We tend to think of IT as one of the few industries least affected by disasters, pandemics and wars. In reality, as in any other industry, such factors change the rules IT used to live by.
At the International Economic Forum in Katowice, Roman Matys discussed how first the pandemic, then inflation, and now war and sanctions have affected the industry with representatives of SENTE S.A., KADOCODE, 4CS and DNR GROUP. The founders and partners of these companies shared different experiences, and it became clear that three issues worry them most:
- getting employees back to the office;
- how fast teams can deliver solutions for clients;
- artificial intelligence as a working tool.
As it turned out, these three issues are linked. The push to return to the office has one goal: teams find the solutions their projects need faster than when everyone works remotely. Employees, of course, see it differently and show no interest in going back. For now this is a matter of active debate and a search for compromise, but employers are not very optimistic about the outcome. Ukrainian developers are even less so, because Russia’s war against Ukraine has scattered their teams around the world.
The second issue is also about speed. In such fast-moving times solutions are needed immediately, yet for various reasons finding and building them sometimes takes longer than the situation they were meant for lasts. This is another reason companies want people back in the office. At the same time, they see artificial intelligence as a way to speed up work: as an assistant for employees whether they work in the office or at home. Either way, it is supposed to raise productivity.
The third view of artificial intelligence is about replacing some employees altogether. In the digital world, an employer ultimately does not care who wrote an email or summarised an online meeting. But for now nobody has high hopes for this tool: the solutions are still raw and need serious refinement.
Overall, the industry looks to the future with optimism, despite challenges that appear almost daily. In the end, everything created on this planet is created by people, with the help of people and for people. So however circumstances change, clients, employees and employers will remain people who have to agree on solutions that work for everyone.
