With new technologies emerging on a daily basis, keeping up with the incredibly fast pace of digitalisation across all industries has never been as important as it is today. Capital markets are of course no exception to this rule, with new trends transforming the financial services industry in unprecedented ways over the course of 2022. 

While we ought to recognise the value of technology and the numerous advantages that it brings, we also need to bear in mind that digitalisation is not an objective per se, or a pre-determined destination – it is an endless journey of creation and recreation, at the origin of which are humans. Led by and for us, technology only really serves a purpose as long as it improves our day-to-day lives. 

With 2022 now behind us, let's take a closer look at three of the key trends that are set to feature high on the IT agenda in 2023, and potentially help change our day-to-day lives for the better in the process – cybersecurity, green IT and the search for talent. 

Cybersecurity has been a key point of focus for IT leaders for several years, but with the number of cyberattacks on the rise, businesses across all industries need to implement new measures to build up their cybersecurity defence. According to Statista, during the third quarter of 2022, some 15 million data records were exposed worldwide through data breaches – a 37 percent increase compared to the previous quarter. Financial institutions tend to be the most popular targets for obvious reasons, but all companies and institutions should consider themselves as potential targets.? 

Cybercriminals are building increasingly sophisticated systems to deceive and take advantage of humans, so the most efficient way to reduce the risk of cyberattacks is to ensure that all employees are well trained and able to identify, flag and stop phishing attempts and other similar cyberthreats. Concretely, this means that businesses and institutions need to put in place new and more bulletproof authentication rules to protect their systems and data, ultimately preventing cybercriminals from gaining access to the company’s servers by hacking the password of an employee. 

Another trend that is set to make headlines in 2023 is none other than green tech. More than a trend, green tech is a necessity – and potentially a solution – on two different fronts. On the one hand, green tech is about leveraging technology to reduce high emitting activities and drive positive change. This angle gained prominence at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when we came to the realisation that we could significantly reduce our carbon emissions by replacing brief face-to-face encounters with online meetings. Another example is the progress made in terms of traffic reduction thanks to intelligent parking systems that help drivers find a spot without having to search for long periods of time. 

On the other hand, green tech is also about making IT itself more sustainable by optimising the emissions and activities related to IT operations. Amongst other things, this also means reconsidering the ways in which we manufacture, use and recycle our IT equipment. In the European Union (EU), we recently took a small yet significant step in the right direction with the EU’s approval of a directive that will require the vast majority of electronic devices to be equipped with a one-size-fits-all USB-C type charger from 2024 onwards. While this initiative is mainly aimed at consumers, it will undoubtedly have a spill over effect across businesses, and push IT leaders to consider new ways to reduce waste within their organisations. 

Last but not least, the search for new talent is set to feature high on the IT agenda throughout 2023. If we are to implement more sustainable ways of working and build up new defence mechanisms against the growing and increasingly diverse range of cyberthreats, we need to ensure that we have the right people in the right positions to kickstart these initiatives. The search for talent is undoubtedly a global phenomenon and one that is crucial across all industries, particularly on the back of the pandemic, but given how reliant we all are on technology, sourcing the right talent that can implement solid and timeproof IT infrastructures is pivotal not only to the IT community, but also the wider society. 

There are undoubtedly other trends that will surface in 2023, while some existing areas of focus, such as the migration to the cloud, will continue to develop. At the end of last year, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange became the first financial institution in Luxembourg to migrate its entire IT infrastructure to the cloud, and we expect other institutions to follow suit in 2023 and beyond. 

Recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) as a free service, such as open AI and ChatGPT are also likely to drastically change the way humans interact in the medium term. It will of course depend on the specific ways in which these technologies are implemented and used and may come with a number of benefits and drawbacks. 

One potential and clear positive impact of AI technologies is that they may be used to develop systems that can assist humans in various tasks, such as analysing data, identifying patterns, or understanding complex matters more easily. This could potentially lead to increased efficiency and productivity in various industries. 

On the other hand, the development and deployment of AI technologies also raises ethical and societal concerns, such as the potential for job displacement and the need to ensure that AI systems are developed and used responsibly. It is important for researchers and developers to consider these issues as they continue to work with AI over the coming year. One thing is certain, however – as far as driving positive change, sustainable habits, building up our cyber defence and sourcing the right talent is concerned, we, humans are very much in the driving seat.? 

By Laurent Pulinckx, CIO of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange & TheCIO23