The world of technology is changing, but not always in the way we expect. Check out our expert analysis of the industry's hottest technology leaders through 2024
Note: The quotations in the article below have been rephrased and condensed to increase overall user readability.
We stand at the gates of new technological developments in 2024 that will shape the years to come.
As the year ushers in 2024, many revolutionary technology trends will converge, reshaping the business landscape and unleashing revolutionary technology potential.
From groundbreaking advances in artificial intelligence to advances in quantum technology and computing, the future holds enormous potential.
Top tech executives give us a glimpse into the seismic shifts ahead and the key trends that will define 2024.
Artificial intelligence is emerging from the shadows
The year 2023 has been a year of much discussion and speculation regarding artificial intelligence. But according to John Rose, global chief technology officer at Dell Technologies, 2024 will be the year that AI steps out of the shadows of theory and into the practical spotlight.
“Although generative AI has fueled amazing insights for business transformation, there are only a few large-scale generative AI projects. As we enter 2024, we will see the first set of enterprise-level generative AI projects reach maturity.” This will reveal important dimensions of artificial intelligence that have not yet emerged in the early stages of development.
These initial forays will likely focus on enhancing efficiencies in terms of training infrastructure and operational costs. But they represent the first steps in AI's massive journey to reshape organizations.
The convergence of information technology and cybersecurity
As new threats emerge, the lines between IT and security responsibilities will become increasingly blurred. Zeke Toridi, CTO Europe at CrowdStrike, sees an opportunity here to enhance organizational agility by bringing these historically separate teams together.
“Driven by advanced technologies and evolving threats to infrastructure and data, these teams’ goals and operations are intertwined. By fostering close collaboration and sharing platforms and technologies, IT and security teams can combine their expertise to thwart evolving cyber threats.”
The incorporation of new cybersecurity platforms designed specifically for IT departments represents an early movement toward this convergence. With built-in threat monitoring, analysis, and automated response capabilities tailored to IT systems, these platforms embody the adage – united we stand, divided we fall.
The rise of real-time ecosystems
Critics say generative AI often exploits outdated data. But SambaNova Systems CEO Rodrigo Liang predicts that 2024 will mark the beginning of a new era of real-time fine-tuning, with data analytics revolutionized through hyperscaler and AI partnerships.
“Advanced chips and large-scale data capabilities will create a powerful ecosystem, enabling the development of specialized AI models that address highly complex business challenges in healthcare, banking, climate, and more,” says Liang.
This represents a profound shift towards models that understand and adapt to current, real-time data. The result – unlocking transformative improvements in speed, accuracy and efficiency.
Support Zero Trust Defenses
In the era of remote and hybrid work, people rely on more cloud-based devices, apps, and services than ever before. This expanding attack surface requires strong zero-trust security.
Crowdstrike's Chris Beck believes that 2024 will see organizations strengthening their Zero Trust models.
“Some might add role-based access, linking user credentials to specific jobs and system permissions. Others could implement time-based access, giving users access to the system only for the duration of the project,” Beck says.
Beck also points out that AI itself promises to enhance zero trust environments by constantly monitoring data and detecting anomalies on a scale impossible for humans alone.
Business technology boom
In the face of economic uncertainty, companies will demand enhanced value from IT investments, says Lenovo's Linda Yao.
“IT spending will shift from maintaining legacy systems to adopting next-generation cloud, AI, and on-demand technologies to drive business impact,” Yao predicts. “The deployment of these new technologies will be directly linked to business outcomes – whether reducing costs, enhancing growth, or improving the customer experience.”
This indicates the expansion of “business technology” – where IT directly serves specific organizational goals, and technology adoption is linked to metrics that demonstrate the challenging impact on the business.
Quantity – progress, not perfection
While quantum may still seem like the stuff of science fiction, Cisco's Liz Centoni believes that 2024 will see incremental advances in real-world quantum applications.
“We will see increasing experiments with post-quantum cryptography to protect data from future quantum computing attacks. Research and investments in quantum networks will accelerate, laying the foundations for the future of scalability and security in quantum computing,” Centoni says.
So, while widespread quantum deployment is likely to remain years away, important evolutionary steps toward harnessing its power will continue to emerge.
Artificial intelligence heralds the age of automation
Artificial intelligence holds huge potential to enhance customer experience. However, NTT research reveals that most customer experience interactions still need a human touch.
Although AI integration will accelerate, its success depends on skilled employees, says NTT's Sachin Naidu. “As automation complements human capabilities, companies will focus on reskilling/upskilling to bridge AI competency gaps. Basic data analytics and AI knowledge will become essential across roles,” notes Naidu.
So, while AI increases automation, its effective application depends on humans and soft skills. This human-machine interaction underscores the ultimate power of artificial intelligence, which is to augment human power.
The inevitability of identity
According to Crowdstrike's 2022 Threat Hunting Report, 80% of breaches exploit compromised credentials. Zaki Touridi believes that identity-focused cyber attacks will only intensify in 2024.
“Adversaries are creatively using credentials and social engineering to bypass defenses. With identities proven as the weak link, identity protection becomes critical,” says Toridi.
As talent shortages drive remote work and cloud adoption, expect a rise in social engineering and phishing campaigns targeting the remote workforce. Training employees to recognize deception has become essential.
Conclusion
As 2024 continues to reveal its secrets, we must view these new technologies with increasing care and attention.
Society could change if significant advances are made in the areas of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, indicating the need to take responsibility for using and managing these emerging trends.
We may all play a role in reshaping the next big thing in technology, but it is our ideals that will ultimately influence how our lives are shaped and leave a lasting mark on the fabric of history.
