Technology Horizon in 2024: Key Opportunities and Trends to Watch

In 2023, we witnessed significant technological developments and innovation, setting the stage for an even more promising 2024. To provide insight into the forthcoming advancements in the technology landscape, we asked Joe Dunleavy, our Global Head of Innovation, to share his predictions and expectations for the year ahead.???

Continue reading to discover the key technology trends, opportunities, and potential challenges businesses will likely encounter in 2024.?

Q: Happy New Year, Joe! Reflecting on 2023, what would you consider its highlight, and what are your anticipations for the upcoming year???

A: A Happy New Year to you and to all those reading this article! 2023 was a very exciting year for innovation and technology, particularly with the wide adoption of Generative AI. One fact that really stood out for me is that Open AI got to 100 million weekly active users faster than any other app in history last year. I am very much looking forward to 2024, as I see no slowdown in technological advancements or disruption coming. I am genuinely enthusiastic not only about the future state of AI but also about our initiatives within Endava as we continue to nurture our culture of innovation.?

Q: Fantastic! Let’s dive right into the key topic - what trends do you see shaping the technology landscape in 2024??

A: There are multiple trends, to be honest, but for me and in no particular order, I am very excited about the following:?

1. Further refinement and advancement of Generative AI in areas such as new models being released, more open-source options coming on stream, as well as a potential boom in small language models.?
2. The rise of physical computing is often described as the blend of hardware and software to deliver customer value. The reason I see this as interesting for 2024 is that the long-awaited release date of the Apple Mixed Reality headset Vision Pro has been confirmed, while there are also other cool new AI-led hardware devices being released to the market, such as the Humane AI Pin that look interesting.?
3. Finally, I also feel that this will be a big year for software development and operational practices aided by AI, specifically the wider adoption of AI coding assistants, augmented testing tools and productivity tooling like Copilot.?

Q: How will 2024 differ from the previous year(s) in terms of innovation??

A: I think the pace of technology adoption will persist in direct response to a much larger interest from consumers in technology such as Generative AI. But also, I do think we will see regulation catch up in the AI field. The widely expected vote on the first large-scale AI regulation, the EU AI Act, will be an important milestone. Many are also watching closely to see the expected first published draft of guidelines from countries such as the UK, the US and China this year.?

Q: What are the most promising opportunities and the key challenges you see on the horizon??

A: Specific to Generative AI, which I touched on already, I feel one of the most promising opportunities will come from further refinement of Generative AI offerings, including the potential of small language models for more domain-specific use inside companies. In addition, the release of more enterprise-scale Generative AI options such as ChatGPT for enterprise, for example. Why I feel that this is important to watch is that it will likely provide the support and control needed for many companies and their compliance teams. Things like data protection, encryption at rest/in storage, and your company data not being used to train future versions of ChatGPT should help reduce IP concerns. In terms of challenges, I think specific to AI, will be concerns around protecting sensitive data and how companies that operate in Europe respond to the AI Act from an operations and execution perspective. Not specific to AI, there will be similar challenges to the last few years since the pandemic – supporting your teams including IT with the volume of change coming at them, upskilling people to be ready to make the most of the new technology and finding strategic delivery partners to join you on your exciting journey of digital transformation.?

Q: Are there any specific applications of generative AI that you believe will become more prominent???

A: The impact of technologies like generative AI and large language models has the potential to help many people across various roles. It can also be used for things like servicing customers better, making more personalised recommendations and handling support tickets. I see it very much as a support to people in their roles, to help them to do their jobs better, to be more productive and to get help with some of the more mundane tasks. I like the term augmented intelligence to describe AI, as I feel that especially with Gen AI, we are starting to see a breakthrough in the technology that has broad appeal and potential use to many people across the globe.?

Q: What do you think are the 3 key factors driving innovation in Endava for 2024??

A: The three that come to the top of my mind are the continued rate of technology change, cool technology becoming more mainstream and ensuring our continued focus to help address the challenges our clients face so that we are the partner of choice for them in their digital journey.??

Q: Endava’s Innovation Lab in November 2023 has been one of the highlights of the past year. How will Endava foster innovation in 2024???

A: In 2024, as we have done for many years, our focus and plan will be to continue to invest in helping to drive an innovation culture across Endava. The Innovation Lab final was a real highlight as you mentioned. Interestingly over 70% of our final lab projects had AI or Generative AI as part of their solution stack.? ? ?

We will continue to offer support such as our IPG innovation funding, our Xplore initiative to support more speculative R&D and we will work closely with our innovation council to help drive innovation impact across the company. We will, of course, have our global Innovation Lab competition, where every year more and more Endavans get involved in it. However, it is important to say that our focus on innovation must be about building exceptional innovation that delivers value for our clients worldwide.?

Q: Finally, for all the business leaders, innovators and individuals out there, what mindset should be nurtured to leverage opportunities on the horizon???

A: A growth mindset is key. You could argue it has never been more important with all the VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) in the world. That mindset is something we will continue encouraging in all Endavans.? ? ? Thank you for the opportunity and as always please reach out to me or any of my colleagues if you would like to speak to any of what I mentioned further.

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All the best for the year ahead.?