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2024 Sneak Peek: Exciting IT Trends to Look Forward To

Written by

ODG Team Contributor

Published on

28 Nov 2023

The tech world’s been buzzing with excitement in recent years. From Elon Musk’s escapades to AI’s mind-bending feats and the crypto market. Some even dabbled in the metaverse – all keeping us on our toes.

It seems 2024 is shaping up to be a game changer as there are several exciting technology trends about to make a big impact. These trends have the potential to change various industries and enhance our everyday experiences. It’s important to keep an eye on what’s coming up in the pipeline to stay ahead of the curve.

Table of contents show

Latest Technology Trends to Look Out For

Here’s a look at what tech trends you should be following:

Autonomous Vehicles (AVs)

Tech isn’t only transforming communication but also transportation. AVs aim to reduce accidents, energy consumption, pollution, congestion, and enhance accessibility. These vehicles navigate independently, offering a hands-free driving experience, akin to a human driver but with advanced safety and efficiency.

For instance, Cruise, an AV company, is making changes to its services to better work with and help first responders. Cars will react sooner to emergency sirens, spot them from farther away, and improve avoiding double-parked emergency vehicles to prevent traffic jams.

Autonomous versus Automated Vehicles

These terms are often used interchangeably, but the key distinction is human involvement. Autonomous vehicles use AI and sensors for independent driving decisions, while automated vehicles typically follow human instructions, providing basic lane-keeping or car-following guidance.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) is rapidly expanding beyond gaming into various sectors in 2024:

1. Corporate and Healthcare Training

Enables safe practice of high-risk scenarios, customer service interactions, and leadership training. In healthcare, it allows medical professionals to hone their skills through surgical simulations, improve emergency response, and diagnosis and treat patients through VR simulations.

2. Remote Education

Enhances learning with up to a 20% increase in test scores.¹ Students can engage in virtual history lessons at the Louvre, explore prehistoric times with dinosaurs, or experience adventures like scaling Mount Everest.

3. Gaming

Offers customizable, lifelike experiences. Headsets like Oculus Rift allow players to immerse themselves in three-dimensional worlds, while developers compete to create more advanced wearables and input devices.

4. Travel Sector

Travel companies elevate their marketing by offering a virtual taste of destinations, showcasing their natural beauty and cultural landmarks. This “try before you buy” approach is boosting travel bookings as customers can explore destinations from their homes.

Augmented Reality

AR merges digital and real worlds, typically through smartphones and tablets. In 2024, it’s set to shine in three key areas:

1. Live Stream Shopping

Offers personalized shopping by letting customers preview products in their own space, virtually placing furniture or trying on clothing.

2. Gaming

Developers create AR devices for immersive gaming, enabling interactions with virtual objects and characters in real-world settings.

3. Wearables

Smart glasses and head-mounted displays offer a hands-free AR experience, granting easy access to AR content and enhancing convenience.

Internet of Things (IoT)

IoT continues to connect physical objects to the internet, enhancing productivity and efficiency in various applications, transforming the way we engage with our devices and each other.

1. Smart Home Applications

IoT transforms homes into efficient spaces with smart lighting, climate control, and security systems. Devices communicate to conserve energy, and smartphones often serve as control hubs.

2. Medical and Healthcare Applications

This involves digitizing healthcare, monitoring vital signs, and providing emergency alerts. “Smart beds” in hospitals can detect patient movements and adjust settings for comfort and health.

New IoT wearables, including those from Apple and Samsung, are designed for health and fitness. They monitor heart rate, calories, sleep, and activity to promote well-being. Some can also link with third-party apps and share health data with healthcare providers.

3. Transport Applications

In the transport sector, IoT enables efficient traffic management, smart parking solutions, toll collection, and logistics optimization. It’s a critical component in advancing autonomous and connected vehicles and road infrastructure.

4. Metropolitan Applications

Applications include intelligent traffic management, pollution reduction, enhanced security, digital signage, and interactive kiosks, making urban living smarter and more convenient.

5G Technology

In 2024, 5G technology will reshape the tech landscape, evolving from 4G to deliver blazing speed, reduced latency, and enabling innovations like edge computing and network slicing. In Q3 of 2022, the US was at 54% 5G availability.²

Rise of 5G in Application Development

Here are some things to look forward to:

5G’s speed will be up to 100 times faster than 4G.
Latency will reduce from 50 milliseconds (4G) to just 1 millisecond.
Video streaming apps will experience improvements with higher resolution, reduced latency, and faster performance.
Integrating AR and VR technologies into apps will become more accessible and efficient.
Data transfer between devices and smartphones will become faster and smoother.
Developers can introduce new features without compromising app performance.
Mobile payments will become quicker and more secure with the faster processing of biometric data for identification.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI’s continued dominance into 2024 showcases its potential to mimic human capabilities and reshape industries, with three key trends to watch.

1. AI Search

AI-powered search with Large Language Models (LLMs) revolutionizes online information retrieval by generating human-like responses, transforming queries into natural conversations.

2. Transforming Healthcare

AI’s rapid expansion in healthcare includes AI integration in 90% of hospitals, recognized by 75% of executives.³ Machine learning-driven AI streamlines procedures, digitizes records, transcribes audio, and enhances patient care by monitoring patients, recognizing risks, and tracking interactions.

3. Offers Valuable Tools for Both Educators and Students

While concerns about students using AI for exams are addressed with digital safeguards, AI enhances teaching. Platforms like Character.ai let students engage with AI-created historical figures, and Prof Jim transforms textbooks into interactive lessons, revolutionizing education with new ways of learning and engagement.

Blockchain

Blockchain is revolutionizing data security. It creates an immutable ledger, making alterations nearly impossible. Transactions are distributed across an interconnected network, each entry bearing a digital signature for authenticity, guarding against unauthorized changes.

It extends beyond digital currencies to secure data exchange and digital identity verification. It’s making a substantial impact, with Statista projecting expenditures to hit $19 billion by 2024 and anticipates massive investments in the hundreds of billions. Its annual growth rate is projected to average 56% from 2022 to 2029, redefining data security and transactions.⁴

For instance, Chainalysis helps financial institutions and government in tracking cryptocurrency transactions and examining blockchain activities. Their tools are designed to find fraudulent trading, money laundering, and compliance issues, including assessing NFT security risks, all with the goal of gaining trust in blockchain technology.

AI Trust, Risk, and Security Management (AI TRiSM)

TRiSM ensures AI trustworthiness. In business, it protects data, offers AI-specific security, and monitors models to improve decision accuracy by eliminating up to 80% of faulty information.⁵

Augmented Connected Workforce (ACWF)

ACWF enhances human potential with intelligent applications and analytics. For instance, in manufacturing, AR glasses guide workers and ensure safety, while in customer service, chatbots and AI agents collaborate for efficient support.

Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM)

CTEM is a proactive security approach. In finance, it detects suspicious transactions to prevent fraud, while in corporate settings, it monitors data access, flagging unauthorized actions for heightened security.

EXPLORE TECH-DRIVEN SOLUTIONS WITH ON-DEMAND GROUP

On-Demand Group is your partner in adapting to the shifts in the tech world. We specialize in offering tailored consultations to individuals and companies, guiding them toward progress. Reach out today, and let’s get started!

References

1 “Virtual Reality Is Transforming Koch Facilities.” News.kochind.com, news.kochind.com/news/2019/virtual-reality-is-transforming-koch-facilities.

2 “5G Mobile Subscriptions Forecast Worldwide 2019-2026.” Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/521598/5g-mobile-subscriptions-worldwide/.

3 HealthITAnalytics. “90% of Hospitals Have Artificial Intelligence Strategies in Place.” HealthITAnalytics, 11 Mar. 2021, healthitanalytics.com/news/90-of-hospitals-have-artificial-intelligence-strategies-in-place.

4 Statista. “Global Spending on Blockchain Solutions 2023, Statista.” Statista, Statista, 2017, www.statista.com/statistics/800426/worldwide-blockchain-solutions-spending/.

5 Gartner. “Gartner Says CISOs Need to Champion AI TRiSM to Improve AI Results.” Gartner, 27 Sept. 2023, https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-09-27-gartner-says-cisos-need-to-champion-ai-trism-to-improve-ai-results.