2024 in Tech: Breakthroughs & Lessons
As 2024 draws to a close, it's the perfect moment to reflect on the year's defining moments and the lessons they bring for 2025.
This year has been one of transformation—marked by breakthrough innovations, exciting discoveries, and, of course, a few challenges along the way. Proceed with our special edition of N-iX Tech Insights to take a look at technologies that shaped 2024 and gain inspiration from the N-iX top articles of the year.
Technology Trends Shaping 2024
1. Generative AI momentum
2024 was a year of scaling and gaining confidence with generative AI. The technology became more widespread, with 65% of enterprise executives reporting its use in at least one business function, up from one-third last year. Two-thirds of companies also were committed to increase their generative AI investments. Organizations with greater expertise in GenAI adopted the technology 75% faster, gained 59% more trust, and saw a 78% increase in investment as they scaled early benefits from their experiments.
We covered more enterprise AI trends in our September newsletter.
2. AI across industries
It was a year of AI being more integrated into vehicles, factory floors, and even at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Throughout the year, we witnessed how AI is built into the driving experience. Automakers aimed to take user experiences to the next level with smart assistants and autonomous capabilities, from Volkswagen’s ChatGPT voice assistant to XPeng’s “AI-defined” vehicle, which learns driver preferences and adapts to the road. AI opened fresh possibilities for the industry, which is experiencing its tipping point and dealing with economic and technology challenges. We shared the current technology trends in the European automotive market in this summary.
The 2024 Olympics also showcased AI in security, athlete analytics, and crowd management, giving a glimpse of how AI can be leveraged during global events.
3. Mixed Reality and Metaverse
The year 2024 marked a breakthrough for AI glasses. Meta’s Orion augmented reality glasses, unveiled at its Connect conference, are also powered by a wrist-based neural interface.
Apple Vision Pro, a mixed-reality headset, debuted in 2024 and quickly captured a 5% share, making it the third-largest player in the VR/MR segment.
The metaverse itself continued to evolve into a digital ecosystem, merging augmented and virtual reality for social interactions, workspaces, and entertainment.
This industry can’t be considered mainstream due to challenges with technological infrastructure, interoperability, and the high cost of entry devices (AR/VR headsets), but it is already being used in:
Even though we are still far from its widespread adoption, businesses are already exploring the possibilities, moving the metaverse from an idealistic global concept to more specific use cases.
4. Cybersecurity
AI’s role in cybersecurity grew significantly in 2024, both as a tool for rapid threat detection and as a weapon for cybercriminals automating attacks.?
The year saw high-profile breaches, such as the Seattle-Tacoma Airport incident and the Change Healthcare ransomware attack, which exposed vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure.?
Cybersecurity became a top strategic priority for 2024 and beyond. Governments introduced new regulations and compliance frameworks like CMMC 2.0, pushing companies to allocate more resources to safeguarding their systems. In response, AI-driven security solutions and diversification strategies, including multi-cloud and edge computing, emerged to strengthen resilience and prevent single points of failure.
5. Sustainable technology
In 2024, the focus on balancing innovation and sustainability grew stronger.
In the automotive sector, electric vehicles (EVs) showed steady growth, with projections suggesting they could make up 20% of global car sales by the end of 2024. Key advancements in solid-state batteries for electric vehicles also emerged, offering faster charging times and longer lifespans.?
Meanwhile, AI proved its potential to drive sustainability across industries. From managing complex supply chains to optimizing energy grids, AI is empowering businesses to measure, predict, and reduce their environmental impact in ways traditional methods can’t match.
N-iX Must-Reads of the Year
Financial services
Retail & Ecommerce
Manufacturing
Logistics & Supply chain
Final Thoughts
Innovations have made their mark across every industry, with technologies evolving rapidly. Trends like generative AI, enhanced cybersecurity, mixed reality, and sustainability have also made their impact. It is clear that 2025 will be the year for agility and resilience, requiring strategic foresight and strong partnerships.
As you plan for the future, N-iX is ready to help turn your vision into reality. We offer tech consulting, such as strategy development, and engineering services to guide you through every step. Our expertise spans software solutions development, Cloud, DevOps, Data Science, AI & ML, BI, embedded systems, IoT, VR, and more.?
With a strong reputation as a trusted IT outsourcing partner, supported by industry recognition and awards like IAOP, GSA, CRN Solution Provider 500, Inc. 5000, and Software 500, we’re here to help you design and execute the strategy for success in 2025 and beyond.
Contact our experts to start planning the next steps!
.
.
Get insights delivered right to your inbox! -> ?? Subscribe to the N-iX Newsletter
And don't miss out—follow us on LinkedIn for more news and latest updates.
#TechnologyTrends #2024 #GenAI #Cybersecurity #SustainableTech #MixedReality #Metaverse