10 technology trends for business in 2024

Another year has just begun and we are sure of only one thing – undoubtedly, the development of technology will have a significant impact on the economy. However, let’s try to guess what tech trends for business will have the greatest impact on the work model and efficiency of companies both in Poland and around the world. Some of these technology trends made their debut several years ago, and this year, we believe, will see the next stage of their development.

Technology trends 2024 – the most important directions

Here are 10 selected tech trends for 2024. It is worth paying attention to their interconnections and the great importance of artificial intelligence, which has been establishing itself in various areas for several years.

1. Further development of generative AI

Generative AI, or artificial intelligence used to create content and graphics, was the main technology trend of 2023. The most important thing was that it reached not only industry giants, but also began to play an important role in smaller, even single-person companies.

In 2024, generative AI will be used to process and integrate various types of data such as text, images and audio, as well as create analytics, project management and coding. The quality and relevance of content created by AI will also increase, and at the same time, there will probably be attempts to legally regulate related issues, such as copyright, labeling of content created using AI or the fight against false information.

2. Voicebots in telephone support

Voicebots, i.e. voice telephone assistants, have been present on the market for several years, but their quality is increasing every year. Modern voicebots are able to understand complex intentions of the caller, and thanks to integration with solutions such as ChatGPT, they can conduct even more casual conversations. The development of voicebots goes hand in hand with the development of artificial intelligence on the basis of which they operate.

Voicebots are increasingly used for automation of customer service processes in companies, becoming part of a larger tech trend that includes the automation of all business activities. It is expected that the number of voice assistants in the world will reach 8.4 billion in 2024 (which is more than the world’s population), doubling since 2020, when the number was 4.2 billion. The next step will probably be for voicebots to understand human emotions.

3. Industry-specific cloud platforms

The importance of industry cloud platforms is growing, thanks to which companies will share data to increase profits by selling information and at the same time benefit from the knowledge of other companies. The industry cloud offers specialized services and data that solve problems specific to a given industry.

This information sharing economy will lead to an overall increase in the competitiveness and innovation of economic sectors, and at the same time will help to “slim down” the internal infrastructure of individual companies with solutions that can be found on the platform. According to data from PwC Poland’s report “Cloud in business, leaders see the value”, in 2023, 21% of surveyed companies were considering adopting an industry cloud solution in the next 12 months. This is certainly one of the most interesting technology trends of 2024.

4. Comprehensive business automation

Introducing automation into the company is one of the tech trends that have been with us for several years, but in 2024 the emphasis will be on two aspects: business integration with AI solutions and consolidation of all business processes under one umbrella, which may be, for example, a modern ERP system, but also another solution tailored to a given organization.

Comprehensive automation will not only increase the efficiency of companies, but will also allow them to easily scale and respond to market challenges. It will also stimulate innovation: people, freed from performing repetitive tasks, will have more space for creativity. Thanks to access to a large amount of data, all company departments will also be able to operate on the latest information and exchange it in real time.

5. Big data analytics

Big data are large sets of data generated by business and other sources, which, thanks to automatic analysis (with a large share of artificial intelligence), can contribute to the creation of conclusions used to improve the operation of companies. They are already used by companies such as Netflix to recommend movies to people based on their viewing history, or Uber to plan price lists and vehicle routes based on demand analysis.

According to Forrester research, the amount of unstructured data held by companies will double in 2024. It is worth noting that thanks to generative AI, more people at various levels of enterprises will have access to the conclusions drawn from this data, and smaller companies will also be able to use big data. Generative AI will also be able to create new content based on existing data sets. In this way, two different technology trends – combined – create a new quality.

6. Decision making with AI

Artificial intelligence, having access to the above-mentioned data, will also support managers in making business decisions. These decisions will be able to be made faster (a computer is able to process millions of available pieces of information in a short time and propose conclusions) and more objectively – not only based on human experience and intuition, but also on the basis of hard data. However, this will only be possible if we understand the broader cultural, ethical and social context available to humans, because technology trends cannot be assessed in isolation from human experience.

For example, AI will help analyze market data to predict the potential or suggest the price of a new product, organize chaotic information into clear categories to help make decisions, or assess all risk factors in a specific project.

7. Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is one of the tech trends that are becoming more and more important every year, but in 2024 it will be particularly important due to new powerful threats related to the development of artificial intelligence, such as false information, new types of fraud and deep fakes. Paradoxically, AI may be the best defense against attacks – by analyzing millions of pieces of information and detecting irregularities in them, it is able to detect and react to threats faster than humans.

Cybersecurity should be treated more comprehensively than before. The report Gartner Top Strategic Technology Trends 2024 talks about the concept of managing continuous exposure to threats, which includes not only continuous detection and diagnosis, but also the prediction of future cyber threats.

8. Development of IoT

The value of the IoT market, i.e. the Internet of Things – intelligent devices using the internet and advanced technologies – will increase in 2024 up to 19.2 billion connected devices.

The Internet of Things is gaining importance in areas such as production, logistics, agriculture and health, but many companies from other sectors also use these technologies to increase the effectiveness of their operations – analyzing production data, automating business processes or creating new services and products.

IoT also means increasingly popular smart homes that adapt to the individual needs of their users and a number of city devices used, for example, for traffic management, weather monitoring or ensuring security. The most important upcoming change is the enrichment of this ecosystem with AI solutions, allowing it to be further improved.

9. Metaverse

The metaverse is a virtual equivalent of the real world and a space in which companies can operate by selling virtual items and using virtual currency. Although this technology trend has been slowly developing for several years, as expected by Bloomberg Intelligence, this market will reach USD 800 billion in 2024.

The metaverse is a place where high-profile technologies of recent years are used, such as NFT, augmented reality or blockchain. The most likely possibilities of its use include the sale and exchange of virtual works of art, planning of urban space, integration with artificial intelligence (including the use of virtual assistants and content created by AI), personalization of user experience and gamification.

10. Distributed teams

This tech trend has its roots in the times of the pandemic, when we started working from home. Remote work, despite communication challenges, has proven its greatest advantage – this model allows you to build teams based on a much broader talent base than in the case of traditional companies. This is how distributed teams are created, for which modern technology is the main bond of cooperation.

In 2024, technologies supporting part-time teams will continue to evolve, including better instant messaging, more accessible cloud technologies, a more stable internet, and collaborative web tools for various enterprise functions. The challenge for this year is to combine these tools into a coherent ecosystem that will simulate real live collaboration as accurately as possible, while providing access to rich information resources shared by the team.

Technology trends 2024 – summary

Technology trends do not exist in a vacuum – various phenomena and technologies have much in common, for example big data can be used in a better way thanks to generative AI, and cloud platforms are becoming part of the software used to manage distributed teams.

The importance of artificial intelligence is a recurring theme and can be described as a meta-trend, influencing most tech trends.

However, we would like to draw attention to the following issue: the possibilities of technology today are enormous, but the most important thing is its proper use and adoption by companies – so that all this wealth of possibilities translates into actual benefits for business.

Thus, the development of technology trends in 2024 will depend not only on the complexity of the technology itself, but also on the simplicity and intuitiveness of using its fruits and how quickly it will reach a wider audience.

If you want to take the first step towards automating communication processes in your company, learn more about the potential of our AI voicebot, which allows you to reduce costs, relieve employees and quickly reach thousands of customers.