Executives unconvinced by Metaverse, blockchain and quantum computing – The Irish Times
Irish technology leaders are reluctant to commit company resources to new technologies such as Metaverse, blockchain, 3D printing and quantum computing despite a huge surge of public and business interest in recent years, a new survey by EY suggests. However, the accountancy giant’s Technology Leaders Outlook 2023 report indicates that a large majority of Irish businesses want to maintain increased IT staffing to deliver on their digital transformation agendas.
Based on a survey of 150 Chief Technical Officers (CTOs) at a range of Irish companies across a range of industries, from financial services to the public sector and construction, the report highlights the priority companies place on technological growth.
About 44 percent of survey respondents said they are planning or implementing a digital transformation or change program, while nearly half said they expect their company’s IT spending to increase over the next two years.
Meanwhile, an overwhelming 93 percent of CTOs said they plan to increase or maintain their current IT staffing as they implement their technical overhauls. But the lack of talent in the sector is also a major concern for executives with almost a third (32 per cent) citing staffing as the biggest challenge to growth over the next two years, after fears of a global recession (27 per cent).
“Irish organizations recognize the need to migrate their core systems to more modern, cloud-based IT architectures, but they also know that this transition will not be easy,” said Ronan Walsh, consulting partner and head of technology advisory at EY Ireland. “While not without risk, it is ultimately a high-reward journey that requires buy-in from the top of the organization.”
When it comes to investing in new technology, executives say they are focused on “delivering long-term” and immediate value and are “reluctant to commit resources to what some see as new technology”, EY said.
Respondents said the technologies most likely to provide immediate value are process automation (46 percent), data analytics (39 percent) and the Internet of Things and 5G (38 percent). Just 1 percent said Metaverse and quantum computing are likely to deliver in the near term, while only 3 percent were convinced by blockchain, suggesting “widespread adoption is still some way off”.
“We are already seeing some of the key proponents of the metaverse pulling back on investment in the new virtual realm, and the lack of use cases for the majority of businesses is likely to see it remain a fringe technology for some time to come,” said Colin Reilly, EY Ireland -partner and investment manager for technology consultant. “That’s not to say it won’t deliver value to organizations at some point in the future, but for now at least that point seems a long way off.”
