Ready For The Big Tech Consolidation Of 2023?

CTO | Board-Level Advisor | A shaman helping guide a way through your digital jungle. Representing Core Technology Solutions services.

There is a shift occurring in technology that is unprecedented. 2023 is going to be the pivotal year it arrives at your doorstep. Are you ready for what’s to come?

What’s happening?

Baby Boomers started their careers in the late 1970s. This was right around the same time computerized technology was being adopted within businesses and enterprises. The 1980s saw the rise of computers, networks, handhelds and digital telephony. This flourished during the ’90s bubble. The Boomers that were working during these times have risen in power, some starting their own businesses. Others became executives and drove commercial enterprise till today. It’s widely known that Baby Boomers truly understood the tech of the ’80s and early ’90s but have fallen behind as they’ve aged.

The Boomers that were executives for large enterprises have been retiring for the last 5 years or so. This will continue through the next few years. By 2025 most of these people will be out of the workforce or partially retired.

The ones that started businesses went one of two ways. They either had a lifestyle business, keeping them hidden, profitable and small. Others built businesses that scaled and are ready for sale or transition. No matter the type, these companies and underlying infrastructures are linchpins in the U.S. markets. Like it or not, the underlying infrastructure of the U.S., and our technology, is birthed by Midwest mining companies, refrigeration manufacturers, electric parts distributors and regionalized freight forwarders. Everything you do on the Internet is driven by an underlying “dirty” business, something no one thinks about. How do the wires get there? Who produces the parts? Who installs the electrical connections? What party is responsible for upgrades, support or maintenance? Who controls raw assets? Who owns the trucks that get things delivered?

When these companies transition or get taken over, they will no longer be Boomer businesses. They will likely go through a massive transformation, which will include heavier automation, IoT sensor reliance, intelligent software, machine vision, wireless technology, constant connectivity and other digital transformations. This will transform the underlying infrastructure we’ve had for the better part of 40 years. When the foundation is transformed around us, this will result in sweeping upward changes.

What does that mean for business?

2023 is shaping up to be the year of retirement. In retirement comes a new generation of executives or owners. In transformation comes upgrades, different approaches and new partnerships. Technology, in all forms, is consolidating and converging all around us. Companies that were once only distribution houses are now selling services. Companies that were once only a manufacturer are also offering integrated solutions. Companies that were once only involved in connectivity are now involved in wireless, digital signage and software.

Coupled with over a decade of volatile politics, economics and shifting desires of the general Populus, businesses are consolidating and gaining access to things never before available. The stronghold Baby Boomers had on important linchpin businesses is now giving way to fully autonomous businesses. Look at what SpaceX, Apple and Tesla have done when they control manufacturing, integration, sales, service and underlying infrastructure. They rocket in size and popularity because it delivers what we knew was possible prior. Baby Boomers are known for their competitive, hard-working and earnest characteristics. This has prohibited this kind of consolidation and risk-taking. As they sunset, the Millennials and Gen-Zs will drive decision making and executive positions going forward.

What does that mean for technology?

Technology is going to change in nature. Cloud and SaaS offerings were just the beginning. In years to come, technology is going to be far more pervasive and accessible. Service providers are going to grow, consolidate and offer more capabilities. Software companies are going to have infinitely more sensors, computerized connections and data to pivot from. Hardware is going to come along with everything needed to get it working at the end-user level.

What consolidation and transformation at the connective tissue level do is raise the floor to what minimal levels of tech in business are. This consolidation will be the final blow to laggards, the risk-averse and aloof businesses. A truly connected, paperless society is coming—and will be driven by the consolidation of the American heartland. Never in history has such a huge generation gone through retirement and the process of sunsetting. Never has a country had such a long-standing, transformative generation as the Baby Boomers leave their posts and give way to such hungry and digitally capable successors.

This change is planned to come quickly and will come from beneath and not above. There will be no new shiny object that drives this change. Electronic innovation has stalled for nearly a decade because it now requires more sweeping changes to progress. This consolidation, upgrades and changes in underlying businesses are going to give everyone the needed boost to hit their next burst of innovation.

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