The year highlighted how vulnerable the technology sector is to the vagaries of geopolitics and the macroeconomy, as IT giants laid off workers, regulators cracked down on tech rule-breakers, nations negotiated data security regulations, the US-China chip war widened, and the Ukraine war disrupted business as usual.
The technology sector’s vulnerability to the vagaries of geopolitics and the macroeconomy became clearer than ever in 2022, as IT giants laid off workers en masse, regulators cracked down on tech rule-breakers, nations negotiated data privacy, the EU-China chip war widened, and the Ukraine war disrupted business as usual. Through it all the classic tech themes—including innovation, constant change, and the fight to bolster cybersecurity—continued as ChatGPT was released, Broadcom sought to purchase VMWare, a Mac renaissance began to flower, and teen hackers brought major companies to their knees. Here are our editors’ choices for the dozen stories that rocked the world of tech in 2022.
US-China chip war and the end of globalization
Geopolitical tensions between the US and China spilled into the semiconductor sector in 2022, as the administration of US President Biden in December issued new export controls that block US companies from selling advanced semiconductors—as well as equipment used to make them—to certain Chinese manufacturers, and then in December expanded those restrictions. Industry insiders said that the restrictions were a signal that the era of ever-increasing globalization is over, and lamented that the restrictions would wreak havoc on the supply chain for all sorts of products—from computers to electronic vehicles— built on chip technology, catching enterprises of all sorts in the cross-fire between the two global superpowers.
Broadcom to buy VMware for $61 billion
While the technology M&A market slackened overall during 2022, big-money deals were still plentiful, and included Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activation Blizzard for $68.7 billion (still under regulatory review). The highlight for the enterprise computing sector, though, was undoubtedly silicon giant Broadcom’s deal to purchase virtualization powerhouse VMware for $61 billion, which was announced in late May. The idea is to improve Broadcom’s bottom line, offer synergies among software and hardware products, and bolster offerings for multicloud computing environments. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval, which is posing a bit of a problem: regulators in the US, UK and EU have launched inquiries that have not yet concluded, and are likely listening to critics that say Broadcom has a history of buying companies, shutting down R&D, and hiking prices.
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