The 10 big technology trends that you should take into account for 2024

2023 has been just the beginning of a revolution called artificial intelligence that will change all sectors of activity. It won't be the only technology that will have a big impact. What awaits us in 2024?

1. Advanced, generative and reliable AI

AI is like having a super intelligent personal assistant available 24 hours a day, making us more efficient, faster and productive even in complex tasks. Throughout this review of trends we will see their effect and application in a multitude of productive sectors and use cases. Generative AI can help people free up time to leverage their human and differential skills by allowing them to delegate some of their everyday mental work, such as obtaining information, scheduling, managing compliance, organizing ideas, and structuring projects. Leading custom software development company and other companies are already taking proactive measures to secure their perimeters and assets, including their reputation and corporate responsibility, and tools are emerging to help identify false or harmful content. The application of Blockchain as a traceability and transparency tool will also be key to supporting trust and security schemes in the use of AI.

2. The simplification of 'cloud computing'

Today, low/unregulated tools open the way for non-technical people to build applications that previously would have required highly skilled software programmers Similarly, cloud service providers "democratize." " deployment and management of cloud services and infrastructure by eliminating the need for advanced technical expertise. In addition to creating drag-and-drop interfaces and natural language tools, serverless technology is a type of cloud computing service that eliminates the need for companies to have their own dedicated servers. Instead of paying for the number of servers needed to host their infrastructure, as in a typical cloud service, the company only pays for the resources it actually uses This improves efficiency by avoiding costs when the server is not controlled by the user and saves the company time to focus on its core activities.

3. Cyber ​​resilience, the evolution of cybersecurity

Cyber ​​resilience goes beyond cybersecurity, as it includes measures to recover and guarantee activity when the defenses of the critical business applications and processes of companies or public organizations are violated, reaching circumstances beyond our control. To try to deal with this type of situation, it is necessary to combine cybersecurity solutions and physical procedures or technological solutions that have not normally been considered as elements of cybersecurity. Automating cyber defense through generative AI and machine learning and awareness of human elements, from social engineering attacks to controlling public relations or reputation fires, are also essential elements of any cyber resilience strategy. Thus, by 2027, it is estimated that 45% of chief information security officers (CISOs) will expand their competencies beyond cybersecurity, due to growing regulatory pressure and the context of potential risk in which we live.

4. The ubiquity of edge computing

Edge computing is a way of using the cloud that involves processing data close to where it is generated. An example could be a device that measures temperature in real time and detects irregularities. Since most of the data you collect would be "normal" temperatures, it would be inefficient to send it all to the cloud for analysis and then return it to the user to tell them that everything is normal. In 2024, with the emergence of new smaller, more energy-efficient processors, more memory-efficient algorithms and advanced networks like 5G Stand Alone will help make EDGE much more widespread for more applications.

5. Network API-fication: OpenGW

The opening of the network capabilities of telecommunications operators via API ( application programming interface ) is already allowing both the most advanced telecommunications operators and software development services to capture great potential in a market that will generate new sources of income. significant. Network API-fication, that is, exposing the capabilities of operators' networks, allows their own internal teams and external partners to access network systems in a controlled manner, to create new services and cases. use that generate new business opportunities.

It is an idea that some of the main telecommunications operators are beginning to implement, as is the case of the OpenGW (Open Gateway) initiative. Open Gateway is a multi-teleco initiative led by the GSMA that transforms telecommunications networks into developer-ready platforms, opening up all the power of the network for the creation of new products and services in different industries: fintech, communications, gaming, entertainment, etc. This initiative will allow telecoms to become the best allies for the creation of new digital services, accelerating and transforming development and innovation.

6. Quantum computing: the practical application arrives

For a couple of years we have also seen the growing presence of a term that will also change technological development in the coming years; quantum computing. Quantum computers can perform multiple calculations simultaneously by exploiting complex concepts in quantum physics such as entanglement or quantum superpositionThis allows them to operate using quantum bits (qubits) that can exist in multiple states simultaneously, rather than a state of one or zero, like traditional computer binary bits. Some of the most direct applications of quantum computing are quantum cryptography, that is, the creation of security schemes and systems that take advantage of quantum properties to guarantee the security and privacy of communications at levels much higher than those we offer today. with traditional systems.

7. The evolution of the network: AIOps and NetOps

Telcos are also accelerating their digital transformation with AI and cloud-native technologies, which also change the way they monitor network performance. Using Cloud Native allows you to simplify network operations and integrate cloud services into workflows. As a result, network deployments become more distributed and dependent on automation tools. But this also means they need a different way to monitor performance, such as using AIOps and NetOps. AIOps uses artificial intelligence and related technologies, such as machine learning, to manage IT operations. By using observability and algorithmic analysis of IT data, AIOps helps IT and network operations find and fix problems before they impact services and customers. In short, AIOps can reduce operational costs, foster innovation, improve employee productivity, and evolve the overall customer experience. On the other hand, NetOps applies the flexibility of DevOps to manage, grow and scale network management capabilities. NetOps tools monitor service infrastructure, as well as hardware components, by automatically collecting data on the state of the network and its different layers. NetOps enables faster, more agile network deployments and configurations, continuous updates, proactive/predictive resolution (with AI), and faster issue resolution.

8. Use digital to simulate the real, and vice versa

We see it every day, we have it more and more present: the real and the digital are increasingly intertwined. For a few years now, technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) or mixed reality (MR) and their applications are breaking down barriers between the physical world and the digital domain where we increasingly have more interactions, relationships. and transactions. We can say that we "exist" as digital avatars within virtual environments, both on a professional level, where we work remotely and virtually with colleagues using communication or collaborative tools such as Teams or Slack, and in gaming, where we play online with people. thousands of kilometers, or even in the most personal sphere, where on social networks we create a representation of our real life through a digital sample and the relationship with virtual alter egos.

This can be as simple as an individual component (eg an engine part) or as complex as a factory, a city or a complex biodiversity ecosystem. The digital twin is built from data captured from its real-world counterpart, one of the many applications of what we know as the Internet of Things, which also relies on the ubiquity of high-speed connectivity. performance (eg 5G) which, in addition, in implementations in the form of private networks, whose level of implementation will grow enormously in 2024, are beginning to be a very important tool in industrial environments and offer the possibility for humans and robots to work collaboratively or even autonomous. We are already seeing examples of hyper automation of production and various analysts predict that by 2028, there will be more intelligent robots than frontline workers in sectors such as manufacturing or logistics.

9. The evolution of 'e-health' thanks to AI

AI in all its aspects is one of the great advances of recent decades and if we talk about practical application and with almost universal benefit we have to talk about its application to health. Health systems are a basic element in the quality of life of any human ecosystem, so everything that promotes their advancement and access to them must be a priority for any society. In 2024 we will continue to advance in such interesting areas as remote patient monitoring through the use of connected sensors that will give us real-time information on how the patient's biorhythms behave and evolve. And this is where AI will play a key role, based on the information reported by these devices, to be able to evaluate the patient's overall health status, predict their evolution and prescribe guidelines that reverse any possible negative evolution and thus enhance positive guidelines. Additionally, generative AI is transforming the execution of clinical trials by creating "synthetic patients. " The researchers continue to design the study in much the same way as before, recruiting people for the treatment being studied, but with the difference that a control group (participants receiving an experimental treatment) may not be human. They will be virtual representations of humans (similar to the concept of a digital twin), generated by an AI that has examined the medical records of a large, diverse and sufficiently representative patient population.

10. Fight FOBO ('fear of being obsolete')

Lately, different concepts associated with the psychological condition of people and their relationship with technology have emerged; We have FOMO ( fear of missing out ) or fear of missing things by not being connected and its antithesis JOMO ( joy of missing out ) enjoying missing things, in the sense of enjoying being disconnected without the fear of more important things happening.. And along these lines comes a new concept: FOBO ( fear of being obsolete ), fear of being obsolete that can apply, of course, to people, but also to companies.

Yokesh Sankar is the co-founder and chief operating officer of Sparkout Tech. He believes in changing people's lives for the better and developing the skills they need for success.