As we step into 2024, we’re eagerly anticipating the year’s incoming advancements. From building on sustainability promises, to helping AI take off, this is what we’re expecting to read about in 2024.
Although 2023 flashed by in the blink of an eye, it was nevertheless jam-packed with significant transformations and advancements. While AI took the world by storm, the world looked to the future of our day-to-day dealings with technology; never has the cutting edge been so close.
Naturally, that leaves 2024 with some big shoes to fill. Or, to look at it another way, a great foundation to build upon. Here’s what we’re anticipating over the next twelve months.
With the clock ticking to lower emissions to zero by 2030, we can expect to see Google and the technological elite taking some large strides toward achieving sustainability goals – hopefully forging a path for others to follow along the way.
Likewise, Microsoft’s commitment to becoming carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste by 2030 will surely see a turbo-charged push for sustainability, building on last year’s impressive feats.
Away from Silicon Valley, organisations across the board are following the example set out for them by opting for the cloud as a greener alternative to on-premises technology. As a result, users are consuming 77% fewer servers, 84% less power, and reducing carbon emissions by 88%. And then of course, there’s the drive to find solutions to tech waste; businesses can easily do their part for the sustainability movement this year.
Security and privacy will no doubt remain a top priority as we move into 2024, with a push towards robust measures such as Multi-Factor Authentication and biometrics being expected of employees across all industries.
In response to new threats and evolving security trends, 2024 may very well see the Zero Trust model growing in popularity, with deployment across an increasing number of organisations. The security concept (which follows the ‘never trust, verify everything’ ethos) assumes that threats can exist within business networks as well as outside. As a result, organisations adopt continuous authentication, strict access controls, and thorough monitoring of network activities – ultimately, encouraging more robust security measures.
Zero Trust has already seen a popularity boost in recent years, thanks to the increased reliance on remote or hybrid working models – and 2024 could very well see that continue.
A more recent development in cloud security is – yes, you guessed it – AI. While many organisations are wary of the risk AI can pose when sensitive data is fed into open-source artificial intelligence, it’s not all scary. In 2024, we can expect developments in cloud security to leverage AI capabilities, not only for automating the assessment of threats but also for predicting and mitigating emerging risks before they become a larger issue.
But of course, security isn’t the only area where AI is going to get a mention – especially when artificial intelligence remains very much in vogue.
As we discovered in 2023, AI provides organisations and individuals with the potential to streamline a lot of business operations, making our lives much easier to manage.
For example, AI is behind the powerful automation keeping hybrid cloud operations running smoothly, while elsewhere it’s been able to reduce human error, free up resources by managing small tasks, and pivot straightforward automation towards intelligent automation. The positive impact across all industries has been profound, but 2023 was just the start.
This year, we’re predicting that AI will be helping organisations to push the boundaries of their technology even further. What might that look like?
Improving User Experience: Through personalisation, AI can recommend relevant content and adapt services based off of individual preferences. AI-powered chatbots – such as Microsoft Copilot – and virtual assistants can also offer instant support to users, including routine queries and providing step-by-step guidance. As users get to grips with the presence of these smart assistants in their work lives, we’re likely to see a rise in employee satisfaction when it comes to how they interact with different technologies. Likewise, there’s still plenty to explore in this area, and making AI even more accessible will certainly be a priority in 2024.
Deeper Data Analysis: From analysing user usage patterns and customer sentiment, to evaluating the impact of workloads on various resources and supporting the Sales Team’s outreach, AI is transforming the landscape by extracting meaningful patterns from vast amounts of data. We can therefore expect to see businesses leaning more heavily on this capability – especially as tools move away from open-source, taking with them the risk of feeding AI sensitive data. As a result, more strategic and bold decision-making could very well be wielded, with an increased reliance on AI’s analysis.
Supporting Collaboration: While virtual collaboration tools such as Microsoft Loop have made working with colleagues across distances a more seamless experience, there are still limitations. In response to feedback from customers, Microsoft introduced Copilot to Loop, enhancing the overall collaboration experience with smart actions such as Brainstorm and Blueprint. It doesn’t stop with Loop either: a plethora of collaborative tools, such as Miro, Buffer, and Slack have all introduced an element of AI. This trend shows no sign of slowing down over the coming months, so expect to see your favourite collaborative app go through an AI-sponsored enhancement.
Now that the initial shockwaves of AI have settled into ordinary life, there’s a growing anticipation for what’s coming next. From Microsoft’s announcement of a Copilot button on upcoming PCs to the growing inclusion of AI conduct in company policies, it’s clear that we’re still mid-shift – but things are ramping up.
And with the foundations of 2023’s sustainability and security efforts also being built upon, it would seem that the theme of 2024 is ‘continuing the shift’. We’re not sure about you, but we’re excited to see what’s next.
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