I sit here heading back to London following a fabulous Christmas break … as the low winter sun pierces the dirty panes of glass, and the fields pass me by, I’m sitting and reflecting on a phenomenal year and pondering what will come next – after all its now 2022.

I can’t remember a time in my life where the global outlook was less certain.  What is clear is the world we live and work in is becoming more complicated, more nuanced and more fragmented – and as such the need for really talented people with innovative solutions has never been so important.

We have gone from strength to strength in recent years – and not least this is because of the terrific team we have been fortunate to build.  Over the last year this has included many new faces from our COO, expansion of York Delivery Centre and of course new hires in our core consulting team, including a substantial investment in developing Finyx Northern Ireland.  In 2022 I not only expect to strengthen that team through recruitment but by continuing to offer a great place to work and grow.  We will continue to advance our solutions and service offerings, invest in our three delivery locations and support and develop our people and our clients.

Whilst the below topics were already discussion points in 2021, I believe that they will continue to dominate the business landscape throughout 2022 and Finyx are well poised to respond.

1. World economy

The world’s leading economies have been poised for interest rate lifts for some time now – with most indicators suggesting energy price led inflation being a dominant theme in 2022.  The need to execute daily business more efficiently, swiftly and certainly will become an increasing priority.  Themes previously regarded as “bleeding edge”, such as AI and Automation, will become mainstream.  The need for consultants who really understand how to adopt, use and exploit these technologies grow exponentially.  As a team of pragmatists, Finyx are well poised to ensure our clients invest appropriately, prioritising where most gain can be had.

2. Security

McAfee estimates that cybercrime costs the world somewhere in the region of $1 trillion per year – about the same size as the 17^th Largest Economy in the world (Turkey).  Threats are becoming ever more sophisticated and in turn the need for effective strategies and resilient services will continue to grow.  In response, Finyx have appointed the extremely talented and experienced @Jim Woodcock to be our CISO and Head of Security Consulting.  He joins my senior management team – and will play a broad role in leading not only our Cyber practice but also more generally in the firm.  Welcome Jim.

3. Climate Change

A lot has been reported about climate change – but this year feels like it might be different… Carbon offset will no longer be enough for companies to claim green status, and they are going to need to take serious action on whether to divest or engage with high carbon emitters in their supply chain. Technology has a significant part to play both in terms of the footprint it consumes and the services it can provide to reduce other negative environmental impacts (e.g. reduced travel, automation etc).  It strikes us that being able to attribute the carbon footprint of technology to business activity is similar to Cost Attribution.  As such I look forward to working with our team to develop further our capability in carbon accounting.

4. Covid

The unpredictable elephant in the room … whatever the outcomes are – we can be sure ways of working will be changed forever.  This has far reaching consequences – from regional and global wage arbitrage through to the need to reimagine activities such as training and whiteboarding.   In our view the most successful organisations will design solutions into their technology operating models – as with offshoring those that focus on Service, Activity and Outcomes rather than “roles” will gain the most.

Whatever 2022 holds – I am optimistic… the human race has a knack of solving the most complex problems.  We look forward to being a small part of that evolution.