2024 Tech Predictions: A CXO Report Card

In early 2024, I outlined five key predictions for CXOs navigating the evolving technology landscape. A year later, this review reveals that several predictions were largely accurate, highlighting the critical need for strategic AI adoption and proactive cost management. This sets the stage for crucial shifts in 2025, which I’ll outline next week. You can find the original post here - [Link to Original Post]

Here’s a look back at my five predictions:

1. Shifting from “Why” to “How” with Gen AI
2. The Maturation of Cloud Infrastructure – A costly affair
3. Balancing Software Vendor Growth and IT Cost reduction
4. Rise of Hybrid Digital Skills
5. Growing Significance of Cybersecurity

Shifting from “Why” to “How” with Gen AI

My prediction focused on the shift from justifying Gen AI to focusing on implementation. While the “Why” is still relevant, 2024 conversations were dominated by practical concerns: operating models, data quality, security, and value realization. Many business leaders felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of use cases, and there were numerous stories of failed scaling despite vendor promises.

Businesses are currently in varying stages of Gen AI adoption:

• Falling Behind: Those still debating the “Why” are losing ground.
• Implementation Challenges: Many focusing on the “How” are struggling with underlying enablers, treating AI as a purely IT problem.
• Value-Driven but Unprepared: Some businesses prioritized quick wins but neglected essential infrastructure.
• Seeing Success: A few businesses, often digitally native, have effectively integrated Gen AI as a core business capability with collaborative ownership between business and IT.

CXO Implication: Gen AI is no longer a theoretical concept. CXOs must prioritize strategic implementation, focusing on data quality, security, and cross-functional collaboration to realize tangible business value.

The Maturation of Cloud Infrastructure – A Costly Affair

I predicted that while cloud infrastructure has matured technologically, business maturity would lag, leading to cost concerns. 2024 saw many businesses reassessing their public cloud usage, with cloud costs becoming a key area for IT spend reduction.

A key realization emerged: public cloud cost efficiency depends on business and IT collaboration, not just IT infrastructure management. Factors like excessive customization, large data volumes, and redundant systems driven by perceived “unique” needs significantly impact costs. While cloud offers undeniable value for dynamic applications, stable workloads may be better suited for alternative solutions, including private cloud.

CXO Implication: This rising concern about cloud costs isn't just an IT issue; it's a strategic imperative. CXOs need to drive cross-functional collaboration between business and IT to optimize cloud spend, moving beyond simply demanding discounts to strategically aligning cloud usage with business goals.

Balancing Software Vendor Growth and IT Cost Reduction

In 2024, software vendors gained significant leverage, offering future pricing incentives based on volume and adding “AI inside” capabilities to further lock in customers. This has led many CFOs and CIOs to lower growth expectations based purely on affordability.

While “transformation” has become a loaded term due to its association with high costs and delays, strategic planning is crucial. Mapping three-year software needs against contract expirations and identifying overlapping vendor capabilities can create future efficiencies and incentivize vendors to compete for a larger share of the pie.

CXO Implication: CXOs must take a proactive, strategic approach to software procurement. By developing a clear roadmap and fostering genuine partnerships with vendors, they can unlock significant cost savings and drive business value.

Rise of Hybrid Digital Skills

My prediction of widespread cross-functional skilling didn’t fully materialize. Instead, 2024 saw a more nuanced trend: AI augmentation. Professionals are leveraging AI tools to enhance their existing skill sets, effectively filling capability gaps and boosting productivity. For example, developers use AI for design assistance, and product owners use it for basic coding exploration. I have personally used Gen AI for editing, feedback on my writing and fact checking.

CXO Implication: While full-scale hybrid roles may not be the immediate future, CXOs should encourage their teams to embrace AI tools for skill augmentation, fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptation.

The Growing Significance of Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity threats continue to escalate. According to a recent article in the Financial Times, the FBI reported that AI-generated phishing scams have resulted in over $50 billion in losses in the past ten years. This number is likely growing. Deep fakes are also on the rise, with The Times reporting that at least six FTSE 250 companies have been targeted by deep fake attacks impersonating CXOs with a view that there are likely more that have been at risk, or even attaches but not reported.

CXO Implication: These rising cybersecurity threats, from AI-generated phishing scams to deep fakes, pose significant financial and reputational risks for organizations. CXOs must prioritize robust security measures, employee training, policy enforcement, and incident response planning to mitigate these evolving threats.

Looking Ahead

The digital landscape is evolving rapidly and it’s not just about AI, although it clearly is influencing many aspects of our digital lives as the above highlights The digital landscape continues to evolve rapidly. By focusing on AI literacy and strategic planning, CXOs can position their organizations for success in 2025 and beyond.

Well based on this review, I am going to give myself a grade of 3.5 out of 5, Hybrid skills I feel I have missed as well as the precision on some other aspects feels like I have not quite hit the mark. Then again it is just a prediction and having written this review I look forward to sharing what my predictions are for 2025 next week for you to consider. In the meantime, I hope you have found this interesting and I look forward to reading your comments and own perspectives as well. ?