Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2022.  Read them in this 14th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.

Automation, Developer Relations and More

In 2021, we've seen organizations accelerate and adapt their digital transformation journeys to keep up with market demands. From automation and IT solutions to developer relations and virtual collaboration strategies, technology has played an increasingly dominant role in business processes. As we enter 2022, two executives from Camunda share a roundup of predictions and what's in store for IT leaders and the Developer Relations community in the year ahead.

Bernd Ruecker, Co-Founder and Chief Technologist at Camunda

In 2022 the need for great IT talent will become critical for process automation projects

The heterogeneous landscape of legacy systems, humans, cloud services and devices has become more complex almost daily. At the same time, the pressure to digitize and to automate increases, leaving organizations with little time to react. Today's environment requires an agile mindset and great IT talent, which a lot of companies are currently lacking due to the talent shortage. In 2022, IT and business leaders must not only prioritize recruiting and talent acquisition efforts, but also establish a culture that lets their talent thrive or they risk falling behind.

Business leaders must put IT in the driver's seat when it comes to automation

To make automation a priority, business leaders must put IT in the driver's seat. From there, organizations can embark on concrete automation endeavors. The reality is that most digitalization programs and strategic initiatives are often too detached from operational reality and hardly deliver concrete results. Whereas empowered teams with IT driving automation efforts can easily implement a concrete automation project end-to-end successfully, from the business idea to software operating in production. This way, even grass-root initiatives can start a domino effect for automation.

2022 is the year of the CIO

The shift to remote work has increased the need for IT solutions across the board. This led to the importance of IT becoming very visible in 2021, and CIOs gained visibility and influence. This year, CIOs can leverage their position to set the stage for automation efforts, bringing them to the forefront of an organization's business strategy. CIOs that prioritize automation efforts will quickly see the ROI, while organizations and CIOs who remain hesitant will fall behind.

Organizations will begin to see that automation isn't hard once you get going  

In today's organizations, processes are everywhere, and most of them can be automated to increase productivity, and quality of efficiency. However, automation as a business initiative can be very overwhelming for organizations looking to get the ball rolling. In 2022, IT leaders should start small and begin by selecting a less complex process to implement. A successful lighthouse project will allow organizations to scale automation efforts as the next steps.

Mary Thengvall, Director of Developer Relations at Camunda

In 2022, developer-first companies must strengthen DevRel programs to ensure business success  

Over the past 18 months, we witnessed a major shift as organizations moved their businesses online, which redefined the way they collaborated and reached their communities. As 2022 approaches, a strong developer community will become a strategic advantage for developer-first companies. To support this, these companies should put together a team of individuals whose main focus is to connect with developers, gather feedback and better understand use cases. By providing developers with an onboarding experience that prioritizes easy-to-use products with clear value, coupled with a welcoming online community to ask questions and share successes, it will not only influence them to continue using a company's tool, but it will also help others within a company to understand how their product is being used. Additionally, DevRel teams will be able to track patterns from the broader tech industry, allowing a company to predict and get ahead of future user demands. By putting emphasis on a strong DevRel program in 2022, companies will find themselves at a huge advantage over their competitors.

Hosting events and connecting with community members online will become a best practice

While there are in-person elements that simply can't be replicated online, there are also huge advantages to hosting events and connecting with community members online. In 2022, the opportunity to engage with people at virtual events will reach an all-time high. Over the past year, we relied heavily on digital platforms to connect with one another, and we will continue to see this as we enter the new year. With the help of Zoom, and other conferencing platforms (Streamyard, Hopin, Gather Town), the ability to collaborate will only continue to evolve and grow. Even now, as we're starting to consider in-person sponsorships and events, we need to keep in mind that the majority of our community "exists" online, which means the content we're creating and the projects we're working on need to be accessible to everyone.

The best collaboration exercises will stem from understanding what opportunities we have for online connection, rather than trying to replicate the "in-person" experience

I believe we have spent too much time trying to replicate the "in person" experience rather than understanding what opportunities we have for online connection, even since the pandemic shifted the majority of businesses completely remote. In truth, it takes more time and mental energy to come up with ideas and execute them, because it feels outside of our comfort zone, but by running a handful of experiments concurrently, we will be able to better understand what's impacting our audience and which areas might be most meaningful to pursue. As we approach 2022, the more we can think of our work as research and development or experimentation and iteration, the more quickly we'll be able to find what our community members really connect with.

As we march towards the new year, it is important to reflect on the impact technology has and will continue to play in shaping our futures. It is important to always listen, learn and adapt to emerging technology to grow and maintain long-term business success.

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