As we stand on the cusp of a new year, the anticipation for technological advancements and their transformative impact on enterprises is palpable. In the ever-evolving landscape of business technology, the year 2024 is poised to be a pivotal chapter, steering enterprises through a profound transformation fueled by innovative technologies and disruptive trends. Read on as we delve into the main outlook for enterprise tech, exploring the next big thing on the horizon. As we chart the course for 2024, the spotlight is on emerging technologies that will redefine industries and propel enterprises into a new era of innovation and resilience
The swift evolution of technology is profoundly reshaping our daily lives, as businesses strategically harness its advantages to usher in unprecedented changes, fundamentally altering the business landscape. Gartner’s forward-looking projection for the upcoming year anticipates a seismic shift, with generative AI poised to impact 70% of the design and development processes for emerging web applications and mobile apps by 2026. Looking further ahead, the year 2027 is earmarked for the anticipated emergence of AI’s productivity value as a primary economic indicator, symbolizing national prowess and predominantly fueled by noteworthy enhancements in workforce productivity.
Concurrently, the projection for 2027 envisions a transformative landscape where a quarter of Fortune 500 companies actively seek neurodiverse talent, thereby enhancing overall business performance. Adding to this transformative narrative, GenAI tools are predicted to play a pivotal role by elucidating legacy business applications and engineering suitable replacements, thereby projecting a significant reduction in modernization costs, estimated at 70% by 2027.
The watershed year of 2023 witnessed a momentous breakthrough for generative AI, signaling its potential to catalyze further advancements and propel business growth in the foreseeable future. As outlined in the International Data Corporation’s forecast, enterprises are expected to commit a substantial sum, reaching $143 billion, towards generative AI solutions by 2027. This staggering surge in investment represents a significant leap from the $16 billion spent in 2023 and underscores the commitment of the world’s largest corporations, allocating over 40% of their core IT expenditures for initiatives related to artificial intelligence.
In the words of Nicolas Sekkaki, Global Practice Leader for Applications, Data, and AI at Kyndryl, “Enterprises around the world will continue to investigate the opportunity to weave AI tools and solutions — including generative AI — into their broader modernization plans.” He emphasizes the prevailing consensus that the potential of generative AI far outweighs the risks. Despite this optimism, C-suite leaders remain vigilant, engaging in ongoing conversations and consulting work focused on maintaining privacy, safeguarding intellectual property, preventing data leaks, and optimizing costs. This nuanced approach reflects a careful balancing act as organizations navigate the transformative potential of generative AI in their pursuit of innovation and efficiency.
Here are the top predictions for trends in 2024 that will help organizations root themselves in the bedrock of this new age of work.
AI to dominate in 2024
In 2024, the dominance of AI is set to shape the technological landscape across various domains. The democratization of generative AI is rapidly unfolding, impacting global enterprises by making advanced models more accessible to employees. Gartner’s insightful forecast predicts a remarkable surge, with an anticipated 80% of enterprises leveraging generative AI APIs and models, and integrating generative AI-enabled applications into their production environments. This represents a significant leap from the mere 5% reported in the early months of 2023.
Arun Balasubramanian, Vice President and Managing Director, India and South Asia, UiPath, envisions a future where those harnessing the power of AI and automation to navigate complexity will thrive. He underscores the evolving efficiency in navigating the AI landscape, citing advancements like process mining, task mining, and co-pilots as contributors to this efficiency. The vision is one of harmonious collaboration between human ingenuity and robotic efficiency, shaping an era where enterprises excel through innovation and streamlined collaboration between humans and machines.
Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson & CEO, Salesforce India, sees the upcoming year as a massive opportunity for purpose-driven organizations. She emphasizes the need for funding and expertise in adopting AI, recognizing its potential to enhance service to communities. The evolving landscape of collaboration is highlighted by Rajeev Rajan, CTO, Atlassian, who notes the transformation from human-to-human collaboration to a partnership between humans and AI. Rajan envisions AI contributing to significant personal productivity gains, enabling employees to rapidly familiarize themselves with company intricacies. The prospect of AI saving time translates into increased freedom and flexibility for human teams to generate innovative ideas more efficiently.
Looking toward Asia, IDC’s prediction for 2025 points to substantial investments in AI initiatives by the Asia-based 1000 organizations (A1000). The allocation of over 50% of their core IT spend on AI is expected to drive a double-digit increase in the rate of product and process innovations. IDC’s findings reveal a significant momentum in the Asia/Pacific region, with 70% of respondents already investing or exploring potential Generative AI (GenAI) use cases. This underscores the growing significance of AI in shaping the technological landscape, with Asia at the forefront of embracing and integrating innovative AI solutions.
GenAI to retain spotlight in 2024
In 2024, following the surge of generative AI in 2023, the industry anticipates an elevated growth trajectory. GenAI stands at the forefront of technological advancement, playing a pivotal role in reshaping various industries, notably influencing language processing and computer vision.
The unfolding journey of GenAI promises substantial changes in our approach to work and interaction with technology. At its core, this evolution integrates machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP), paving the way for workflow automation through algorithms trained on well-established datasets. Large Language Models (LLMs) play a crucial role, exhibiting proficiency in handling unstructured datasets and streamlining tasks related to data management.
According to Bhattacharya of Salesforce, “Generative AI will hypercharge efficiency, introducing the term ‘semantic query’—a question written in a human language translated into machine language. This will dramatically change customer service, enabling businesses to provide quick, meaningful, hyper-personalized service using text, images, videos, and audio for search. In 2024, semantic query will become a cornerstone for AI.”
Looking ahead, notable trends in GenAI include Democratized Generative AI disrupting traditional roles and business functions to enhance productivity. Ethical AI gains prominence, emphasizing upfront governance, security, and compliance integration to mitigate real-life production risks. Intelligent applications powered by GenAI, including external aid, machine learning integration, and a human-in-the-loop approach, showcase adaptive learning capabilities, transforming consumer and employee experiences, notes Jayaprakash Nair, Senior Engineering Leader – Data Science, Altimetrik.
In 2024, the industry foresees widespread adoption of GenAI, automating tasks, enhancing productivity, and catalyzing product and service creation. Positioned as a disruptive technology, GenAI drives the future workplace with user-friendly interfaces and intuitive interactions. Forecasts predict substantial investments, with IDC projecting global spending exceeding $500 billion by 2027.
Today’s AI models accomplish remarkable feats, from writing poetry to interpreting medical reports. However, challenges such as hallucination, toxicity, and bias persist. Given increased awareness, it’s a matter of time before these issues are reasonably resolved.
Copyright concerns, especially regarding AI models trained on creators’ content or confidential corporate data, require careful consideration. The ethical responsibility for any harm resulting from content generated by an AI model remains an unresolved aspect.
Pawan Prabhat, Co-Founder of Shorthills AI, notes the growing conviction, especially within corporate circles, regarding the transformative impact of AI on businesses. Corporations are earmarking budgets for AI development, signaling 2024 as the year the AI ecosystem expands and solidifies its position.
Privacy and AI governance to become a top business priority
In 2023, a cascade of regulations, exemplified by the EU’s AI Act, the UAE’s Data Protection Act, and India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, emerged worldwide. These regulatory shifts hint at an impending wave of similar policies. With AI deeply integrated into various facets of business and the rise of disruptive technologies like deepfakes and augmented reality, significant privacy threats loom. Vigilant monitoring of these technologies in both public and private applications becomes imperative.
Recognizing the essential need for ethical, transparent, and fair technology use, the spotlight is now on AI governance, slated to take center stage for businesses. Privacy is poised to become the cornerstone of every business operation in the future. The responsibility for safeguarding privacy extends to every individual within an organization. Ensuring the responsible and accountable use of AI becomes crucial in navigating the dynamic landscape of technology and regulation.
Liz Centoni, EVP/GM Applications & Chief Strategy Officer at Cisco, emphasizes the commitment of leaders to transparency and trustworthiness in the development, use, and outcomes of AI systems. She notes that addressing false content and unexpected outcomes should be driven by organizations, incorporating responsible AI assessments, and robust training of Large Language Models (LLMs) to reduce the chance of hallucinations, sentiment analysis, and output shaping.
Looking ahead to 2024, companies of all sizes and sectors are anticipated to formally outline how responsible AI governance guides internal development, application, and use of AI. Until technology companies can credibly demonstrate trustworthiness, governments are likely to enact more policies to regulate AI practices. The story unfolds as businesses navigate the ethical frontier, emphasizing responsible AI governance and privacy in the dynamic landscape of the coming year.
Enterprises will prefer purpose-built LLMs over general-purpose LLMs
Since the inception of AI, businesses have harnessed its capabilities for predictive analysis and the automation of low-skill tasks. However, the limited scope of AI applications and the considerable engineering challenges it presents necessitate the development of AI training models that can comprehensively cater to all aspects of a business. Large language models (LLMs) designed specifically for enterprises play a crucial role in facilitating deep and nuanced conversations between employees, customers, and the offerings of the enterprise. This fosters better alignment with evolving software tools.
The adoption of such models equips enterprises to effectively leverage their extensive knowledge base, addressing both creative and repetitive workloads. Moreover, it empowers organizations to safeguard their data, mitigate biases in their datasets, and generate detailed audit reports to enhance understanding of AI-driven decisions. Embracing these enterprise-focused LLMs enhances the overall operational efficiency and ethical considerations in the deployment of AI within businesses.
Smarter cloud strategies will help enterprises navigate rising costs
The pace of public cloud adoption has recently witnessed a moderate slowdown, despite the clear advantages it offers in terms of system visibility, cybersecurity, and the deployment of AI across interconnected IT infrastructures. However, this deceleration is not expected to halt the trajectory of cloud growth. Business leaders are now engaged in contemplating the implementation of generative AI, conducting meticulous assessments of their workloads and architectural structures with a keen focus on efficiency. It is increasingly apparent that realizing value from the cloud demands a strategic and concerted effort.
Adding to the complexity, there is the challenge of a skills gap. Hybrid cloud environments provide current operators with the capability to manage mainframes—critical components in various core-infrastructure industries, particularly as individuals skilled in mainframe operations approach retirement. The solution is not to abandon cloud environments but rather to design and manage them strategically to extract maximum benefits and ensure cost-effectiveness. This approach acknowledges the continued importance of cloud solutions while addressing the evolving needs and challenges presented by the workforce and technology landscape.
Looking ahead to 2024, Simon Ewington, Vice President, Worldwide Channel & Partner Ecosystem at HPE, highlights the partner community’s anticipation of a 56% growth in everything-as-a-service revenue. The delivery of partner-branded services is becoming more critical than ever, with service providers expected to generate more than half their revenue from these branded services. Partners who build practices enabling them to deliver value-added services are experiencing faster growth compared to those who do not. The story unfolds as businesses navigate the cloud, adopting strategies for sustainable growth in the dynamic landscape of the coming year.
Cyber resilience will become a strong business differentiator
In the dynamic landscape of the modern technological environment, companies grapple with a myriad of challenges that hinder progress on multiple fronts. Geopolitical uncertainties, technological disruptions, cyber threats, competitive pressures, and various other factors contribute to the complexity of this landscape. Recognizing the intricacies of this scenario, strategic planning becomes paramount to effectively confront and overcome these hurdles.
Chester Wisniewski, Global Field CTO at Sophos, reflects on the evolving threat landscape, emphasizing the increasing exploitation of supply chains for compromising victims. As networks harden and ‘as-a-service’ models become more prevalent, the trend of attacks through backdoor entries is expected to escalate in 2024. The use of malicious proxies and social engineering, even in the era of ubiquitous multifactor authentication, remains a concern, with groups like LAPSU$ and Scattered Spider setting notable examples.
Anticipating the developments in 2024, companies are gearing up to proactively invest in initiatives that introduce tools, solutions, and cultural shifts to bolster their overall cyber-resilient posture. This strategic investment is poised to transform cyber resilience into a critical business differentiator, enabling organizations to thrive globally by fortifying their ability to withstand and recover from cyber threats. Cyber resilience, extending beyond traditional security measures, encompasses remote working procedures, ensuring business continuity in adverse circumstances.
Automating cyber defense through AI and machine learning, integrating frameworks that merge security measures with continuity protocols, and fostering awareness of societal factors are integral components of comprehensive cyber resilience strategies. As businesses navigate the cyber landscape, the focus on building resilience in 2024 emerges as a pivotal strategy to ensure adaptability and security in the face of evolving cyber threats.
Vaibhav Tare, Chief Information Security Officer at Fulcrum Digital, underscores the importance of adopting an agile stance against sophisticated threats. Leveraging AI-powered threat intelligence and predictive analytics proves pivotal in anticipating and countering evolving risks. Transitioning from traditional models to adaptive, intelligence-driven strategies becomes instrumental in addressing the ever-growing complexity of cyber threats.
Mignona Cote, Chief Security Officer at NetApp, acknowledges the need for a proactive and adaptive approach to security. Recognizing the industry-wide shortage of cybersecurity talent, the company actively contributes to addressing this gap through educational initiatives, collaboration with academic institutions, and skill development programs like boot camps. This commitment underscores the proactive measures organizations are taking to navigate the evolving cyber landscape in the coming year.
Sustainable technology to take center stage
Sustainable technology is poised to maintain its prominent position in the spotlight throughout 2024, as nations and corporations persistently strive to fulfill their net-zero commitments. Simultaneously, individuals are increasingly turning to technology to minimize their environmental footprint.
The realm of sustainable technology encompasses environmentally-friendly approaches to familiar activities, such as the continued rise of electric cars, bikes, and public transport, expected to expand their market presence in 2024. Furthermore, it involves innovative solutions to environmental challenges, including advancements in carbon capture and storage, as well as the development of green and renewable energy technologies. The concept of a circular economy will gain greater significance, emphasizing the integration of durability, recyclability, and reusability into products at the design stage.
The tech industry is poised to further embrace progressive concepts like green cloud computing, where infrastructure and services prioritize the reduction of energy consumption and carbon emissions. Additionally, sustainable apps will gain traction, representing software tools explicitly designed to assist users in adopting more eco-friendly lifestyles. This collective emphasis on sustainable technology underscores a growing commitment to environmentally conscious practices across various sectors.
“Organizations have to adapt to climate change while also managing the rapid pace of technological change,” said Faith Taylor, Global Sustainability & ESG Officer at Kyndryl. “To fully leverage technology, IT, and sustainability leaders must develop scalable projects that can integrate environmental solutions within current business practices. Climate change is a global issue, so we need far-reaching partnerships and collaboration to make a difference.”