Top Tech Trends That Will Positively Influence Business and Industry
Written by Laurent Sirgy, Regional Director, Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa (SEMEA) at Kingston Technology
Digital transformation is unfolding exponentially, and the latest cutting-edge technologies are presenting businesses and industries alike with both opportunities to pursue and challenges to consider. With 2023 and the latest tech evolution chapter set to reach its conclusion, another is about to begin in the new year, compelling many to look ahead with varying degrees of anticipation and curiosity.
Across sectors, the same question surrounding technologies is being asked: ‘What’s next?’ New trends are unfolding continuously as technology’s influence and impact grow in the tech world – and companies are determined to stay ahead of the curve.
Here’s a multitude of technology trends that have been identified that will transcend operating climates over the next year, including those about cybersecurity.
Reinvigorating future preparedness
Cybercrime is projected to cost $9.5 trillion globally in 2024 alone and this illustrates the necessity for enhanced security measures. Over 72% of all organizations internationally experienced ransomware breaches in 2023 and there is more determination than ever among businesses and industries to protect themselves, including in the Middle East.
With IT spending in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) expected to increase by 4% in 2024 to $183.8 billion, more cybersecurity trends are certain. Remote working and business-based travel are prominent areas where further pre-emptive action will become apparent as organizations persevere with hybrid models and specific data is not continuously protected by on-site firewalls.
Organizations will commit to heightened cybersecurity investment to protect their data and systems as many employees work remotely at least part-time. Automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) will play a pivotal role in streamlining routine tasks, while cybersecurity measures will become increasingly sophisticated to protect remote and on-site work environments in the evolving hybrid landscape.
Cybersecurity is a field constantly evolving and it is imperative to keep updated with the latest advancements to ensure a safe and secure tomorrow. Because attack surfaces are expanding, cybercriminals are becoming more adventurous and sophisticated. No organization or sector is exempt – and this is why we will see several other cyber trends become more visible in the public domain in the months ahead.
These trends include enhancing cybersecurity preparedness. Organizations in greater numbers will prioritize rolling out revised and updated cybersecurity training. With a strong emphasis on identity and access management protocols, this will boost data protection measures and help employees repel attacks.
Rigorous control of access to systems and data is essential to prevent unauthorized intrusions and the new year will also see increased deployment of automation, Internet of Things (IoT), multi-factor authentication (MFA), and real-time threat analysis tools. Additionally, hardware-encrypted USB drives will remain a top data protection product and cybercrime solution. However, technology trends will also emerge away from the cybersecurity sphere.
Immersive digital experiences redefined
Innovation is poised to further revolutionize immersive digital experiences for companies across diverse sectors in 2024. The primary trends here include immersive digital experiences being shaped by enhanced integration of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies. Another is AI and extended reality enabling more personalized real-time experiences for users, thereby ensuring businesses boost end-user satisfaction with lower cost and human resource implications.
In finance, Artificial Intelligence (AI) could further refine personalized customer interactions, offering tailored financial insights through virtual assistants and augmented reality interfaces. Healthcare could witness advancements with virtual patient consultations, AI-driven diagnostics, and immersive training for medical professionals through Virtual Reality (VR). Elsewhere across the industry ecosystem, energy companies could leverage immersive technologies for virtual simulations, enhancing training programs, and optimizing complex operations.
It’s beyond plausible that the synergy of innovation and immersive digital experiences will empower companies in finance, healthcare, energy, and many more to elevate customer engagement, streamline operations, and drive unprecedented efficiencies in due course. Every sector will certainly experience sustained transformation to some degree, especially regarding AI as more AI-based applications are deployed.
Exciting advancements in AI ethics and responsible AI practices are on the horizon for 2024, ensuring fairness, transparency, and accountability across systems. AI models are emerging that are capable of seamlessly integrating into business processes at a much faster pace through the utilization of pre-trained models.
We cannot discuss 2024 without mentioning the pivotal role of memory and storage. Emerging technologies require advanced memory and storage capabilities to process and store massive amounts of data – and memory and storage systems and products will be more critical than ever for maintaining and improving the performance of emerging applications.
