Technology Trends To Rule 2024
2023 has seen a turnaround, though it has been a mixed-bag year, good for some markets and average for many regions. Yet, countries in our region have continued to invest heavily in this industry. This is a very good sign and is likely to continue in 2024.
Here is an assessment of some of the major tech trends that will continue to gain momentum in 2024 and the next few years –
-Sustainable Technology
In 2023, as the impact of the climate crisis on our planet and our lives became even more evident, those working in technology and innovation have come to this realisation that sustainability is no longer just a “nice-to-have” thought. It has become an urgent requirement.
UAE is playing a key role, having hosted the COP28.
The planet has seen some of the warmest periods on record. Extreme weather has caused significant loss of human life and the global economy. Companies are starting to modify their business practices to take a more responsible stance toward the environment, but to the common man, this appears to be more of a marketing spin than real action.
Innovation in the technology sector in recent years has been heavily influenced by a desire to do better in terms of reducing our global carbon footprint and alleviating the damage already done to the environment.
Sustainability and technology are part of a “twin transition” that needs to combine the digital revolution with the world’s urgently needed green transformation. These might seem like two distinct issues, but they are co-existing twin challenges. Neither can succeed for long without the other.
While there has been a wave of technological innovation in the form of renewable and other green technologies, ranging from the Internet of Things (IoT) to green hydrogen and electric vehicles, their deployment has not been to a scale that can ensure sustainable economic growth.
The circular economy will become an increasingly important concept as durability, recyclability and reusability are built directly into products at the design stage. And the tech world will further embrace ideas such as green cloud computing, where infrastructure and services prioritise the reduction of energy consumption and carbon emissions.
This change is now picking up pace and one can expect more serious transitional growth to happen.
-Increase in Computing Power
The world now has access to a significantly better cloud infrastructure, and many more organisations are relocating to the cloud. 5G rollout is picking up pace, and 6G is on the horizon. This means even more power in our phones, in our cars and our portable devices.
We now have smarter TVs, increasing use of self-driving cars, and smarter robots that can work alongside humans in complex situations.
2024 will see a continued push for this explosion of smart devices, including the introduction of more smart home robots.
Quantum computing allows machines to handle information in a fundamentally different way than traditional computers. Quantum computing will provide us with computing power multiple times greater than that provided by today’s advanced supercomputers. Exciting times in this area.
-Risk, threat exposure and security management
The coming year is likely to see the evolution of threat exposure management taking hold as a concept in the market. With many prevalent and upcoming technologies centered around CTEM (Continuous threat exposure management), this area is likely to start becoming mainstream.
CTEM will enable organisations to be more proactive about identifying and assessing key problem areas in the attack surface that have grown substantially in the last couple of years. Because AI is built into many security tools and the external perimeter controls have gotten much better lately, a lot of ransomware groups are now bribing employees.
In 2024 and beyond, risk, threat exposure and security management are going be central, particularly in the current economic environment.
Companies, nations and entities will also need to ensure that legal processes and agreements are not one-sided or skewed in their favor, leaving the end customer feeling more and more vulnerable.
-Generative AI
The broad application of AI technologies for everything starting from customer experience, studying consumer behavior, planning and procurement, to health sciences, and from farming to space exploration, is rapidly changing our world in superbly positive ways.
2023 was the year that generative AI arrived in the mainstream. 2024 will be the year that the world gets to grips with how truly powerful and useful it can be.
As generative AI finds its way into more of the applications we use every day, from search engines to office software, design packages and communications tools, people will come to understand its potential. Used properly, it’s like having a super-smart personal assistant on hand 24/7.
The cloud is important for generative AI as it makes it possible to set up projects quickly, and enables large, parallel computations to increase speed. So cloud business will continue to do well.
The benefits are massive and visible. Care would need to be taken that social problems are also kept in perspective, and the right balance found.
-Automation and Robotics in logistics and supply chain
These will continue to be the leading innovations with the potential to disrupt many aspects of this industry while providing competitive advantages. Since e-commerce will continue to gain ground, the larger global players will continue to implement newer trends and technologies to gain the upper hand while bringing costs and pricing down.
Early adopters who have implemented AI technology in logistics have achieved remarkable improvements in their logistics operations.
The blockchain supply chain market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 45.55 per cent until 2030. This technology enhances transparency and security. With blockchain, each product or item gets a unique digital identity with an origin, manufacturing details, certifications, and ownership history. It allows for transparent and real-time visibility into the movement of goods from the point of origin to the final destination, and right up to the end of life of the product.
Autonomous vehicles and drones are a significant part of SCM technology trends, focusing on reducing the risk of accidents, cutting expenses, and improving delivery times. They have GPS, collision avoidance systems, and advanced flight control tools to ensure safe and precise navigation.
We will get to see more of this in play in 2024 and beyond.
Smart devices –
We hope to see an evolution in smart glasses and lenses as going forward, the metaverse will be experienced as an overlay of reality, rather than via visiting a gaming platform on our laptops or phones. The hardware is slowly getting there. It might need a disruptor company to force a breakthrough in this hardware segment.
More smart devices in the area of healthcare, medicine and wellness would be introduced. Robotics and AR/VR will also make remote medicine easy.
Med-Tech and Bio-Tech –
Will continue to see substantial growth. DNA testing will scale up and new RNA-based vaccines will be researched and made available. A digital twin is a virtual model of a real-world system, object, place, tool, or process. Digital twins will be used to simulate anything from a single device to an entire hospital to understand how services will be delivered.
IOT and 3D printing –
These will continue their measured path upwards but with no significant disruptors expected in 2024.
In summary, digital transformation truly is a blue ocean opportunity for every company in the technology space, helping improve products, manpower, and processes. The cautionary note here is that overuse of technology is leading to newer forms of physical, mental, eyesight, and hearing health issues. If these and sustainability are proactively factored into the strategy for growth, then overall progress would be more meaningful.
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