2024 Tech Insights: Exploring New Tech Trends and Their Business Implications

As we dive headfirst into 2024, the tech landscape is set to explore new frontiers and redefine possibilities.

This year promises remarkable advancements in generative AI, heightened cyber resilience, the seamless merging of real and digital realms, groundbreaking developments in quantum computing, and a steadfast commitment to sustainable technology.

Join us as we navigate this exciting journey, where innovation and sustainability take centre stage in the ever-evolving world of technology! 

1. Generative AI

In 2023, generative AI took centre stage, signalling its mainstream emergence. Now, in 2024, we’re witnessing the profound impact it promised. Seamlessly integrating into everyday applications, from search engines to design tools, generative AI serves as an intelligent personal assistant, boosting efficiency by managing routine cognitive tasks. This shift allows us to redirect our time towards creative pursuits and meaningful personal interactions. Despite ongoing ethical and regulatory discussions, 2024 is expected to be the year when the transformative potential of generative AI gains universal recognition.

By 2026, generative AI will significantly alter 70% of the design and development effort for new web applications and mobile apps. 

 

By 2027, 70% of professional developers will use AI-powered coding tools, up from less than 10% today. 

Source: Gartner

On the flip side, Rohit Ghai, RSA’s CEO, sounds a cautionary note about the growing cyber security threat posed by AI. Particularly, the showcased capabilities include crafting polymorphic malware, indicating a shifting threat landscape. With the advancement of AI models, there’s an expectation for threat actors to automate more sophisticated attacks, presenting unprecedented challenges for cyber security teams. On a brighter note, Ghai highlights AI’s potential to strengthen cyber security, fortifying defenses and enhancing overall effectiveness.

Relative to this, the Gartner Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2024 advocates for organisations to implement a holistic AI trust, risk, and security management program. This approach aims to proactively govern AI systems, prioritising aspects such as compliance, fairness, reliability, and safeguarding data privacy from the outset.

2. Cyber Resilience

Facing a surge in cyber threats, half of businesses have experienced successful cyberattacks in the last three years. Projections suggest these attacks will cost the industry over $10 trillion by 2024. Recognising the urgency, organisations are prioritising technology solutions to strengthen their defences.

In addressing current cyber threats, cyber resilience surpasses traditional security measures. It involves strategies for recovery and continuity post-breach, including essential elements like remote working procedures. A resilient approach integrates advanced AI-driven automation, aligns security with continuity protocols, and takes into account societal considerations. As cyber threats continue to advance, the demand for innovative solutions, particularly those harnessing the power of AI, grows. This year, cyber resilience is set to grab attention across both business and consumer technology landscapes.

By 2026, companies that prioritise their security investments based on a continuous exposure management program will be 3x less likely to suffer a breach.

Source: Gartner

Dealing with persistent cyber threats, organisations grapple with automating controls and applying patches to keep up. Yet, these reactive steps fall short in reducing future risks. Gartner underscores the essential need for a Continuous Threat Exposure Management program that actively identifies and prioritises threats. In the evolving cyber security landscape of 2024, businesses must embrace proactive and continuous threat exposure management as a top priority.

3. Merging Real and Digital Realms

As we navigate the blend of the physical and digital worlds, the connection deepens, thanks to advancements in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and the immersive internet. This transformative wave erases the boundaries between these realms, creating a seamless integration. Digital avatars, serving as our virtual counterparts, not only become standard for professional collaborations but also shape entertainment experiences and online identities on platforms like Zoom, Teams, and TikTok. This integration extends its influence across various industries, giving rise to digital twins—carefully crafted virtual replicas of real-world entities, made from captured data, ranging from individual components to entire ecosystems.

Furthermore, the merging of the physical and digital expands into genomics, turning the essence of life into manipulable digital code. This opens new paths for drug development and disease eradication. The digital realm moves toward greater realism, and the physical world becomes more flexible and adaptable.

At the same time, businesses, motivated by sustainability goals and a strong commitment to reaching net-zero targets, strategically invest in technology for managing energy and emissions. The use of data science and modelling tools to analyse energy consumption, occupancy patterns, and financial costs aligns smoothly with the overall sustainability trend. This establishes a clear connection between improvements and increased revenue, along with more informed decision-making.

4. Quantum Computing

This year, quantum computing is set to bring real benefits by performing simultaneous calculations through quantum bits (qubits). Early adopters, especially in banking, are working to improve AI systems for tasks such as fraud detection, risk management, and high-frequency trading. The potential uses of quantum computing in computationally intensive fields, from drug discovery to traffic optimisation, hold great promise for tackling global challenges.

Adding to this, Agustin Huerta of Globant foresees a breakthrough in AI products capable of taking action, starting with impacts in hospitality, entertainment, and retail. The advancement of quantum computing is prompting companies to invest in education and planning to tap into its potential benefits, especially in finance and pharmaceutical research. While quantum technology enhances cyber security, it also introduces risks, highlighting the need for organisational preparedness. Huerta also predicts a new era in robotics, particularly in multimodal robots, transforming non-manufacturing sectors like food service and healthcare.

The adoption of robots-as-a-service, focusing on optimised tasks such as rolling delivery bots, is poised to transform industries, highlighting the importance of legal frameworks addressing safety, privacy, and cyber security vulnerabilities.

5. Sustainable Technology

Sustainable technology takes the forefront as nations, corporations, and individuals intensify their efforts to achieve net-zero commitments. This evolution encompasses eco-friendly practices, such as the surging market share of electric transportation. Innovative solutions like carbon capture, green energy technologies, and circular economy principles gain prominence, embedding durability and recyclability into product designs.

In the tech industry, there’s a focus on ideas like green cloud computing, aiming for energy efficiency and lower carbon emissions. Challenges include ethical material sourcing, adapting to changing consumer habits and addressing accessibility issues in green alternatives.

Recognising sustainable technology as a major trend, Gartner defines it as a digital framework driving Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) outcomes. This goes beyond internal IT sustainability, highlighting technology’s crucial role in achieving various ESG goals. Sustainable technology optimises not just operational aspects like costs and energy but also promotes well-being, supports responsible business practices, and encourages new business models. This benefits internal IT, enterprises, and customer operations.

Conclusion

In the dynamic tech landscape of 2024, our exploration unveils a narrative of reshaped productivity and efficiency. From the transformative impact of generative AI to the intensified challenges of cyber security, each trend converges to redefine how we work, innovate, and connect. Quantum computing presents a paradigm shift, while sustainable technology emerges as a foundation for corporations adapting to evolving standards. The seamless integration of the real and digital worlds paints a picture of interconnected efficiency.

As we navigate these uncharted territories, the recurring theme is a future shaped by innovative strategies for productivity, efficiency, and the limitless possibilities that technology continues to unveil.

Embrace the New Year with New Era’s Global IT Solutions

Start a transformative journey with New Era Technology, your trusted source for customised solutions that meet your business’s unique needs. As a top expert, we are committed to guiding your enterprise into a new era of endless possibilities. 

Information for this blog post was sourced from Gartner, Forbes, and Techopedia.