With all the IT developments 2023 delivered, it’s clear there’s no stopping change. It really is the only constant. But in IT, we thrive on change. Reflecting on the past year and its major changes, Automox experts are excited to see what the 2024 IT landscape has in store. 

To help you stay on top of the ever-evolving tech scene, we’ve asked some of our IT experts to shake the proverbial magic eight-ball and share their predictions about tech trends in the coming year. 

From M&A frenzies to sustainable tech and automation, these forecasts paint an exciting picture of the not-too-distant future. Let's dive into these expert perspectives and see what to expect in 2024.

1. More Mergers and Acquisitions

B2B software companies will further engage in dynamic mergers and acquisitions.

In 2023, many companies closely examined their tech stack to determine what was essential, underutilized, or a drain on their budget. The result was a consolidation of fewer products serving more use cases across businesses.

In 2024, the consolidation trend will shift externally with the M&A activity of B2B software companies. We’ve already seen some large acquisitions – just look at Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware and Cisco’s acquisition of Splunk. M&A activity will surge in 2024, which means customers of acquired companies may respond by moving to other tools. – Peter Pflaster, Senior Manager, Product Marketing

2. IT Integration

Tech stacks will enter the Golden Age of IT integrations. 

IT integrations, while beneficial, can become complex when dealing with on-prem solutions or those deployed across siloed infrastructures. However, the advent of integrated platforms (now the standard for new apps) provides numerous cloud-based benefits like:

Enhanced performance

Scalability

Seamless workflows

These integrations not only allow for a reduced tech stack and increased ROI but also boost in-house capabilities.

The era of integrations, facilitating rapid and efficient processes, is upon us. Today, vendors are expanding their partnerships and fostering connections with other products and apps, driven by and designed for the cloud. This progress marks the transition from the inefficient 'swivel chair' approach of using separate tools for individual tasks to a more streamlined process where partner technologies work in harmony. – Gina Geisel, Senior Product Marketing Manager

3. Distributing Texpertise

All teams – not just IT – will own tech expertise.

Leaders in all business units will hone their tech expertise – if your organization hasn’t figured this out, it will in 2024.

The ability to adapt the exponential growth of technology to their day-to-day responsibilities will allow visionary leaders to transform organizations. Learning how to extract the potential of AI and modern tools in all business forms will be key in the coming year. – David van Heerden, Product Evangelist

4. AI & Data Due Diligence

Orgs that add AI will only achieve security success by performing data confidentiality due diligence.

It’s hard to overstate enthusiasm for AI caused by the recent public availability of LLMs. While currently available AI models offer several advantages and possibilities, the fundamental security and safety aspects are not yet well understood – nor are they uniformly applied. 

Vendors that succumb to the market pressure to ‘add AI’ without performing sufficient diligence to ensure data confidentiality will cause a new class of data breaches.  – Jason Kikta, CISO, SVP of Product

5. Corporate AI Adoption

AI personal assistants will revolutionize organizational workflows.

In 2024, AI personal assistants will revolutionize organizational workflows by handling tasks like:

Code writing

Copy editing

Tone detection

Providing intuitive suggestions

This surge in AI adoption aims to boost efficiency and productivity. Moreover, AI assistants can help revolutionize workflows, handle mundane tasks, and free up human resources for strategic initiatives. AI will understand context, learn from interactions, and multitask – from scheduling meetings to managing databases.

As AI adoption grows, organizations will have to address data privacy and protection challenges. Siloing corporate data will be a common strategy to balance operational efficiency and data security while benefiting from AI systems. This approach marks a milestone in AI evolution in which workers will allow AI to handle trivial tasks, so they can focus on solvable value-add problems. – Landon Miles, Technical Marketing Manager

Business missions will drive tech alignment.

Next year, businesses will need to adjust their strategies to keep pace with the fast-changing corporate environment. This includes a growing investment in Large Language Models (LLMs) – a type of artificial intelligence that generates human-like text. Tech teams' alignment with business objectives will become crucial, especially as they work on integrating and managing new technologies (like LLMs) within their IT and security protocols. 

At the same time, as companies consolidate, they’ll need to reevaluate their organizational structures. Breaking down these structures and reassembling them efficiently is a key step for businesses aiming to stay competitive. – Tom Bowyer, Manager, Product Security

7. Sustainability and IT

Sustainability will continue to fuel IT technology advancement.

Sustainable technology has played a crucial role in reducing carbon emissions. Additionally, it fosters resource efficiency, resulting in significant long-term cost savings, particularly for businesses. In 2023, notable initiatives such as VMware's Net Zero Carbon Committed Provider program compelled providers to establish renewable energy goals and achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

In 2024, this trend will continue to impact transformative technological and operational processes, driving the adoption of sustainable business practices. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) will play a pivotal role in helping businesses analyze their energy consumption and further reduce their energy consumption and carbon footprint.

These advancements hold the promise of a greener and more sustainable future. – Mike Bollman, Senior Product Marketing Manager

8. Leadership Tames Business Complexity

Executives and managers who succeed will be those who lead, rather than simply manage.

In light of ever-evolving business dynamics, executives of successful companies will focus on crucial areas like the three below:

Emphasis on Vision and Strategy:

Executives who focus on developing and communicating an inspiring vision for their organizations, alongside a well-crafted strategy to achieve it, will distinguish themselves from those who limit their role to managing day-to-day operations.

Adaptability and Embracing Change: Executives who excel at embracing change and leading their organizations through transformations will be in a position to thrive. They will demonstrate a growth mindset, encouraging agility and experimentation, and fostering a willingness to take calculated risks. These leaders will understand that change often brings opportunities and will proactively seek innovative solutions.

A Customer-Centric Approach:

Business executives who prioritize understanding and fulfilling customer needs will be successful in 2024. They will transcend mere customer relationship management to truly lead their organizations in delivering exceptional experiences and value. Fostering a deep understanding of customers throughout their company will allow tech executives to drive innovation, improve products and services, and promote lasting customer loyalty. – Tim Lucas, Automox CEO

9. Human Touch in CX

AI may impact CX, but the human touch will prevail.

2023 ushered in the era of Artificial Intelligence. We've witnessed a substantial increase in the implementation and investment in AI within the Customer Experience (CX) domain, aiming to enhance efficiency, scalability, and overall customer satisfaction.

The potential of AI to predict behavior, streamline complex processes, and gain insights into customer expectations is increasingly evident. Integration is observed in Customer Success Platforms like Gainsight, Totango, and ClientSuccess, with emerging players such as AptEdge and Twig.IO making a noticeable impact, especially in Customer Support, demonstrating clear returns on investment.

While AI's role evolves, and vendors exaggerate immediate benefits, the human touch remains crucial to delivering an exceptional customer experience. AI is a supporting tool, not a substitute for CX practitioners. That’s why Customer Success Managers (CSMs) must continue addressing complex issues, offering empathy and business insight — human touches likely never to be replicated by AI. – Charles Coaxum, SVP Customer Experience

10. Doing Even More with Even Less

Doing even more with even less will be a forcing function.

In past years, automation has been a ‘nice-to-have’. Organizations have gotten by using human hours to tackle rote tasks because they could. They had the people and were willing to use them. Now, there are fewer of those people and fewer of those hours available. However, the complexity of managed systems is only increasing.

The combination of a scarcity of resources with the complexity and quantity of tasks forces organizations to use automated systems to help people do more. It’s cheaper, faster, less prone to error, and better for the workforce.Automation will be required to keep pace with the workload, complexity, efficiency, and security requirements of hybrid work in 2024. – Justin Talerico, Automox CMO

Embracing (and propelling) positive change in 2024

As we peer into 2024, it's clear the rapid pace of evolution isn’t slowing down. From potential major mergers and acquisitions to the rise of integrations and sustainable technology – change is the wave of the immediate future.

The coming year promises new challenges and heaps of opportunities because the tech industry continues to push boundaries and redefine norms.

Looking forward, you’ll want to embrace the future while remembering new lessons learned from the not-so-distant past.

So, let’s toast to opportunity and progress. As 2023 comes to a close, get ready to sing Auld Lang Syne and raise a glass to a prosperous year to come – 2024.