Because IoT is everywhere, we should all have a base knowledge of what is coming in 2024. That’s why Digital IT News has gathered the following expert IoT predictions. We hope they help you make informed decisions about the connected devices you want to use this year.

1. A Paradigm Shift to The Age of Open Systems

In 2024, the IoT industry is poised for a paradigm shift, heralding the Age of Open Systems. Breaking away from the long-standing practice of private companies locking customers into their proprietary products, this year marks a decisive turn towards open interfaces, extendibility, and compatibility across vendors. Spearheaded by trailblazers like Home Assistant and ThingsBoard, the movement is gaining momentum especially in the B2B field of IoT — fueled by buyer frustration with restrictive ecosystems. 2024 will stand out as the year when IoT embraces collaborative innovation, transparency and customer-centric flexibility. – Fabian Kochem, Head of Global Product Strategy at 1NCE

2. More Organizations Will Adopt IoT Risk-first Strategies

Organizations across industries are depending on increasingly vast fleets of IoT devices for everything from how a hospital system delivers patient care to manufacturers’ complex operations. However, these IoT and IIoT devices come with thousands of new reported security vulnerabilities each month, a huge challenge for cybersecurity teams (and budgets). In 2024, I think we’ll see more organizations approaching this IoT challenge by adopting risk-first strategies, and utilizing IoT device visibility to prioritize the 5-10 percent of vulnerabilities that represent a true immediate risk considering their use cases, network configurations, and common cyberattacker practices. For organizations with limited budgets, this approach will optimize resources, and results. – Shankar Somasundaram, CEO of Asimily

3. Increased Data Transfer Speed

Whether talking about how our products perform for our customers or how quickly I see updates on pitch counts during a baseball game, “fast data transfer” is never fast enough. As we continue to embrace IoT and different forms of augmented and mixed reality, the need for faster speeds is only becoming more important. As private and public organizations collaborate to accelerate the deployment of 5G, currently the fastest wireless technology, I look forward to seeing which approach wins the next race. Many assume 6G will be the obvious next big thing, but technologies like Li-Fi (uses light waves instead of radio waves) and terahertz (THz) communication (which operates at higher frequencies and could provide even faster data transfer speeds). Of course, speed is only part of the story. While still early, quantum communication is promising in terms of providing methods that are dramatically more secure and could be virtually ‘unhackable. – Frank Gartland, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Skillable

4. Increased Adoption of Fleet IoT Management Platforms & Tech

Businesses are waking up to the fact that it’s not petrol, diesel or electricity that powers fleets — it’s data.

Those who have already invested in technology and IoT platforms to manage their fleets are already better off. Fleets that have already invested in connected data platforms are better able to identify which routes, vehicles, and tasks are best suited to the electrification of their fleets. They’re also using these same fuel-agnostic systems to identify other technologies that will lead to fleet decarbonisation. It’s now up to the rest of the industry to play catch-up or risk being hit with a double whammy — falling behind on electrification plans while being unable to manage sprawling fuel costs. – Philip van der Wilt, SVP and GM EMEA of Samsara

5. Expansion in Industrial IoT

Industries may increasingly leverage IoT for improved efficiency and productivity. Expect a surge in Industrial IoT applications, including predictive maintenance, real-time monitoring, and supply chain optimization, across manufacturing and other sectors. – David Idle, Chief Product Officer at Bigleaf Networks

6. Enhanced Patient Monitoring and Personalized Care in Healthcare

One of the most significant impacts of IoT in healthcare is the revolution in patient monitoring and personalized care. IoT devices, ranging from wearable health monitors to smart beds in hospitals, can continuously collect vital health data. This data, when analyzed, can provide real-time insights into a patient’s health, enabling healthcare providers to tailor treatments and interventions more effectively. Imagine a world where your health monitoring is as continuous and pervasive as the technology in your smartphone, constantly providing data to fine-tune your healthcare needs. Expect the upcoming year to show revolutionary IoT growth in the healthcare sector, where the use of integrated monitors in collecting real time patient data promises to improve personalized treatment. – Angel Vossough, CEO at VinoVoss

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This list of 10 DevOps predictions will help you stay on the ball in 2024 so you can make the best decisions for yourself and your organization.

1. Elastic Architecture

Horizontal and vertical cloud tech stack scaling, will be done dynamically. There won’t be the need to build for Christmas only for a system to be empty the rest of the year. Systems will be preconfigured to expand and contract based on consumption. – Sameer Rizv, Founder and CEO at Odesso

2. Generative AI Will Accelerate the Application Development Landscape

The landscape of application development is set for transformative shifts, particularly those propelled by generative AI, poised to significantly accelerate two critical areas. The first focuses on digital automation, aiming to minimize human intervention, enhance efficiency, and streamline processes. Simultaneously, software automation is set to undergo a paradigm shift as Generative AI not only generates code but also validates security, ensures performance, and automates test case creation and documentation.

Generative AI’s ability to comprehend and respond to natural language will play a pivotal role, accelerating various digital processes and paving the way for a new era of digital automation. There will be a fundamental rethinking of how data is generated, processed, and consumed with the integration of more contextual, conversational elements, directly triggering workflows from a conversation or an image. A lot of existing digital workflows are bound to be replaced by the AI solutions, setting pace to the digital transformation efforts.

AI-powered design tools will become widespread, aiding business teams in expressing their ideas effectively. Generative AI will emerge as a solution to collaboration challenges, bridging the gap between business and IT teams, enabling visualization, prototyping, and improved communication. However, developers using AI models for generating code, will struggle in refining the intent or prompt to get to the appropriate logic or code. These AI models will have to evolve more to support iterative development as it will become an indispensable assistant for professional developers.

More and more open source LLMs & AI models will emerge for specific use cases, large organizations will tend to create their own AI models from the foundational models to protect copyrights, secure and ethical use of AI. These custom AI models bring better visibility to the developers and their ecosystem on how these models are trained and developed, so as to gain more trust in how these AI solutions are put to use.

The enduring impact of the pandemic will continue to shape the way software is created and foster innovation. Despite a decade of existence, the adoption of applications developed by business teams aided by low code platforms, still faces challenges such as IT acceptance, security, scalability, and licensing models. Low-code platforms will embrace LLMs and other AI models in creating apps that are enterprise-deployable, specially crafted by professional developers, eliminating the risks associated with IT deployment.

The future of AI-powered application development holds the promise of heightened automation, seamless contextual integration, and transformative user experiences. – Deepak Anupalli, Co-Founder & CTO at WaveMaker, Inc.

3. Increased Adoption of GritOps

Another trend likely to gain momentum is the increased adoption of GitOps. This will enhance collaboration and streamline the deployment process, making it easier to manage infrastructure and applications through git repositories. – Anup Kayastha, Founder of Serpnest

4. We Will Start to Experience The Effects of Integrating Low-code Strategies With Generative AI Code-generation LLMs

Low-code is already a boon to developers and DevOps teams, streamlining key development processes while accelerating innovation timetables. But in 2024, the effects of integrating low-code strategies with generative AI code-generation LLMs will arrive (and continue to mature quickly). The impact on productivity will be transformative, with low-code code-generation tools achieving ever-greater code usefulness and functionality. The result will be unprecedented efficiency for developers and DevOps teams, and a market environment where organizations equipped with low-code-plus-genAI coding capabilities will absolutely lap competitors still relying on more traditional dev strategies. – Shomron Jacob, Head of Applied Machine Learning & Platform at Iterate.ai

5. Enhanced Focus on Monitoring and Performance Metrics

I think real-time monitoring and granular performance metrics will become more integrated into DevOps practices. With tough economic conditions still expected in 2024, companies will require fast and efficient systems to maximise their business profits. As such teams will increasingly rely on sophisticated tools that provide deeper insights into application performance, user experience, and system health, enabling quicker responses to issues and better decision-making. – Karl Threadgold, Managing Director at Threadgold Consulting

6. Expanded Use of Simulation and its “Left Shift”

With the ever-creeping need to make smarter decisions, simulations are more and more important to make better products. Related to generative design, we predict an expansion in the usage of simulation and “left shift” in when we use such tools in a product’s life cycle. Historically in the left-to-right product life cycle, 3D engineering saw simulation used predominantly in the engineering and manufacturing stages, towards the end of a product development. Once we had a finalized design, we simulated, got feedback, and iterated from there based on the requirements. This is changing.

In 2024, we expect to see simulation used comprehensively in areas it was previously used sparingly. We are seeing simulations in design stages, to more quickly react to feedback and constraints than before. The increase in simulation and testing doesn’t stop there. Simulation of the supply chain, born out of necessity during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, is becoming more commonplace. We are seeing its benefits: savings of time, money, and better-built products that are more resilient to supply chain issues – Jonathan Girroir, Technology Evangelist at Tech Soft 3D

7. DevSecOps Will Start to Become Fundamental at the Start of Software Development

DevSecOps has been gaining significant momentum in the DevOps world, a trend I see continuing to grow rapidly. This approach, integrating security practices directly into the DevOps pipeline from the very beginning, is shifting from an emerging concept to a critical standard. As we prioritize security from the start of the software development lifecycle, it’s becoming a fundamental aspect, not just an optional add-on. The current rise in the adoption of DevSecOps marks a pivotal shift towards more secure and robust software development processes. – Maksym Lushpenko, Founder & CEO at Brokee

8. Cost Optimization and FinOps Practices Within DevOps Organizations

Efficiency is about doing more with less. In 2023 we finally reached the boundaries of the (not so) infinite computer known as the cloud. Similarly we reached the boundaries of VCs wallets. The resulting backlash has been for companies to take a fresh look at their IT departments and budgets and ask some hard questions about what is really necessary.

In 2024 we will see all DevOps organizations focus on cost optimization and FinOps practices. All new projects and architecture decisions must include a financial lens. Teams will need to be made aware of the financial impacts of their engineering decisions and actions. However, this should be an empowering rather than a limiting factor. It should encourage engineering teams to make decisions that are best for the business. – Ian Crosby, Field CTO at Aptum

9. DevOps Teams Will Leverage Cloud Infracture

DevOps teams must leverage cloud infrastructure for software development and implement robust security measures with SecOps teams every step of the way to safeguard applications and data against threats and vulnerabilities. Cloud providers offer features like identity and access management, encryption and threat detection to ensure data protection. Moreover, regular backups and disaster recovery options provided by the cloud infrastructure guarantee data availability and resilience. – Stav Sitnikov, CTO & co-founder, Stream.Security

10. SBOM Scanning Will Become Critical for Open-source Library Use

In software development supply chains, open-source libraries are a widely used component in software development – it’s so easy to grab a random open-source library, stick it in your code, and hope for the best. However, open-source libraries remain a weak underbelly and pose significant security risks as they are easily targetable by malicious actors aiming to compromise their integrity by inserting vulnerabilities or backdoors. Because of this, SBOM scanning will become critical to providing an accurate inventory of vulnerable open source libraries and containers. – Chad Loeven, Vice President of Business Development, OPSWAT

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To help you better prepare for 2024, we have compiled 15 security predictions. Let’s see what the industry experts think. 

1. Proactive Cybersecurity Will Become A Necessity

The need for proactive cybersecurity combined with continued tool consolidation will underscore the necessity of cyber threat intelligence in critical business decision-making.

More companies will adopt Threat Exposure Management (TEM), a holistic, proactive approach to cybersecurity, of which cyber threat intelligence (CTI) is a foundational component. As a result, they will need robust CTI solutions delivering focused insights to mitigate business and operational risk significantly.

Consolidation of CTI will gain prominence as it combines with other capabilities, including attack surface management, digital risk protection, and AI. CTI will be viewed as a strategic enabler as organizations assess incumbent vendors’ benefits. – Sharon Wagner, CEO of Cybersixgill

As we enter 2024, the world faces an alarming truth: data breaches are on the rise, and the United States leads the pack. In a digital age where data has become the lifeblood of organizations, this statistic carries grave implications for cybersecurity and global privacy. It’s no longer a matter of if, but when the next breach will occur. The question we must answer is, are organizations prepared? In 2024, it will be essential for leaders to understand why real-time stream processing has transitioned from a luxury to an absolute necessity for safeguarding data, enhancing resilience, and securing our digital future. – Alexander Walden, CEO of Ververica

2. Security Fatigue Will Cause Increased Risk

User identities are a key target of adversaries because compromising just a single account gets them into the IT ecosystem. But inundating users with warnings from tools like mail agents and requiring them to attend frequent awareness training can backfire, resulting in security exhaustion that can lead to the errors and negligence that the organization was trying to prevent. A more effective strategy is to adopt a Zero Trust model based on least privilege. In addition, tailor awareness training to the needs of specific groups of employees to make it easier to retain. – Dirk Schrader, VP of Security Research, and Ilia Sotnikov, Security Strategist at Netwrix

3. Malicious Digital Identity Targeting 

For 2024, Digital Identities have already been targeted by malicious actors focused on influencing significant social events, such as protests and electoral activities. Resecurity’s HUNTER (HUMINT) found Indonesia targeted by cyber-threat actors for its critical and fast-approaching February (2024) presidential election. This could affect the political destiny of the third-largest democracy in the world which is also a majority Muslim. – Shawn Loveland, COO at Resecurity

With the intersection of global events, such as the 2024 Presidential elections in the US, an upsurge in hacktivism is anticipated. Hacktivists are likely to utilize cyber operations to influence public opinion, potentially involving sophisticated deepfake voice and video content. – John Pirc, VP of Product Management, Netenrich

4. New Cybersecurity Standards Will Force All Organizations to Take Threat Preparations Seriously

This year, CISA, the NSA, and NIST have been leading the charge on Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) initiatives, publishing fact sheets and other helpful resources to address threats posed by quantum computing. Next year, NIST is set to publish its first set of PQC standards. This is an early step towards preparing federal agencies as well as private companies to adopt new encryption standards that are designed to protect systems from being vulnerable to advanced decryption techniques fueled by quantum computers. However, the need for this shift is much more immediate than much of the language and rhetoric currently surrounding PQC might suggest. In 2024, we will see a clear divide between companies and government agencies taking this threat seriously and beginning the proper preparations, and those that will find themselves sorely behind the eight ball.  – Philip George, Executive Technical Strategist at Merlin Cyber

With the growth of the IoT, come more opportunities for malicious actors to use connected devices as gateways to large cyber-attacks. Advances in AI will also make cyber-attacks more complex, harder to anticipate, and harder to defend. It’s also worth considering the Framework for Cybersecurity (the NICE Framework) in the U.S., and upcoming cybersecurity NIS2 and CRA directives likely coming into force in 2024 for businesses operating in Europe. The stakes are high for any business that isn’t taking cybersecurity seriously.

Increased opportunities and complexity, along with potentially business-ending fines for non-compliance makes thorough cybersecurity business-critical in 2024 but more so, effective training. Eight-in-ten cyber-attacks occur due to human error, so providing people with regular cybersecurity training can make a significant difference to your cyber resilience. Cybersecurity training is too important to leave people just to consume content about it. Instead, simulated cyber-attacks and testing key concepts and processes needs to be done to ensure everyone has a good enough grasp of their role in protecting your organization from a cyber-attack. – Frank Gartland, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Skillable

Following the new 2023 SEC cybersecurity disclosure rules, organizations will now need to prioritize how to demonstrate effective cyber risk management and disclose their security measures and performance. This is no longer a simple ‘check the box’ procedure, as an organization’s failure to disclose proper cybersecurity risk management, strategy, and governance will result in disciplinary action.

New processes, plus extensive validating and testing will need to be implemented. In many cases, these will require a significant amount of manual effort and investment – at the enterprise level, we will see automated security controls increase in demand in 2024 as a result.

At Gartner’s Security Risk & Management Summit 2023, the firm predicted that over 60% of security incidents over the next five years will come from misconfiguration errors. If they haven’t already, organizations will need to begin prioritizing a thorough inventory of digital assets and security controls not only to ensure compliance with the SEC, but more importantly, to minimize their cyber risk. – Michael Mumcuoglu, CEO & Co-founder at CardinalOps

Amidst emerging threats, increased regulation and data privacy laws, organizations will lean on technology for management and protection. – Stephen Franchetti, CIO, Samsara

5. The Rise of Generative AI-fueled Malware

It may sound like the plot of a science fiction thriller, but soon we absolutely will see the rise of generative AI-fueled malware that can essentially think and act on its own. This is a threat the U.S. should be particularly concerned over coming from nation-state adversaries. We will see attack patterns that get more polymorphic, meaning the artificial intelligence carefully evaluates the target environment and then thinks on its own to find the ultimate hole into the network, or the best area to exploit, and transforms accordingly. Rather than having a human crunching code, we will see self-learning probes that can figure out how to exploit vulnerabilities based on changes in their environment. – Patrick Harr, CEO of SlashNext

AI and machine learning will enhance capabilities on both sides of the cyber landscape – for good and bad. For example, malicious actors will use generative AI to create more believable and personalized social engineering attacks. On the defensive side, those protecting the targets will use advanced data science to recognize the advanced identity deception attacks that are personalized and capable of evading traditional detection processes. – Eric George, Director, Solution Engineering – Digital Risk & Email Protection at Fortra

6. Threat Detection Without Encryption Will Become Vital For Security

Adoption of protocols such as TLS 1.3, QUIC, DNS over HTTPS, etc. is creating new blind spots and risk surfaces in threat defense. Decrypting everything is no longer an option, traffic analysis and threat detection without the need to decrypt is a must. – Pavel Minarik, VP, Technology, Progress

More third-party SaaS vendors and cloud platforms are increasingly involved in security incidents. These vendors are creating a compounding and growing set of accessible company information on the Dark Web, which causes a cascading effect. The more information available, the more likely that information can be used to breach an organization. In this environment, having an accurate inventory of what systems are being used by your organization becomes critical for maintaining operational efficiency, but also to help identify all your risks related to third-party suppliers and service attacks. – Alex Hoff, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-founder, Auvik

7. Browser Security Will be on the Roadmap of Every CISO

The browser will continue to be a conduit for highly evasive threats. We are not necessarily witnessing an increase in frequency of attacks, but rather attacks that are far more effective, despite the continued investment in security infrastructure. According to Gartner, worldwide end-user spending on IT security is projected to total $215 billion in 2024, an increase of 14.3% from 2023. Organizations are spending billions of dollars on security tooling, yet security attacks continue to make headlines daily. CISOs recognize the danger of highly evasive threats and are addressing browser security as part of their strategic plans for 2024 and beyond. However, there are multiple routes to consider. –  Poornima DeBolle, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Menlo Security

8. More CISOs Will Focus on Consulting and Advisory Work

Over the last year, we’ve seen a trend of CISOs giving up their role to instead focus on consulting and advisory work. With the latest SEC action against the Solarwinds CISO, we are hearing even more CISOs talking about leaving. In 2024, expect to see CISOs gravitating toward privately held companies, and those in public companies demanding much greater support from their boards. – Seth Spergel, Managing Partner, Merlin Ventures

9. The Use of SaaS Apps as Stealthy Attack Vectors

In 2024, cybercriminals will continue exploiting modern SaaS apps, concealing malicious payloads in the cloud and leveraging security gaps for their nefarious objectives. Recent incidents, such as TeamsPhisher, underscore the significance of SaaS applications as unsuspecting accomplices in cyber attacks. Organizations must fortify their defenses, recognizing the potential for SaaS apps to serve as powerful new attack vectors. – Tal Zamir, CTO of Perception Point

As organizations increasingly rely on SaaS applications, 2024 will witness how these applications take a pivotal role in large breaches. The rapid adoption of numerous SaaS apps, sometimes with no visibility or control by the organization (“Shadow SaaS”), has created blind spots in many environments. The lack of visibility and control, coupled with the access these apps have to sensitive data, makes them attractive targets for cyber adversaries. Organizations will need to address these risks urgently, as SaaS applications are fast becoming the Achilles heel in cybersecurity. – Ariel parnes, COO and Co-Founder of Mitiga

10. AI Democratization Will Amplify Threats to Corporate Data and IP

As AI technology becomes more user-friendly, employees across industries will use AI-powered solutions to streamline their workflows, automate repetitive tasks, and make data-driven decisions.

The rise in AI-driven technologies will also exacerbate a concerning trend: increasing organizational data loss as employees have more opportunities to exfiltrate sensitive data via these new technologies.

In 2024, this shift will pose a serious challenge to organizations, as competitors can use those same AI tools to gather intelligence on each other – putting organizations at risk of losing their competitive edge, damaging their reputation, and even impacting their profits. – Joe Payne, President & CEO at Code42

11. Losses from Organized Retail Crime Will Increase

Large-scale retail harms major and minor retailers through product theft, as well as unwitting consumer victims who are usually unaware of the purchase’s origin. Separate from typical shoplifting committed by individuals stealing goods for personal use, organized retail crime (ORC) syndicates typically steal large quantities of merchandise from stores or cargo locations to resell online, at independent locations, or through other retailers.

Within the last six months, major retailers have cited ORC as significantly affecting company performance, increasing concerns about employee safety, and influencing company considerations for store closures. Losses are poised to skyrocket, potentially driving domestic policy change, higher law enforcement prioritization, and the need for more public-private coordination. – Stephen Helm, Product Marketing Director at Nisos

12. Masked or Virtual Card Adoption Will Increase

Headed into 2024, consumers are going to continue to wise up to the fact that shopping online is similar to playing roulette – you never actually know if your information is safe.

For this reason, they will continue to adopt the use of masked or virtual cards to circumvent handing over their actual card information while transacting online.

The critical advantage of a virtual card is that it is untraceable to your original information and single-use – meaning consumers maintain anonymity and limit their exposure to fraud to a single transaction. When it comes to data breaches and total account drains, this simple security measure can be the only tool that stands between you and life-changing fraud. – Guy Bauman, CMO & Co-Founder of IronVest

13. Comprehensive Cybersecurity Strategies Will Include Attack Surface Management (ASM) 

In summary, the cybersecurity landscape is evolving rapidly, and industries must adapt to keep up with evolving threats. To stay ahead of potential threats, organizations should implement strong security measures, use AI as a defensive tool, and invest in external ASM. By doing so, they can create a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy that will help them protect their assets and data. – Ravi Pandey, Senior Director of Vulnerability Management Services at Securin

14. Data Will Start to Be Managed as an Asset

In many senses, data is the new oil. It’s a finite resource that needs to be mined and managed strategically, and its value is highly dependent on your ability to refine and manipulate it for specific applications. For this reason, we see 2024 as being a critical year in the transition of data from being 1s and 0s on a screen to an actual asset to be managed, tracked, and optimized within an enterprise.

If we look past data as the space it takes up and consider each data point (IP, port number, customer name, city name, temperature reading) as an asset in and of itself, it becomes clearer that the way we are mining and storing data is incredibly wasteful. The same data points are often collected repeatedly, stored more redundantly than necessary, and contain no single source of truth. With the increasing use of AI and machine learning, as well as more stringent regulatory requirements that both require you to hold some data longer, as well as delete some data sooner, it will become crucial that data is managed as an asset.

To accomplish this, the accurate identification and categorization of data will be essential. We see an entire industry dedicated to data identification developing over the next few years, and companies becoming increasingly more focused on what the sole source is for any piece of information. This will ensure changes to data propagate, unexpected output from data science models can be traced to the training source, and ensure that any data that a company no longer has the right or desire to hold is actually deleted. – Jackie McGuire, Senior Security Strategist at Cribl

15. JavaScript Targeted Attacks Will Accelerate

In 2024, we predict organizations will encounter persistent challenges concerning their JavaScript and its associated cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Driven by Large Language Models (LLMs), attacks will become more advanced and written with higher levels of speed and sophistication, enabling accelerated learning and control circumvention. Companies will have to evolve their security strategies and implement measures, such as JavaScript code protection, that prevent LLM-powered threats from leveraging early automated learning steps. – Pedro Fortuna, CTO and Co-Founder at Jscrambler

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AI exploded in 2023. Let’s look at the 18 Artificial Intelligence predictions industry professionals have for 2024.

1. An Increased Awareness of AI Safety 

From my experience, I believe that in 2024, there will be a significant increase in awareness about AI safety. This means people will start talking more about how to tell if a video is made using Deep Fake technology or if it’s a real video, and whether content is written by a human or by AI. So, in 2024, there will be more discussions about AI safety, and various tools will be developed to identify fake videos and texts. – Nazmul Hasan, Founder & CIO at AI Buster

Undoubtedly, 2023 was a rollercoaster of a year for generative AI services, and there were some hitches along the way. One notable problem has been the data privacy, compliance and copyright infringement issues that call into question the data sets being used to train the algorithms of LLMs like ChatGPT and Bard. As a result, some companies have worried about the legal implications of integrating the technology into their solutions. Tighter processes and regulations were called for to ensure artists, customers and others had given valid consent regarding data.

However, concerns about adopting generative AI may be lesser next year as AI companies take full accountability for the data used by their LLMs. Microsoft recently reassured users that it will take responsibility for content Microsoft Copilot – its AI assistant – will generate by extending the company’s IP indemnity. Many other providers will follow suit in 2024 with similar commitments. This will ensure that liability isn’t placed on the end-user, but with the provider – a move that will drive greater adoption, especially among larger enterprises that will look to reduce the risk of liabilities. –  Adonis Celestine, Senior Director of Automation at Applause

2. AI Tools Will Make it Easy for Cybercriminals to Glean Details

 AI will enable threat actors to swiftly locate personal details required for convincing phishing emails and to mine databases of stolen credentials to launch effective password-based attacks. To reduce risk, organizations must require strong, unique passwords, tightly control privileged access, and invest in identity threat detection and response (ITDR) solutions. – Dirk Schrader, VP of Security Research, and Ilia Sotnikov, Security Strategist at Netwrix

3. Generative AI Embedded in Vertical Applications

Embedding generative AI into vertical applications is a trend for 2024 especially with platforms that are directly used by consumers. A great example is consumer homeowners who are constantly managing, maintaining, protecting and improving their largest financial asset and biggest expense, their home. HomeZada is a pioneer in this area by combining AI technology with its core digital home management features of home inventory, maintenance, project and finances. – John Bodrozic, Co-founder at HomeZada

2024’s theme will be ‘AI integration.’ This year we will see companies integrating generative AI into a broad range of business functions, unlocking advanced access to deep data insights with AI-enabled technologies supporting data discovery, contextualization, and predictive analysis. –Sharad Varshney, CEO of OvalEdge

Generative AI is set to revolutionize online shopping experiences. By analyzing consumer data, including browsing patterns and purchase history, AI will offer a new level of personalization. We expect to see AI-driven tailor-made product recommendations, personalized marketing messages, and even custom-designed products. – Brian Prince, CEO of Top AI Tools

Generative AI adoption in 2024 will drive enterprise efficiencies and new capabilities that will grow massively in 2025+. The impact of Generative AI is absolutely NOT overhyped. We’re in the early stages of generative AI’s transformation of science and technology, society, and the economy. The analysis and management of global supply chains is such a complex task that AI is a huge improvement over the previous state of play. The advancements in Generative AI open tremendous new possibilities for supply chain and we expect similar results in other important, complex domains such as medicine, scientific research, and more. – Peter Swartz, co-founder and chief science officer at supply chain AI startup Altana 

4. More Sophisticated AI-powered Virtual Assistants 

One prediction is that AI-powered virtual assistants will become even more sophisticated, seamlessly integrating into our daily lives to handle tasks like scheduling appointments and managing emails efficiently. –Finn Wheatley, Executive Consultant – Data & Technology at Xtrium 

One of the most exciting developments is the advent of autonomous AI agents. These AI-driven applications can independently execute workflows, such as generating comprehensive monthly marketing reports. This capability, previously the domain of specialist teams, is set to redefine efficiency in marketing departments. – Yomi Tejumola, Founder and CEO, Algomarketing

AI will move beyond chatbots into workflow tools. One of the biggest AI advancements for the tech industry in 2024 will be moving beyond AI simple chat interfaces like ChatGPT or Bard into specialized workflow tools that help specific functions or types of companies. These AI workflow tools will integrate into users existing workflows to help them work faster, create more content, and produce higher-quality outputs. For example, there will be specialized AI tools to assist sales executives, create professional presentations, and write code. – Daniel Li, CEO at Plus Docs

5. Human-AI Partnerships

As AI becomes integral to core workflows, certain industries will undergo transformative changes. Customer service representatives may need to retrain as AI orchestration specialists, while graphic designers may engage in collaborative efforts with AI co-creators. This transformation, far from a dystopian future, represents a culture of reskilling and talent evolution, necessitating collaborative human-AI partnerships. –Wilson Chan, Founder & CEO at Permutable AI

The conversation around automation and AI has focused heavily on how these technologies will threaten or harm workers. But the reality is that they will do far more good for employees than harm. By leveraging automation and AI, workers can become more efficient, eliminate cumbersome, manual tasks, and free themselves to take on higher-value projects. According to a new survey, 82% of IT decision-makers found that automation has improved employee productivity and 74% said it has improved employee satisfaction. – Akhilesh Tripathi, CEO at Digitate 

Roles like AI ethicist will increase in number in 2024, as businesses realize they need specialists to help their AI projects remain responsible and deliver value. It won’t be long until we see robot teaming coordinators, smart home designers, and autonomous vehicle advertisers enter our workplaces. With emerging roles like these, proving you have a skill becomes a lot harder since there are no past roles for employers to refer to. Relying on skill validation techniques like testing, skill challenges, and hands-on learning, can help to bridge this gap. –Corey Hynes, Executive Chairman and Cofounder at Skillable

AI had quite the year in 2023, dominating the headlines with major analyst firms predicting its significant impact over the years to come. But to be successful in 2024 and beyond, AI will be forced to rely on the very sources many fear the technology will replace: people and data. Retail data is highly complex and dynamic with siloed information that is constantly in flux, whether it’s consumer buying behaviors, delayed shipments, product shortages or labor demands. Teams equipped with retail order and inventory data management systems, will play a major role next year to help produce and maintain clean, accurate and accessible data needed for businesses to take full advantage of AI – Nicola Kinsella, SVP of global marketing at Fluent Commerce

In the coming year, the industry will continue to instill the fear of AI replacing employees. However, when it comes to the frontline workforce, I see the opposite and endorse a ‘people first’ AI strategy. I believe that AI will enhance frontline workers’ day to day by optimizing shift coordination, language translations, direct communication with management and streamlining safety procedures. The results will improve frontline workers’ lives by automating many of their mundane tasks and allowing them to focus on their key human-centric work. Overall this will help companies boost productivity and, in effect, help increase their bottom lines. – Cris Grossmann, CEO and founder, Beekeeper

Now is the prime time for L&D leaders to build an AI-forward culture. Inaction on responding to the proliferation of AI is simply untenable—its impacts on the state of work will be massive. Generative AI will impact virtually every business function and is poised to significantly reinvent the operations for many.

A recent IBM report underscores the need for reskilling, estimating that 40% of the global workforce will need to adapt to AI and automation within three years. – Chris Duchesne, General Manager for Springboard for Business

6. Early Days of AI Growth Will Pop

We are in the early days of this next AI growth wave. That means most companies and technologies will be on the radar, for a while. Next, when investors start looking for real growth, many will drop off the radar.

Think of this like the Internet in the 1990’s. There were countless companies and they all showed strength and growth. Then around the year 2000, the bubble burst and many companies and technologies simply disappeared.

The ones who made it continue to show strong growth today. – Jeff Kagan, Technology Industry Analyst

Much like what we saw with networking, cloud computing and mobile apps, the early market begins with euphoria, followed by a period of diffusion, before becoming mainstream. AI will go through a similar adoption curve through 2024. When it comes to enterprise software specifically, I expect to see major advancements in the augmented workforce as AI accelerates and improves human capabilities. Although there is early concern about AI replacing the human worker, I see augmentation as a bigger near-term change as AI starts to drive hyper-automation. We see this in software development, marketing content generation, document editing and even movie production. – John Pritchard, Chief Product Officer at Radiant Logic

The venture capital climate has been tough as of late and will be even more so in 2024. I believe we will begin to see a shift in the industry when it comes to the survival of AI startups, as AI startups start to get acqui-hired by the big tech companies for their talent. This has already started to happen and in the last few months we’ve seen higher than normal venture-funded companies big and small either shut down or quietly get acquired by bigger players.

I think there will be an evolutionary cycle for the companies that can survive the next 18 months or so. It has been said before that some of the best and most valuable companies are usually created in difficult times, like during the 2008 recession and in 2000 when the dot-com bubble burst, as they usually tend to have better products and more disciplined companies. Companies that can run efficiently, be agile, and can adapt quickly to tough situations will be better positioned. At the end of the day, companies that have a strong product, and a demonstrated value proposition, will be in a better position to outrun the competition. – Molham Aref, founder and CEO of RelationalAI 

7. The Creation of the Chief AI Officer

There is much discussion around the need for the creation of Chief AI Officers. AI is arguably the top priority for Fortune 500s at the moment. Many are looking to harness the power of AI fairly immediately, and having a CAIO is one rock-solid approach to streamlining its implementation. –Sarah Mawji, Founder and CEO of Final Edit PR

8. High-quality, Orginal Content Will Become Scarce

Another looming challenge is the impending data scarcity. As we march into 2024, “Data is the new oil” shifts from a slogan to reality. Platforms such as X and Reddit, capitalizing on their data reservoirs, hint at the future scarcity and commodification of high-quality data. Despite the daily influx of media, high-quality, original content remains scarce. We’re approaching a “data famine,” with premium text data possibly being exhausted by 2026 and high-quality image and video data by the 2040s. The main problem is the “infinite loop” of content creation. AI will not only create new materials but also use these creations as training data, forming a self-sustaining cycle akin to a vinyl record on repeat. This phenomenon could lead to AI-generated content saturating the market, reminiscent of how factory-produced goods overshadowed artisanal crafts. Meanwhile this will present a new opportunity to shine for those who truly think outside of the box, as their creativity will be able to shine against the AI’s backdrop. – Ilia Badeev, Head of Data Science, Trevolution Group

9. Domain-specific AI Applications

2023 was a landmark year for generative AI, with platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT making headlines. However, their use in mission-critical applications revealed limitations, notably in producing authoritative but false information. As we enter 2024, the focus is shifting toward specialized large language models (LLMs) trained in specific domains. These models promise greater accuracy and cost efficiency, particularly in fields like cybersecurity, where we already see significant advancements with security-specific LLMs. The coming year is poised to be a transformative period for domain-specific AI applications.  – Adam Geller, CEO at Exabeam

10. Generative AI Will Bring Advancements to the Geospatial World 

I’m excited about the innovations and advancements that generative AI is bringing to the geospatial world. We are going to see an enormous number of use cases emerge by bringing together traditional imagery and vector data with predictive transformers. There is a tremendous amount of information trapped within large scale visual datasets just waiting to be interrogated and exploited in novel, interesting ways. I recognize these emerging technologies will greatly benefit the world at large. – Tripp Cox, CTO of leading aerial insights company EagleView

11. AI-powered Code Generation

Developers will benefit from Microsoft Copilot’s advanced AI capabilities. It will become an indispensable tool for coding, assisting developers in writing high-quality, efficient code across programming languages. This will significantly accelerate software development cycles.– Ashu Goel, CEO at WinWire

12. Outsourced AI Will Replace Internal IT Infrastructure and Management

More CIOs will see the wisdom in outsourcing IT infrastructure and management. Instead of asking their internal teams to buy, implement, monitor, protect, manage and troubleshoot increasingly sophisticated IT systems themselves, they will hand over those responsibilities to a managed service provider for 24/7 connectivity, support, collaboration, and security. Under a single vendor, these functions will be a reliable extension of their IT teams, especially important as IT talent will remain scarce. – Mike Flannery, president, Windstream Enterprise

13. Application and Updated LLM Models

Right now, we are seeing a technological breakthrough in the application and updating of LLM models. Companies have either already created and presented their LLM model or are planning to do so in 2024. At the same time, the areas of LLM implementation are already quite numerous. Companies are trying to implement LLM in support chatbots, there are cases of implementation for generating answers to legal requests. A very good context search engine can be organized on the basis of LLM. Actually, most of the solutions, such as writing documentation, writing simple front-end solutions based on prototypes in Figma will allow developers to spend more time on correcting texts rather than composing them from scratch. – Ilya Smirnov, Head of AI / ML Department at Usetech

In 2024, the development and application of specialized agent chains and frameworks are poised to outpace large language models (LLMs). This trend is driven by the increasing demand for highly tailored and efficient AI solutions. Specialized agent chains, characterized by their ability to perform a sequence of targeted tasks, offer greater precision and adaptability than the broader, general-purpose LLMs.

The frameworks supporting these agents will emphasize modularity, allowing for the seamless integration and coordination of different AI components. This evolution in AI development highlights a shift towards more dynamic, context-specific solutions, meeting the complex demands of various industries with greater agility and effectiveness. – Nick King, CEO and Founder, Data Kinetic

14. AI Use of Intellectual Property and Copyrighted Materials Will Come to a Head

With multiple court cases beginning to work their way through the system (for example, Getty Images suing over image consumption, esteemed authors suing over their copyrighted works, and the GitHub Copilot code license case) we will start to see judgements that will better define how intellectual property can and can not be protected and that will shape the meaning of copyright in a world where AI can accurately reproduce other people’s work.

It is highly unlikely that these issues will be resolved in such a short time, and the visibility of the cases and any traction they begin to make will likely only encourage more people to follow suit — including class action lawsuits. The questions around “who owns what AI generates” will only grow in volume, and we can likely expect a lot more confusion well before we find clarity. – Peter Guagenti, President and Chief Marketing Officer at Tabnine 

15. Rise of Machines Powered by Real-time Data and AI Intelligence

In 2024, the rise of the machines will be far greater than in the past as data is becoming more and more “real-time” and the trajectory of AI continues to skyrocket. The combination of real-time data and AI make machines come to life as machines start to process data in real-time and make automatic decisions! – Dhruba Borthakur, Co-Founder and CTO of Rockset

 Workflows will be autonomous. For anyone who’s ever thought “thanks for doing that, but I wish I didn’t even have to ask,” the newest AI applications will remove the already redundant prompting process by carrying out fully autonomous workflows. Instead of leaning on AI for enablement, AIs will truly multiply their human users by intelligently automating multiple points with a single prompt. Where you used to ask your AI to lookup a company’s revenue, it will now look that up, make sure it fits within your ideal customer profile, find a decision-maker, prospect that company, and return it to you as a revenue-ready opportunity. Think of 2023 as a courtship between humans and their bots. With every prompt and answer, the human-to-machine trust battery was recharged. Like with any relationship, time leads to trust and in 2024 AI will be trusted with complex workflows. – Nick Smith, Founder & CEO of Sailes

16. AI Will Transform the Customer Experience 

I think generative AI will enter areas of customer experience in unprecedented ways by recognizing images, utilizing voice automation and automated messaging or chats, as well as the fact that it will be embedded into many of the conversational channels, which is just going to speed up the adoption.

You’ll also see much more growth in the messaging space. A large percentage of customer interactions, between 30% and 50%, will move from being managed by humans to being managed by bots in these different channels through omnichannel experiences. You will have multimodal generative AI that can kind of talk or create videos or create tax to consumers, and all of that data will be flowing back into the kind of a CDP or clouds data around the customers to create the history and summary of all the interactions, which could have a dramatic impact on on the customer experience. – Ivan Ostojic, Chief Business Officer of Infobip

17. AI-Centric Surveillance Systems: Safety and Security

In the case of a security incident, traditional video surveillance systems require someone to review many hours of footage to find key incidents, a time-consuming process which can delay response. The video surveillance industry is poised to transform to AI-driven security systems. Traditional video surveillance systems are evolving into comprehensive AI security solutions.

These systems will record video footage, but will also do a lot more to enhance safety and security. This shift reflects the fact that customers are less interested in video and more concerned about preventing and addressing security issues.

Leveraging machine learning, algorithms, and computer vision, AI safety and security systems will efficiently process and interpret video content, enabling real-time threat detection.

These AI-driven security systems are set to become the norm, delivering intelligent, proactive solutions that minimize problems and enhance overall security across various types of environments, including homes, businesses and government agencies. – Dean Drako, CEO of CEO of Eagle Eye Networks

AI could personalize security measures to individual users and devices, taking into account their behavior, risk profile, and access needs. This could lead to more secure AND more user-friendly experiences. – Denny LeCompte, CEO at Portnox

18. A surge in Advanced Deepfake Technology

As we progress into 2024, I think deepfake technology is poised to increase, posing challenges in discernibility. The potential consequences include political impacts and interference (which will be significant as more than 50 countries will be voting in 2024), disproportionate effects on women and girls (who already make up the majority of victims to deepfakes), and increased difficulty for the average user in recognising manipulated content. – Elle Farrell-Kingsley, AI Curator

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To help you stay ahead of the curve, we have compiled 15 cloud predictions tech companies have for 2024.

1. Moving Away From On-Premise Server Rooms 

Cloud-based SaaS solutions will become an attractive option for businesses looking to move away from on-premise server rooms and improve carbon efficiency. When used within what the business needs (avoiding excessive usage and software sprawl) SaaS can be a quick win for your sustainability. – Frank Gartland, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Skillable

2. Increased Emphasis on Cloud Data Security and Privacy

The accelerated shift towards hybrid cloud integration solutions has been a significant development in 2023. The need for businesses to seamlessly connect applications, data, and processes across various environments (on-premises, multi-cloud, and edge) has grown considerably. Additionally, the emergence of AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) has unlocked many new use cases and could drastically improve the customer experience. – Vince Padua, Chief Product Officer at Axway

3. Closing the DevOps and Security Team Disconnect

In the coming year, we also expect to see organizations work to close the disconnect between their DevOps and Security teams. By empowering these teams to work more cohesively, companies will have an easier time ensuring that applications and data are protected from security threats and vulnerabilities. Instead of looking within the “inside” of a cloud infrastructure, DevOps and security teams must work together in securing the border guarding each system. By doing so, organizations can maintain a robust in-house DevSecOps cybersecurity program that helps them react to incidents intelligently within minutes based on the uniqueness of each environment. – Or Shoshani, CEO & co-founder of Stream Security

4. Increased Adoption of Flexible Deployment Models

Every cloud provider has, more or less, experienced public difficulties with remediation efforts and patches taking a long time. I anticipate seeing organizations switch to a more flexible deployment model in the new year that allows for faster shifts between cloud providers due to security issues or unexpected changes in pricing. Microsoft’s recent “Secure Future Initiative” is just the start to rebuild public trust in the cloud. – Karl Fosaaen, VP of Research at NetSPI

Companies increasingly realize that data is one of their most valuable assets. Of course, not all data is created equally or effectively utilized, and some data classes are overlooked entirely. For example, many organizations are not taking full advantage of data regarding the health of their networks and applications, even though it can help predict performance problems and cybersecurity attacks. More and more organizations are looking for solutions that share and integrate data across platforms for more real-time insights to address this challenge. We can expect this trend to continue in 2024, especially as organizations grow their data lakes by incorporating new sources like packet and application performance management (APM) data. – Paul Barrett, Chief Technology Officer at NETSCOUT

As we head into 2024, the shift from batch to real-time data processing marks a major change in how businesses manage their financials and operations. This shift, now centralized on cloud platforms, like the Ververica Cloud, offers immediate data analysis, fostering agility and enabling swift response to customer needs, thereby enhancing overall business performance. It is superior to batch processing, which limits companies to periodic insights, and real-time data processing. This transformation is crucial in areas such as supply chain management and immediate response to data breaches, significantly reducing their financial impact. – Alexander Walden, CEO of Ververica 

5. AI Wars of 2023 Will Shift to Cloud Wars in 2024

 Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently the most talked about topic in the world. It has penetrated every industry and aspect of our lives, both at work and at home. AI-powered technologies have the potential to provide streamlined experiences, but they require a considerable amount of cloud computing power to generate content and deliver resources quickly, accurately, and effectively. 

We’ve seen plenty of upheaval in the AI space at the end of 2023, but now, I predict that the AI Wars of 2023 will shift to the Cloud Wars of 2024. Hyperscalers will continue investing in their proprietary large language models (LLMs) to retain customers in their ecosystem and increase their revenue. 

For instance, ChatGPT is probably the most well-recognized AI-powered LLM. These models require a lot of computing power and are the backbone of most generative AI applications. Cloud providers have emerged as the key distribution channels for these LLMs and are competing to ensure that the compute processing for these models comes through their servers. Hyperscalers are fighting to power these foundational models through their own servers to generate content and, thereby, boost their revenue. – Roger Brulotte, CEO, Leaseweb Canada  

6. Hybrid Cloud Will Mature

2024 will see the maturation of the hybrid cloud approach. It is not just regulated industries that are adopting it; organizations of all types are maintaining on-premises investments while also embracing the cloud. This flexible approach allows them to leverage the best of both worlds, as reinforced by findings in the recent 2023 Hybrid Cloud Survey. This survey reveals that two-thirds of respondents, 64%, have already implemented a hybrid approach, and 38% of all respondents intend to enhance their adoption of the hybrid cloud within the upcoming year. GenAI will accelerate cloud adoption and legacy workloads will need the ability to work with these new workloads in the cloud.   – Kamal Srinivasan, SVP of Product and Program Management at Parallels (a sub-brand of Alludo)

7. Ongoing Migration of Enterprise Data to the Cloud

As cloud computing continues to grow in 2024, we will see increased adoption by businesses of all sizes as cloud providers build more turnkey Saas solutions and pricing models, lowering barriers to entry and making it easier for businesses to manage their cloud resources. With this will come a greater focus on cloud security and compliance as well as new compliance standards. – Michael McLaren, President at Bounteous

8. More Complex Data Quality Issues

In this expanding cloud data era, data quality issues will also become more complex. The abundance and diversity of data increase the risks of data inconsistency, data duplication, and challenges in measuring data quality. Managing data lineage and addressing data latency across different access points around the globe are also a critical consideration, as is determining the appropriate tools for use with cloud data assets – Sharad Varshney, CEO of OvalEdge

9. Data Strategy Grounded in AI

AI’s transformative power is fueled by data, and this data is stored and processed in the cloud — a repository shaping the very essence of AI. Emerging as a key facilitator of AI by streamlining the management and analysis of data, the cloud is empowering organizations to implement AI solutions with heightened productivity and efficiency. In 2024, the predominant technology trend in won’t be AI itself, but the tech infrastructure powering AI — namely, the cloud. – Chris Heard, CEO at Olive Technologies

10. The New Data Center: Hybrid Multi-cloud Architecture

Multi-cloud adoption has accelerated in the past few years. In early 2023, a survey suggested that 98% of companies on the public cloud already have plans to switch to a multi-cloud infrastructure. At the same time, organizations have also been increasingly relying on hybrid cloud architecture for flexibility and cost-saving purposes in the hybrid work era.

In the coming year, we will see an influx of companies opting for hybrid and multi-cloud strategies. The difference with the previous years is evident, as they will aim to seamlessly combine these two approaches. Companies will be enjoying the best of both worlds: the flexibility and scalability of multi-cloud architecture coupled with sovereignty and control over their data and applications offered by the hybrid cloud – in-country, across regions, or around the world. – Amitabh Sinha, CEO and Co-Founder at Workspot

11. Edge Computing Growth 

Edge computing will see up to a 50 percent growth rate, creating a significant impact on things like improving performance, reducing latency, and better automation – Amruth Laxman, Founding Partner at 4Voice

Edge computing is rapidly becoming one of the most talked about data processing strategies. In 2022, around 54% of businesses were interested in edge computing but needed to see more examples of what it could bring to the table. By 2024, we’re now well-experienced in utilizing edge computing to optimize data-related processes.

As a decentralized and very low latency approach, edge computing provides an effective way of processing data more efficiently. This will go hand in hand with other developments, like the drive toward more agile approaches to data. As companies continue to invest in data, edge computing will become a primary choice for those looking to streamline processes, minimize costs, and maximize efficiency. – Charles Chow, Head of Marketing at Lumen

12. Cost Will Become the Ultimate Performance Metric

After decades of profligate spending on hardware, software, and services, 2024 will become the year that the cost to run an application becomes the ultimate performance metric. The traditional metrics that are focused on commodities (CPU, memory, disk, network) will actually become less important. As digitally transformed organizations continue their advance to the cloud, the cost-of-goods-sold will get linked intrinsically with operational and services measured at a finer-grained level; looking at specific tools, services, and algorithms for cost savings. – Kyle Campos, Chief Product & Technology Officer (CPTO) of CloudBolt 

Cost optimization, sustainability and flexibility in a lean economic environment will continue to put hybrid cloud strategies front and center. Given the speed at which certain technologies like AI and IoT are multiplying, hybrid cloud will help CIOs rationalize certain investments and optimize the storage component (a key part to any green computing initiative).

In older models, storage was one of the most expensive components of a system, so we were very selective in what data was stored and how. Today, the opposite is true, in that storage is often the least expensive component of a system, which has led many organizations to adopt a “store everything forever” mentality. This is why we see focus on hybrid cloud and edge intensifying in 2024.

To prepare, CIOs should:

• Conduct thorough assessments of workloads to determine which are best for on-premise, public or private clouds.
• Set policies that automatically manage the lifecycle of data.
• Identify and optimize areas of code that consume the most time and resources.

–Mike Nolan, Principal Architect at SPR

13. Clouds Will Increasingly Evolve from Horizontal to Vertical

In 2024 we will see vertical clouds continue to grow, a concept where cloud infrastructures specialize in specific industries or functions. Currently, cloud services like AWS, Google, and Azure mainly operate as general-purpose platforms, while SaaS applications such as Marketo and MuleSoft cater to specific business needs. The transition from horizontal to vertical clouds is anticipated, where dedicated clouds for finance or agriculture, for instance, will offer highly specialized services. While we have seen industries starting to buy into vertical clouds, the evolution will be somewhat gradual; they won’t reach their prime in 2024, but they will enjoy significant growth when it comes to adoption. Google Cloud, for example, has developed cloud offerings that cater specifically to the healthcare and manufacturing industries, and I expect this trend will continue across cloud providers and additional industries. – Manoj Chaudhary, Chief Technology Officer & Senior Vice President of Engineering at Jitterbit.

14. Multi-cloud and Hybrid Cloud Adoption Will Lead to Distributed Architectures

Enterprises are now diving headfirst into the realm of multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies by strategically weaving together the finest offerings from different cloud providers tailored to their business needs.

This trend is set to continue well into 2024, as organizations embark on a quest to fine-tune their cloud expenditures, elevate the effectiveness and dependability of their applications. As the approach matures, it’s not just about optimizing costs — it’s a journey toward technical and operational agility to unlock the full potential of distributed architectures.

Embracing distributed compute is merely the prelude; the key to success depends on the widespread adoption of distributed databases, which should provide the foundation for developers to create innovative architectural models. The cloud revolution is not just about adoption, but a combination of optimization and architectural evolution. – Jay Jenkins, CTO of Cloud Computing at Akamai

15. Major Cloud Providers Will Reduce Their Carbon Footprint

“Sustainability and environmental concerns are influencing the major cloud providers like Microsoft, Amazon and Google to undertake many initiatives to reduce the overall carbon (CO2) footprint of cloud data centers. They have pledged to transition their cloud data centers to carbon-neutral via carbon offsetting and investment in renewable energy infrastructures like wind, solar, hydropower and hosting data centers in under-water containers. In addition, cloud providers are deploying modern high-performance computing, networking and storage hardware to reduce overall electricity usage. Many other companies are following similar approaches to reduce the overall electricity needs and the associated carbon emissions. – Mahadeva Bisappa, Principal Architect at SPR

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