2023 Retrospective by Peer Software

This article was written by Jimmy Tam, CEO, Peer Software, Inc.

2023 Retrospective
AI hype continued … this time around storage

2023 was the year that even the most un-technological people started to notice that AI had arrived. Meanwhile, in the IT team, concerns were growing about the storage capacity and power requirements needed to keep this technology on track. But, although it’s true that AI models demand increased resources, CIOs can be confident they won’t need a wholesale change to their storage strategy. Instead of piling on increased capacity, looking at how data is used and adopting smarter techniques can mean AI models achieve impressive results with smaller datasets and reduced storage requirements.

Tech start-ups battled for survival
It’s been a tough year for tech start-ups. It’s never been easy – it’s often said that 90% of start-ups fail – but this year, the general economic climate combined with a huge reduction in VC funding has seen what some are calling a mass extinction event for start-ups. Relying on investors, rather than building a secure customer base that generates profit has never been a sustainable model. But this year it’s become even clearer that it can put a business at risk as VCs have become much more discerning about what they will put their money to.

Storage for the new normal
As post-pandemic dust began to settle, it became clear that hybrid working patterns were here to stay. And IT teams began to consolidate the amazing work they had done to keep businesses running during the Covid crisis. By prioritising infrastructure, storage, and file-sharing systems, IT systems have become more resilient and are capable of supporting users across wide geographies much more easily.

Of course the work model will continue to evolve, and so technology strategies will continue to adapt so that they can support a dynamic and distributed workforce, providing a seamless experience wherever they are.