The future is bright for technology professionals.
If the dot-com bubble seems like ancient history, maybe that’s because a lot has happened in 25 years. After tech-fuelled stock market gains and venture capital investments both fell dramatically in 2000, the tech industry has enjoyed a strong run. Smartphones, cloud computing, internet of things and artificial intelligence are all major trends that have reshaped the way businesses think about technology and put it to use.
These big wins, though, are not exactly a story about the tech industry rising from the ashes of a burst bubble. In reality, the bubble was part and parcel of a larger arc of development. In her 2002 book, Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital, Carlota Perez describes how investments made during an innovation-driven bubble provide a foundation for future invention and growth. In other words, the infrastructure that powered many of the now-defunct websites from the late 1990s became a critical component for the iPhone and Microsoft Azure in the 2000s.
Heading into 2025, there is some speculation that the economy is in the middle of an AI bubble. If this is true, what can we learn from history? What investments should be made today to ensure success tomorrow? The AI bubble may be part of the larger IT bubble that started with the introduction of mainframes, or it may be the start of something new. Either way, software – whether that’s AI algorithms, new app development, data analytics or other initiatives – is defining the next wave of progress, and that changes the nature of investment. Another tenet of Perez’s framework is that investment cycles include not only capital expenditure on physical infrastructure, but also changes to intangible constructs such as financing structures and government policy.
Many of those broader changes are outside the control of individual organisations, but there are two clear areas where non-capital investment will still be needed: workflow and skills. Between highly specialised software applications and a greater degree of automation, there is potential to completely reinvent workflow in a digital economy. The challenge, as with so many other technology implementations, will be in shifting learned behaviour among the workforce.
The evolved workflow will drive demand for new skills. For several years, the imbalance between supply of digital skills and demand for expertise has been forcing companies to change their approach to talent acquisition and retention. Closing the gap will require continued reinvention of skills-based practices, and that doesn’t even account for the evolution and growth of demand.
While the details of future demand are difficult to predict, the general direction is clear. Businesses will have an ever-growing appetite for technology as a primary tool for delivering results, creating competitive differentiation and meeting organisational objectives. There will always be fluctuations in hiring and employment, but the long-term future is bright for technology professionals.
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