Good morning.
Generative AI had a breakout year in 2023—but companies are looking ahead to 2024.
The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) has released its “IT Industry Outlook 2024,” which points to trends that will shape the ongoing AI evolution, based on a global survey of more than 1,000 tech industry professionals. Here are the top three trends going into next year, according to the organization.
—AI workflows will continue to evolve.
The stage has been set for a full workplace revolution in the years to come, with AI handling routine tasks or accelerating automation while companies reimagine the roles and responsibilities of employees, CompTIA predicts.
However, AI products, outside a few select cases, are not standalone business solutions. The data needed to properly train a large language model is in short supply at most organizations, according to CompTIA.
“In the same way that companies are shifting to a cloud-first mentality for their architecture needs, they will likely be hesitant to build out their own infrastructure for AI,” Seth Robinson, VP of industry research at CompTIA, told me. “The costs of building AI systems at scale will be prohibitive for most companies, even as their goal might be to have customized AI output.” Instead, companies will use APIs and open-source solutions that allow them to load in their own data, Robinson said.
But just organizing the data properly will be a sizable task, and reskilling of employees will be necessary, he said.
—Tech providers will continue to use AI to run better businesses.
Over 20% of firms surveyed are aggressively pursuing integration of AI across a wide variety of technology products and business workflows.
Some of the use cases include: AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants to speed and bolster customer service; AI algorithms to analyze customer data and predict buying patterns for more effective sales and marketing campaigns; AI tools to automate repetitive tasks and optimize workflows (and as a result, free up human resources to pursue more strategic goals). "These are all benefits that companies are starting to see today that hold great potential for the future," according to CompTIA.
—Governance becomes a focal point for cybersecurity and data operations.
“Companies should continue pursuing the cybersecurity strategies they have built in recent years, including a move toward a zero-trust mindset, deeper specialization of the cybersecurity workforce, and adoption of risk management practices,” Robinson said.
“Governance will become a key watchword, not just for maintaining compliance to governmental regulations but also for following best practices in a dynamic field,” he explained. “Together with risk management, CFOs and CISOs [chief information security officers] can work together to highlight how proper governance can mitigate risks throughout the organization.”
Cybersecurity threats in the age of AI was a topic of discussion during the Fortune Brainstorm AI event this week. “Gen AI makes things easier for both the defenders and the attackers,” said Subha Tatavarti, chief technology officer for Wipro. Generative AI is making phishing attacks more convincing, and large language models in particular have created a massively exposed attack surface.
“I feel for the CISOs of today,” Tatavarti said, adding that it’s going to be critical for CISOs to innovate quickly, including doing their own innovation beyond just what’s available on the market.
You can read CompTIA’s complete list of 10 trends for 2024 here.
Have a good weekend.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
