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5 Tech Trends to Be Aware of in 2024

Understanding the landscape will give you a better grasp of your options, as well as the needs of your customers, and what your competition might be up to.

Edward Batten

By Edward Batten

EVP of Growth Edward Batten grows BairesDev globally while supporting, managing, and developing the internal structures required for strategic growth.

5 min read

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Technology continues to evolve in exciting ways. The latest trends are being driven by business needs, risks, increased competition, innovation, and many other factors, including a predicted recession and an increase in remote work. For example, security is getting more attention partly because of the rise in remote and hybrid work arrangements. Employees operating from home or other locations are more susceptible to cyberattacks that can compromise an entire enterprise network.

Your company may or may not have a use for every new emerging technology. However, understanding the landscape will give you a better grasp of your options, as well as the needs of your customers, and what your competition might be up to. Here we present 5 of the most interesting tech developments to keep an eye on this year.

1. Open-Source AI Platforms & Gadgets

Open-source AI platforms are gaining momentum, marking a shift toward more open and collaborative AI development. By making algorithms, datasets, and tools publicly available, open-source platforms are democratizing access to cutting-edge AI. This approach fosters greater transparency, allowing for broader community input to ensure AI technologies are ethical and inclusive. The open-source movement is accelerating AI progress through global collaboration while promoting responsible practices.

In tandem, we are seeing AI become a standard feature of many household gadgets and devices. From smart speakers with voice assistants to wearables providing personalized health insights, AI is being embedded into our everyday tech. As AI-driven gadgets become more prevalent, they are getting smarter and more intuitive. These devices not only understand user needs and preferences but also proactively adapt to provide seamless, tailored experiences.

Together, these trends point to an AI-enabled future in 2024 where technology feels less like an impersonal tool and more like an intelligent assistant integrated into daily life. Democratized development and collaborative innovation are ensuring AI tech is accessible, transparent, and beneficial to all.

2. Increased Focus on Security

Cyberattacks have become more prevalent, especially ransomware attacks. The Colonial Pipeline attack is a prominent example, one in which the company paid the ransom to regain use of its data, demonstrating how much power cybercriminals can gain over companies. And this year has already seen a dramatic rise in ransomware attacks. Even if your enterprise doesn’t provide essential services, the data that could be at risk is essential to you and your business operations.

Other companies have seen that impact and have doubled down on teaching employees the Dos and Don’ts of network computing, such as not clicking on links from unknown email senders. Additionally, enterprise security companies have added features like stronger cloud protection, regulation assistance, and attention to all data stores to prevent attacks. As businesses try to stay one step ahead of the bad guys, this increased focus on security will continue in 2024 and beyond.

3. Growth in Cloud Computing

Cloud service spending grew substantially in 2022, with reliance surging after the onset of the pandemic. Additionally, organizations of all types recognized the solutions cloud services present, such as labor shortages. For example, automated cloud solutions can take the place of labor-intensive processes, enabling companies to lower their human workforce requirements.   

The growth of cloud usage is also based on qualities like increased storage capacity, robust security, and support for the Internet of Things (IoT).

4. More Emphasis on the Metaverse

The metaverse is the next iteration of the internet, enabling users to perform shopping, entertainment, social, and work functions in an immersive environment with virtual and augmented reality elements. Only a few companies have ventured into this space so far, including Facebook, which, in 2021, notably changed its company name to Meta. For Facebook, the name change represents a shift in focus to hardware, such as virtual reality headsets that can support metaverse activities.

The metaverse holds great potential for business expansion. For example, as with the internet, companies will be able to advertise, sponsor events, and offer digital products and games. In 2022, many companies from across industries will begin to think about how they might take advantage of these elements of the metaverse to expand their offerings and their reach. At the same time, tech companies will launch new metaverse-based tools across industries like manufacturing, healthcare, education, real estate, retail, entertainment, and more.

5. Expansion of Robotics

Robots are machines that can support human activity in a variety of ways. They are already being used to take over many business and industrial processes that are repetitive or dangerous for humans. The method of automating repeated operations is known as robotics process automation (RPA).

Challenges resulting from the pandemic have created new use cases for robots, including as tools to increase supply chain efficiency and as providers of automation that can reduce the number of human workers required in manufacturing settings. As a result, the use of robotics will expand even more in 2024, making RPA a de facto business standard.

A subset of robotics is nanorobotics, which can be useful for medicine and other fields. For instance, they can be used to deliver drugs to hard-to-reach areas of the body. Other uses include the following:

  • In surface treatments to protect electronic devices.
  • With fabrics to collect data about the wearer.
  • To make lighter materials to build lightweight transportation vehicles that would require much less fuel.
  • Built into solar panels to convert sunlight to electricity more efficiently, leading to more inexpensive solar power.

Should You Follow the Trends?

Reading about technology trends is always interesting but deciding whether to incorporate them into your business is another matter. When considering which tools to use, be sure those you’re evaluating solve an actual business problem. For example, only companies in certain sectors are likely to need robotics, while just about every business could benefit from a security upgrade. Start from your goals and challenges and see if the above solutions — or the many others not mentioned here — seem like a good fit.

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Edward Batten

By Edward Batten

Responsible for the global growth of BairesDev, EVP of Growth Edward "E.B." Batten uses his leadership experience to engage clients, partnerships, and international opportunities for company growth. E.B. also helps develop and manage the organizational structures required to support these endeavors.

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