Five tech new year resolutions for enterprises in 2024 

• IT spending for businesses to be US$5.1 trillion in 2024.
• Generative AI expected to dominate tech spending.
  
• However, businesses should look to areas beyond AI for tech investments in 2024.

It’s 2024 and New Year resolutions will be on the agenda for everyone. For businesses around the world, New Year resolutions would focus on improving their productivity and efficiency. While some organizations may take a cautious approach to their business investments in 2024, there is going to be a strong focus on enhancing employee performance at work.

Generative AI tools will remain a key area of interest for all organizations. But businesses also need to make sure that they are not just jumping on the AI bandwagon, and have a well-planned approach to implementing the technology to get the most out of it.

According to a forecast report by Gartner, worldwide IT spending is projected to total US$5.1 trillion in 2024, an increase of 8% from 2023. While generative AI has not yet had a material impact on IT spending, investment in AI more broadly is supporting overall IT spending growth.

Apart from increased AI investments, businesses will also be looking to reap more benefits from cloud computing. This will mean increased dependence on cloud services for data management, analytics and storage. With AI simplifying cloud management as well, organizations will have increased confidence in using cloud services in 2024.

Businesses will also be looking to boost their cybersecurity defenses. Given that 2023 witnessed increasing numbers of cyberattacks, improving cybersecurity should be a priority for all organizations, regardless of the industries in which they operate.

Sustainability remains a key focus area for most organizations. With companies aiming to reduce their carbon emissions, 2024 will definitely see businesses play a stronger role in environmental conservation efforts.

Five New Year resolutions

When it comes to New Year resolutions for organizations, there are plenty of areas in which companies can look to improve in 2024. Here are five New Year resolutions Tech Wire Asia feels every business should consider this year.

Employee security – 2023 witnessed increased ransomware attacks on organizations that were caused by stolen employee credentials. Businesses need to ensure their employees are on the highest alert when using their credentials. While some companies may consider going passwordless and such, having visibility on who has access and accessing company data is also crucial. Zero trust remains a strong component in cybersecurity, but with AI capabilities in cybersecurity increasing as well, businesses will definitely want to ensure employees are not easily targeted or fall victim to any scams that can jeopardize them.

Improved data management – Part of the reason why cybercriminals are able to get access to sensitive data in organizations is that most companies still do not have strong data management capabilities. Businesses should consider investing in tools that not only store data securely but are also capable of classifying their data and giving them insights. Data management tools that use AI can deliver this. For example, AI algorithms can scan datasets for errors, inconsistencies, and anomalies and immediately rectify them. AI algorithms are capable of also detecting missing values in the data and then can fill them with estimated values without compromising accuracy.

Upskill employees – The shortage of tech employees is still a major problem that will not be solved any time soon. While some businesses are now hiring and training employees directly from universities, they should also consider reskilling and upskilling their current workforce.

In fact, businesses should not just focus on replacing employees with AI, but also look at how they can enhance their employee productivity with AI collaboration tools. Popular types of collaboration tools for business include project management applications, remote conferencing platforms, digital asset management (DAM) systems, web-based tracking tools, and messaging apps. Examples include Trello, ClickUp, HubSpot and many more.

Building the brand – Another interesting area businesses can consider as a New Year resolution is how they plan to improve their brand to customers. Most businesses will be using AI to understand their customers better. But they should also consider using AI to improve the brand’s quality. This includes looking again at social media strategies and using the right tools to build a marketing campaign that can make a tangible difference to the brand. A lot of companies are already using OpenAI’s ChatGPT for this.

Upgrading legacy infrastructure – New Year resolutions may not necessarily entail doing something new. Sometimes, it can be improving what is already available. Most organizations feel their legacy infrastructure is holding them back from developing new applications.

But businesses can actually work with technology vendors to see how they can adapt their existing infrastructure to improve their products and services. Importantly, businesses must also realize that legacy infrastructure will have some limitations on the capabilities that they hope to achieve. Projects to upgrade legacy infrastructure come down to how a business plans to use that infrastructure. It can potentially lead not only to cost savings, but also to freeing up business’ budget for other infrastructure projects as well.

A better year for organizations

There is no doubt that businesses in 2024 will use technology to optimize their processes, products, and services, as well as to enhance their customer and employee experience. AI will help to augment their development, communication, and innovation, as well as to automate tasks and streamline data management.

Some businesses will also look to improve their online visibility and ranking with SEO, expand their network with industry cloud platforms, and prioritize company culture and engagement with collaboration tools. Additionally, they will integrate siloed data with data fabric and create new content with generative AI. These technology trends will help businesses achieve their goals and stay competitive.

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