Gartner has identified the top 10 strategic technology trends for 2024, with a primary focus on generative and other types of AI solutions with widespread adoption and risks. The top trends include democratized generative AI, AI Trust, Risk, and Security Management, AI-augmented development, intelligent applications, augmented-connected workforce, continuous threat exposure management, machine customers or ‘custobots’, sustainable technology, platform engineering, and industry cloud platforms.
The democratization of access to AI has made the need for AI Trust, Risk, and Security Management (TRiSM) more clear and urgent. AI TRiSM provides tooling for ModelOps, proactive data protection, AI-specific security, model monitoring, and risk controls. AI-augmented development aids software engineers in designing, coding, and testing applications, while intelligent applications utilize AI-based services to deliver experiences that adapt to the user. The augmented-connected workforce optimizes the value derived from human workers using intelligent applications and workforce analytics.
Continuous threat exposure management (CTEM) allows organizations to evaluate the accessibility, exposure, and exploitability of digital and physical assets. Machine customers, also known as “custobots,” are autonomous nonhuman economic actors that will become a significant source of revenues by 2030. Sustainable technology is used to support environmental, social, and governance (ESG) outcomes. Platform engineering focuses on building and operating self-service internal development platforms, while industry cloud platforms address industry-relevant business outcomes by combining different cloud services.
In addition to these trends, Gartner also provided its top strategic IT predictions, exploring the impact of GenAI on executive leaders’ way of thinking. The predictions cover a wide range of areas, from productivity value of AI as an economic indicator to enterprise spending on battling malinformation, and the increasing rate of unionization among knowledge workers. Gartner’s top predictions also include the growing role of AI in sales and recruiting neurodivergent talent to improve business performance.
Other independent research reports validate the accelerated adoption of AI, including generative AI, with organizations using AI in various ways such as service operations optimization, new AI-based products, customer service analytics, and contact center automation.