Intro
After an incredibly busy 2023, the technology sector is primed for an equally eventful 2024. Leading firms like Gartner are predicting a series of exciting trends to emerge in the tech industry in the coming year, including that the push towards increased innovation will be balanced by investments in risk management, sustainability, and intelligent applications.
“Technology disruptions and socioeconomic uncertainties require a willingness to act boldly and strategically enhance resilience over ad hoc responses,” said Bart Willemsen, VP analyst at Gartner. “IT leaders must ensure calculated risk and make reliable and durable investments to sustainably enable both internal and external value creation.”
From a greater emphasis on security to a focus on creativity and deliverability, these trends are sure to shape the future of technology as we know it. In this article, we’ll dig into the 10 most impactful trends we can expect to see in 2024.
Sustainable Technology
As more and more industries prioritize sustainability and customers become more exacting in their sustainability expectations, it's important to recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Rather, individual businesses must prioritize their technology investments based on the top material issues that their organization has identified as most critical to their future success. That said, regardless of the particulars, incorporating both established and cutting-edge technologies is likely the best approach. For example, familiar tech, like cloud services can help increase the utilization of shared resources and reduce environmental impacts, while newer AI can optimize processes and reduce a company's carbon footprint. You may already be following sustainable technology practices. But by investing in a mix of sustainable technologies, businesses can make a significant impact on the environment while also improving their bottom line.
Platform Engineering
Platform engineering is a growing trend that aims to modernize the delivery of enterprise software, specifically for digital transformation purposes. A dedicated product team is responsible for creating and managing the engineering platform, which provides common and reusable tools and capabilities, as well as interfaces to complex infrastructure, to support the needs of software developers and other stakeholders.
By offering self-service capabilities and automated infrastructure operations, platform engineering boosts developer efficiency and satisfaction. It is gaining popularity for its ability to optimize the developer experience and expedite the delivery of customer value by product teams. Furthermore, platform engineering aligns with the trend of democratizing technical work and knowledge across various roles and functions. Generative AI has played a significant role in making this possible.
AI-Augmented Development
Software engineering is a complex, time-intensive, and demanding field, and it's always looking for ways to streamline and optimize its processes. One of the most exciting developments in recent years is the increasing use of AI to automate many of the tedious tasks that have traditionally been part of software development. With the help of AI, software engineers can work more quickly and efficiently, which frees them up to focus on more creative and strategic tasks that benefit from human innovation.
There are many ways to leverage AI in software development, from using generative AI to write, translate, and understand code, to deploying it as an app modernization tool. Even technical debt can be detected and measured with the help of AI. By embracing AI, software engineering leaders can help their teams stay agile and adaptable, ready to meet the challenges of an ever-changing technological landscape.
Industry Cloud Platforms
Industry cloud platforms are revolutionizing the way businesses operate. Designed to meet the unique requirements of vertical industry segments, these platforms offer tailored solutions that go beyond the limitations of generic options. By combining software, platforms, and infrastructure as a service (IaaS), businesses can customize their cloud services to meet their specific needs. These cloud-based solutions provide an agile way to manage workloads and accelerate change while remaining compliant with industry standards. Industry cloud platforms are ideal for businesses looking to streamline their operations, speed up innovation, and gain a competitive edge. The incorporation of AI in any given business often results in exponential growth and development, which necessitates clear workload management. This is where industry cloud platforms can be incredibly useful. With industry-specific features and capabilities, vertical cloud platforms are quickly becoming the go-to option for businesses both big and small.
Intelligent Applications
As technology advances, so do the capabilities of software applications—but not all applications are created equally. While some may appear intelligent, truly intelligent applications can course correct, adapt, generate new ideas, make automated decisions, and perhaps most importantly, learn from their interactions. These intelligent apps are imbued with artificial intelligence and data from transactions and external sources, which creates a dynamic and constantly improving experience for users and customers. With the rise of generative AI, these intelligent apps are becoming even more powerful, with the ability to transform customer experiences and make meaningful strides in product development and architecture. As customers engage more with these technologies and provide more data for their improvement, the possibilities of these intelligent applications are endless, and developers and architects alike are eager to explore the potential of this ever-evolving technology.
Democratized Generative AI
The democratization of GenAI is poised to revolutionize the way businesses operate. Given the White House’s recent AI Executive Order and its emphasis on prioritizing equity in the development and dispersion of AI, democratized GenAI is of specific importance.
By streamlining existing processes and automating a wide variety of tasks, this technology has the potential to greatly increase productivity, lower costs, and create new avenues for growth. But perhaps the most exciting aspect of GenAI is that as it advances, it doesn't require a high level of technical expertise to use effectively. As a result, it offers unprecedented access to valuable insights and skills across various roles and functions within a company, opening the door to insights from all sorts of thinkers and perspectives. This accessibility is a game-changer, leveling the playing field and unleashing possibilities that were once out of reach for many.
Augmented Connected Workforce
One of the greatest fears of the general public when discussing AI is the threat it poses to the workforce. While AI might have the capacity to automate certain tasks and jobs, it also requires a new field of human involvement in the shape of the augmented, connected workforce. Connected workers are revolutionizing the way jobs are executed in industries across the board. These front-line workers use digital technologies and devices, like smartphones and tablets, to perform their tasks with increased efficiency and real-time information. The benefits of this kind of workforce are numerous. With a properly trained and supported augmented connected workforce, the optimization of machine monitoring and service tasks is simplified. Through standardized best practices and remote assistance, workers are better trained and supported than ever before. The result is not only a more productive workforce but a safer and more informed one too.
Machine Customers
With the rise of increasingly smart devices and intelligent virtual assistants, the business opportunities presented by machine customers are staggering. In fact, the era of machine customers has already begun, with more potential buyers existing in the form of machines than humans on the planet. Given that one person may have two or even three smart devices with purchasing power at any given time, the machine customer base is tremendous.
With over 7 billion phones, tablets, PCs, smartwatches, smart speakers, and connected printers, each equipped with an improving ability to analyze information and make decisions, businesses need to understand how to engage with these non-human customers. These machine customers have a different set of behaviors and are in some ways more predictable. Although they may not make decisions in the same way humans do, this new growth opportunity represents trillions of dollars that will end up in the hands or, more accurately, processors, of nonhumans. Products that adapt and cater to the needs of machine customers will undoubtedly see success in the coming years.
AI Trust, Risk and Security Management (AI TRiSM)
As AI becomes more ubiquitous and sophisticated, it will face an array of new challenges related to data privacy, security, and ethical concerns. The stakes for effective AI management will be high, as public trust in these technologies will be essential for their success in industries such as healthcare, finance, and transportation. These security and risk concerns will become even more complex as governance adapts and changes, both within individual countries and across global enterprises. Companies and organizations that successfully navigate these challenges will likely differentiate themselves and gain a competitive edge, making AI trust, risk, and security management a crucial area of investment for forward-thinking business leaders. Platforms like Fairo will become invaluable to companies looking to establish and maintain trust with the public as they incorporate AI technologies into their enterprise.
Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM)
AI has resulted in cyber attackers becoming more adept at exposing vulnerabilities in an organization's security infrastructure. Even a routine, small change in a software update can be a potential entry point for nefarious activity. This leaves businesses with the daunting task of automating controls and deploying security patches to stave off any potential future threats. However, such methods only provide a temporary fix, leaving the business still vulnerable to future attacks from ever-evolving AI-assisted hackers. The current best practice to address the ever-changing and evolving cyber threat landscape is to have a continuous threat exposure management (CTEM) program in place. With a CTEM, businesses can proactively identify and prioritize the most pressing threats, actively mitigating risks and providing ongoing protection. In today's day and age, even the slightest security gap can result in crippling consequences for your business, making a CTEM program more critical than ever.
Final Takeaway
Whether your business or organization is at the cutting edge of AI technologies or just getting started, you’re likely to encounter at least one of these trends. 2024 will be a year where boards need to make strategic decisions related to AI, risk management, security, and trust. Fairo is designed to help your organization navigate this landscape. We invest heavily in research and development to stay on the cutting edge of the rapidly involving AI ecosystem. We bring together the best tools, technology, and standards to provide you with a best-in-class solution, enabling your organization to consume AI successfully.
How Can Fairo Help?
Fairo is a SaaS platform focused on standards, simplicity, and governance to give organizations and their users the confidence to consume AI successfully and rapidly at scale. Fairo is committed to being the industry-standard platform for helping your organization implement its AI governance framework and strategy. Fairo seamlessly integrates into your existing ecosystem and is easy to consume. AI is a disruptive technology that will change how people work and live. We envision a world where AI is universally built responsibly, trusted, and not feared. We aim to provide an easy-to-use solution that helps organizations procure, develop, and deploy trustworthy AI solutions with confidence.
