2023 is just around the corner, and that means it's time to start thinking about the tech skills you'll need to learn, or be aware of, in order to stay ahead of the curve. 2022 has been an interesting year when it comes to technology, with emerging trends in blockchain, front-end development and the emergence of AI technologies.
In this blog post, we will discuss the top 10 tech skills that will be essential for success in 2023. So whether you're a business owner, a student, or simply someone who wants to stay up-to-date with the latest trends, read on for some valuable insights.
We have split this blog post down into a number of sections, including emerging tech, classics and tools and frameworks to keep ahead.
Emerging Technologies That Will Thrive in 2023
1 - AI Technology in 2023
AI technology has been labelled as one of the most exciting tech trends of the last decade, and it shows no signs of slowing down in 2023. AI has already been used to great effect in fields such as marketing, finance, healthcare, retail, and transportation. In 2023, we can expect to see wider-spread mainstream adoption of AI technology as companies look to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance the user experience.
ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence technology that enables users to engage in natural conversations with a computer. Developed by OpenAI, this tech works to mimic human conversations and is powered by a powerful deep learning model known as GPT-3. This tech is designed to provide an interactive and personalised experience for users, allowing them to ask questions and get responses in real-time.
Chat GPT has also hit record user numbers in an incredibly quick amount of time. In fact, it hit a million users in just under one week. Compare that to 10 months for Facebook and 24 months for Twitter, it demonstrates just how incredibly high interest in the technology is. To add to this, there are rumours that GPT-4, the next iteration of the GPT-3 engine that Chat GPT is built upon, could hit the market as soon as 2023, which will be an exciting time for mainstream AI technology.
Further to this, DALL·E 2 - another technology built on top of GPT, the successor to DALL·E, the wildly popular AI driven art creation platform that turns words into works of art, will continue to gain traction.
2 - Blockchain Technology in 2023
Blockchain technology has been buzzing with excitement over the last few years, as more and more companies look to leverage its potential for a range of different use cases. In 2023, we can expect to see blockchain tech used at an even wider scale, particularly within industries such as finance, supply chain management, and healthcare.
It is fair to say that 2022 has been a tricky one for blockchain, with the collapse of Three Arrows Capital (3AC), the collapse of LUNA and the fall of FTX. People are forgetting massive wins in the space, including Ethereum moving from proof of work (PoW) to proof of stake (PoS) and in doing so, cutting its environmental impact by over 99%.
Blockchain tech will be a major driving force for the finance sector in 2023, as it provides ongoing security and cost-effectiveness. With blockchain tech, financial institutions can move away from expensive intermediaries and heavy paperwork, reducing costs while increasing transparency and trustworthiness.
One of the most exciting aspects of blockchain tech is its ability to build transparent "code is law" approaches to consumer interactions, through smart contracts. In 2023, we can expect to see more and more use cases of smart contracts in the finance sector, as it allows for a secure and reliable way to exchange value.
We continue to see huge demand for our blockchain coding bootcamp, as one of our most popular courses, another marker that that interest in the area will be huge in 2023.
3 - Immersive Experiences in 2023
Whilst many will label immersive experiences as "The Metaverse" or "AR" or "VR", our view is that they all are continuing to emerge technologies that will continue to gain traction in 2023.
The metaverse is a technology driven space where an individual can go and experience whatever the developer makes the space deliver. It could be circling the rings of Saturn (as has been advertised a lot) to being dropped into your favourite film. There are thousands of companies developing "in the metaverse" to create digital experiences that ultimately, individuals would be willing to pay for.
Decentraland is an open-source virtual reality platform that enables users to create and explore 3D digital environments. Developed by the Decentraland Foundation, this tech provides a virtual world where users can own land, create digital art, attend events, and interact with others through avatars. It is essentially a decentralised version of the popular game Second Life, but with the added benefit of being powered by blockchain tech.
Alongside Decentraland, we can expect to see even more companies emerge in 2023 that are focused on providing a wide range of immersive tech experiences. With consumer goods like the Google Meta Quest 2 VR Headset gaining ground, we can see this area accelerating in 2023. The headset offers increased levels of immersion, with its fully adjustable lenses, which allow users to adjust the level of vision they need in order to experience the highest quality visuals.
This innovation has been designed to provide even more comfort than traditional VR headsets. The headset allows the user to play games, watch movies and surf the web in VR from the comfort of your own home.
Existing Technologies Not to Discount in 2023
4 - MERN Stack
We still need software developers at an alarming rate and the MERN stack is a great jumping in point for individuals looking to get into the industry.
The MERN stack is a powerful collection of technologies for building modern web applications. It combines four open source tech stacks, MongoDB, Express.js, React.js and Node.js, to create a comprehensive development platform that provides developers with everything they need to quickly create quality web applications.
We continue to see increasing demand for our Full Stack coding bootcamp, as more and more individuals seek out a high quality UK based coding bootcamp to support them into a career in tech. MERN will continue to be a key technology in 2023.
5 - Cloud Computing and Smaller Companies Adoption
Cloud computing allows users to store, access, and share applications and data over the internet. It provides users with an efficient and cost-effective way to store and manage data, without having to deal with the expense and complexity of maintaining their own servers. Cloud computing has become increasingly popular in recent years, and in 2023, it is expected to continue its growth as more companies turn to the tech for their needs.
Many companies are now using cloud-based applications to power their operations. In the past decade, the adoption of cloud computing has grown exponentially, with many organisations now relying on cloud-based solutions for their data and application needs.
Most companies are hosting data and apps, but full infrastructure in the cloud isn't fully adopted. Many smaller companies that remain hesitant to adopt cloud tech in this manner. In 2023, we can expect these companies to begin moving towards cloud tech, particularly as the tech continues to improve and evolve.
While big tech players like Amazon, Google and Microsoft continue to dominate cloud computing, smaller companies are also starting to adopt this tech for their own needs. As more startups turn to cloud tech for their growth, we can expect to see continued advancements and adoption od the tech in 2023.
7 - Next.js continuing to grow
Next.js is a React framework that has quickly become one of the most popular development tools in 2021. It provides developers with an easy-to-use environment for building highly performant and scalable web applications. The framework is well known for its extensibility, allowing developers to create almost any type of application they can imagine. We are so excited about Next.js, we put together an article outlining everything you need to know before learning Next.js.
As of March 2022, the framework is used by many large websites, including Walmart, Apple, Nike, Netflix, TikTok, Uber, Lyft, and Starbucks. We believe that we will continue to see a trickle down of its usage through 2023, especially given the large investment Vercel secured in late 2020, a twenty-one million dollars in their Series A raise.
This has led to the development of Next.js 13. We have covered everything you need to know, before you learn Next.js in a previous article and with with Next.js 13 offering 'turbopack' and many other new features, it is certainly one to keep our eye on in the new year.
In a recent update by Vercel, the company re-built the BBC News website with 30,000+ less lines of code, and over 30 less dependencies.
8 - Everyone wants to learn TypeScript
TypeScript is a powerful open-source programming language that is a superset of JavaScript. Developed and maintained by Microsoft, TypeScript is becoming a go-to language for developing large-scale applications. It enables developers to write code that's safe, easy to read and understand, and highly maintainable.
TypeScript provides optional static typing for variables which allows for fast, efficient error checking and code comprehension. This makes the tech especially popular amongst developers working on large-scale applications that require a high level of code maintainability, such as enterprise web or mobile apps.
In recent years, we have seen a growing number of tech companies and tech professionals turn to TypeScript to power their projects. As more developers learn the tech, we can expect to see continued growth and adoption of TypeScript in 2023. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced developer, this language is definitely one to watch.
9 - Low on-ramp graphic design tools will continue to dominate
Graphic design tools such as Canva have seen explosive growth in recent years. Canva is a simple yet powerful online platform that enables users to create professional-quality designs without any prior design knowledge. The tech has been widely adopted by businesses, marketers and creatives alike due to its ease of use and unique features.
Since its launch in 2012, Canva has been used to create over 2 billion designs and has more than 30 million users worldwide. In addition, tech giants such as Google, Apple and Facebook have opted to use Canva to design their marketing messages and content.
In 2023, we can expect tech tools like Canva to continue dominating the marketing space. As tech development continues to accelerate, we will see an increasing number of tools that automate marketing tasks, making marketers' lives easier and enabling them to focus on more strategic work.
The key to continued differentiation will be the ability for internal marketeers to adapt and apply their own style to many of the templates found in these tools, as users become used to the many standard outputs that come from these platforms.
10 - Companies will still be Agile houses, without implementing Agile correctly
Agile software development is a way of developing computer programs quickly and efficiently. It helps teams work together to find the best solutions for their projects. Agile focuses on taking small steps instead of doing one big project all at once. With agile, teams can adapt as they go and make changes as needed without having to start over from scratch.
Despite its many benefits, agile software development has faced some challenges in recent years. For instance, many tech companies have struggled to implement agile effectively and efficiently, mainly due to resource constraints and poor management. Whilst this is of course a tongue in cheek point, it's an ongoing area in the industry that is open to discussion.
2023 is set to be an exciting year for tech, with a wealth of new tech skills and technologies to learn. From the growing popularity of existing tools such as the low-onramp graphic design tool like Canva, to frameworks and languages like Next.js 13 typescript, through to new developments in areas such as AI, blockchain and immersive experiences, developers have a lot to look forward to in the coming year.
About the Author
James has 8 years with Fortune 200 US firm ITW, experience of managing projects in China, USA, and throughout Europe. James has worked with companies such as Tesco, Vauxhall, ITW, Serco, McDonalds. James has experience in supporting start-up and scale up companies such as Readingmate, Gorilla Juice and Harvest London. James completed his MBA at the University of East Anglia in 2018.
