should expect generative AI features that empower workers with rich and creative capabilities to create a new competitive front in intelligent applications,” said Kandaswamy.
Metaverse technologies for improving the customer experience
Metaverse technologies, such as virtual spaces and avatars, are rapidly gaining ground in marketing for creating unique experiences, impactful interactions, and new engagement. By 2027, more than 40% of large organizations worldwide will use a combination of Web3, spatial computing and digital twin in metaverse-based projects aimed at increasing sales.
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“B2B marketers have the opportunity to apply metaverse technologies and the immersive experiences they provide to increase customer reach, engagement and improve the customer experience,” said Kandaswamy. “Early adopters use metaverse technologies to host events in virtual spaces, hold internal and external sales meetings, showcase products, and more.”
Sustainable business
Sustainable business is no longer a nice-to-have but a must-have.
“In an increasingly technology-driven world, sustainable business is supported by sustainable technology,” says Kandaswamy.
A recent study by Gartner found that 42% of leaders are currently leveraging sustainability activities to drive innovation, differentiation and business growth through sustainable products. The company predicts that by 2025, technology providers who can quantify the positive contribution of their offerings to customers’ sustainability goals will increase their success rate by 20%.
Techno-nationalism
The globalization movement is now leaning towards mercantilism, making global markets increasingly local and affecting global technology ecosystems.
Countries are introducing digital sovereignty regulations as a result of policy decisions, causing technology stacks to diverge. Product leaders must now balance meeting specific country-level localization needs with product profitability in response to this trend.
