Innovations, disruptions, transformations expected in 2024 Intelligent CIO Middle East – Intelligent CIO

Top executives from Cloud Box Technologies, CPX, Dimension Data, Dynatrace, Fortinet, Gulf Business Machines, Genetec, ManageEngine, NetApp, Palo Alto Networks, SAP, share their insights into innovations, disruptions, transformations expected in 2024 in areas like AI, cybersecurity, datacentre, cloud and sustainability.

In 2024 and beyond, the IT industry is poised for innovation and transformation. From exciting innovations and opportunities to newfound challenges, the ever-evolving technological landscape will bring an entirely new spectrum of changes.

Artificial Intelligence, driven by Generative AI, will automate tasks and personalise experiences, while AIaaS democratises access. Cloud computing sees multi-cloud adoption and serverless computing for flexibility, says Ranjith Kaippada, Managing Director, Cloud Box Technologies.

Last year, organisations have focused on streamlining operations and cutting costs in response to rising inflation. This year, they have been challenged to do more with less, innovate faster, and tame the growing complexity of modern cloud environments, and we expect these challenges to continue in 2024, says Jorge Longo, VP Middle East and Africa, Dynatrace.

Achieving lofty goals inevitably requires new approaches. Therefore, numerous organisations are adopting Generative AI, which uses its training data to generate text, images, code, or other types of content that accurately represent the natural language queries of users. Many are also turning to platform engineering to create new efficiencies and opportunities for innovation.

The numbers show that these technology trends have taken hold. According to a recent Dynatrace survey, 83% of technology leaders said AI has become a requirement.

However, we anticipate that in 2024 and beyond, organisations will move towards a composite AI approach that combines multiple types of AI, such as generative, predictive, and causal, and different data sources, says Dynatraces Longo.

Dynatrace calls this hypermodal AI and it is already a core technology within the Dynatrace platform. This approach brings precision, context, and meaning to AI outputs.

Furthermore, 83% of respondents to a recent DevOps Digest survey have plans to adopt platform engineering or have already done so. Thus, in 2024 expect platform engineering to become mission critical. Data observability will also become mandatory as organisations seek to drive more intelligent automation and faster decision-making.

Overall, the IT landscape in 2024 will witness an intricate interplay of AI, ML, cloud computing, and Generative AI, propelling businesses into a realm of unparalleled efficiency, innovation, and connectivity, says Firas Jadalla, Regional Director Middle East, Turkey and Africa, at Genetec.

In 2024, the IT industry is set to undergo groundbreaking transformations across multiple fronts. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will continue to evolve, with a focus on more ethical and responsible applications. The integration of AI into various business processes will streamline operations, enhance decision-making, and pave the way for unprecedented innovation.

SAP expects 2024 to be the year that businesses move past the hype around Generative AI and Large Language Models, and seek to identify and implement real business use cases to leverage the benefits. Enterprises will realise that the effectiveness of AI-generated solutions largely depend on the quality of available data, says Ahmed AlFaifi, Senior Vice President, SAP Middle East and Africa North.

Green IT focuses on sustainability, and Quantum Computing revolutionises various sectors. The pace of change will demand adaptability, urging businesses and individuals to embrace these advancements for continued success.

Cybersecurity

According to Cloud Box Technologies Kaippada, cybersecurity advances with Zero Trust Network Access and Quantum-resistant cryptography. Low-Code, No-Code development empowers non-programmers for agile app creation. The Metaverse and Web3 redefine user interaction and decentralised applications.

Cybersecurity will experience a paradigm shift, leveraging AI to anticipate and counteract evolving threats. Quantum computings advancements will pose both challenges and opportunities, revolutionising data processing capabilities.

In the realm of cybersecurity, Generative AI tools can generate human-like text and speech, allowing them to automate the creation of phishing emails, social engineering attacks, and other malicious content. Simultaneously, these tools have untapped potential in helping cyber defenders analyse, correlate, and communicate information more effectively, says Paul Lawson, Executive Director Cyber Defence, CPX.

The impact of geopolitical events in cyberspace, coupled with global conflicts and more than half of the global population participating in elections, means that 2024 is expected to be a record year for cyber-activism, mis- and disinformation campaigns, continues Lawson.

Cyber defenders must prepare for an upswing in targeted communication aimed at delivering malicious payloads or extorting information from users via email, web and social media channels.

Fortinets FortiGuard 2024 Threat Predictions report looks at a new era of advanced cybercrime and how AI is changing the attack game. The classic methods are not going away, instead, they are evolving and advancing as attackers gain access to new resources.

Fortinet also predicts the evolution of Generative AI and how its weaponisation could add fuel to an already raging fire, giving attackers an easy means of enhancing many stages of their attacks.

In addition to the evolution of Advanced Persistent Threat operations, we predict that cybercrime groups will diversify their targets and playbooks, focusing on more sophisticated and disruptive attacks, and setting their sights on denial of service and extortion, says Alain Penel, VP Middle East, Turkey and CIS, Fortinet.

Cybercrime turf wars will continue, with multiple attack groups homing in on the same targets and deploying ransomware variants, often within 24 hours or less. We have seen cybercriminals increasingly use AI to support malicious activities in new ways, ranging from thwarting the detection of social engineering to mimicking human behaviour, adds Fortinets Penel.

As cyber threats become more sophisticated, the technology sector will see improvements in proactive and adaptive security measures. Therefore, bolstering defences against evolving cyber threats through AI-driven threat detection and zero-trust architecture will be another key focus area in 2024, according to Gulf Business Machines CEO Mike Weston.

In 2024, companies will invest in cyber-resiliency plans, making it a key business differentiator for success in the complex global market. Cyber resilience promises to become a strong business differentiator, says Rajesh Ganesan, President ManageEngine.

Enterprises will adopt an identity-centric approach, ensuring authorised access and data protection. Cloud infrastructure and entitlement management will enhance visibility, minimise threats, and provide a worry-free digital experience.

Artificial Intelligence, AI will continue to be a truly disruptive and transformative area in 2024. Business and IT departments will struggle to define true ownership of AI, while cybersecurity best practices around AI will be left behind, says Haider Pasha, Head of CSO Team, EMEA and LATAM, Palo Alto Networks.

Attackers will leverage Large Language Models, and Generative AI to significantly improve spear phishing emails, combining them with deepfake and other AI-enabled attacks to increase click rates. Deployed correctly, Generative AI will accelerate cybersecurity as an enabler, adds Palo Alto Networks Pasha.

As Generative AI models mature through 2024, the rise of Security Copilots will increase Security Operations, SecOps productivity. This significantly changes the focus within the team towards a proactive versus reactive mindset, with a greater focus on building threat intelligence platforms that leverage AI as early-warning systems.

In addition, a greater focus on threat-hunting programmes will provide better visibility to attack surfaces before security teams embark on digital-first projects.

Datacentres

The combination of IoT, Private 5G, and edge computing can enable organisations to gain real-time insights and make informed decisions based on device data. As the IoT ecosystem expands, businesses will increasingly adopt edge solutions to seamlessly integrate their enterprise networks, says Burcak Soydan, Managing Executive Middle East, Dimension Data.

Dark NOC, a fully automated network operation centre, is rapidly becoming a reality with the advancement of AIOPs. Networking companies are expected to further integrate AIOPs into their operations in 2024, aiming to enhance network quality, support engineers, and modernise infrastructures.

2024 will see increased investment in AI-driven energy supplies for data centre infrastructure, with enterprises collaborating with energy providers to explore sustainable options. Focus on network efficiency, reliability, sustainability, and future-readiness will bring optical networking to the forefront in 2024, adds Dimension Datas Soydan.

Innovations in edge computing will also drive new growth as organisations adopt faster data processing at the source for better business outcomes. These advancements, however, will give rise to new threats and expose businesses to expanded attack surfaces, says Gulf Business Machines Weston.

As businesses carve out competitive advantages and differentiation in their respective markets, they are collecting and analysing massive amounts of data and metadata from every business application, customer touchpoint, and device they can to generate actionable insights.

Continuing innovation in areas like AI and analytics has given these businesses new ways to apply their data, but they need to ensure their underlying IT and business infrastructures can process and analyse all that data, no matter where it is stored or when it is needed.

Those that can make their data work for them will operate more efficiently and drive business value, says Walid Issa, Senior Manager for Pre-Sales and Solutions Engineering, MENA and East Europe, NetApp.

In 2024, NetApp predicts that organisations will move beyond pre-trained AI models, focusing instead on data-driven AI fuelled by continuous data pipelines for adaptability. Breaking down data silos through unified data storage will unlock hidden connections and fuel AI and analytics innovation.

As cyberattacks become increasingly common, organisations will adopt an assume your data was already hacked approach, prioritising secure by design IT systems and rapid recovery solutions for business continuity. By embracing these trends, businesses can operate with greater agility, and thrive in the dynamic landscape of the future, says NetApps Issa.

Artificial intelligence

Generative AI will become even more sophisticated, influencing content creation, code generation, and creative pursuits. This technology will redefine human-machine collaboration, fostering a new era of productivity and creativity.

Building on the initial momentum gained over the last two years, AI will continue to be a key business disruptor, transforming the regions fast-changing innovation landscape. In 2024, AI will seamlessly integrate into routine business processes, offering users more personalised and elevated experiences, says Gulf Business Machines Weston.

2023 has been a transformational year, with both existing technologies and novel innovations revolutionising the way organisations work. In 2024, enterprises will continue to embrace further updates to technological measures that design a better digital environment for everyone, adds ManageEngines Ganesan.

Enterprises will be keen to adapt to purpose-built Large Language Models that enable deep-nested conversations, align with software tools, and address creative and redundant workloads. They protect data, reduce biases, and provide detailed audit reports for AI decision understanding, continues Ganesan.

Enterprises that will get the best results are those with access to reliable, real-time business data that can be combined with Generative AI to create contextual solutions, adds SAPs AlFaifi.

There are two further developments arising from implementation of AI. First, a focus on research into improving not only reliability but also the security of Generative AI models, for example watermarking data and developing new encryption algorithms. Second, a period of greater innovation and creativity in software development driven by the use of AI itself.

Cloud

According to Genetecs Jadalla, cloud computing will remain a cornerstone, with a surge in edge computing capabilities for faster data processing. The convergence of 5G technology and edge computing will redefine connectivity, enabling real-time applications and unlocking new possibilities for industries like healthcare and IoT

According to Dimension Datas Soydan, in 2024, vertical specific clouds package software, PaaS, and IaaS layers is also expected to be used to deliver industry-centric use cases focused on business outcomes.

Businesses will shift their focus from finding the perfect cloud environment to implementing an intelligent data infrastructure that combines unified storage and data management capabilities for seamless data storage, control, and utilisation across any cloud environment, says NetApps Issa.

Denial-of-service, DDoS attacks, once a seen as merely a nuisance, have also evolved into a serious threat for major digital service providers. With a growing reliance on cloud services, IT teams must ensure the availability of adequate, redundant, and secure connectivity for uninterrupted access to key business processes and applications, points out CPXs Lawson.

Sustainability

Sustainability will be a crucial factor in IT procurement, impacting investments and innovation, especially as stringent regulations are expected to increase their influence in the coming year, points out Dimension Datas Soydan.

Sustainability also remains a top priority on the regional agendas. Technologies addressing efficient utilities and transportation, resource optimisation, renewable energy, and ESG data tracking will feature prominently in a businesss growth strategy. Integrating these technologies not only aids in meeting sustainability goals but also positions businesses as responsible leaders in the evolving technology landscape, says Gulf Business Machines Weston.

Key takeaways

Artificial Intelligence, driven by Generative AI, will automate tasks and personalise experiences, while AIaaS democratises access

2024 will be challenged to do more with less, innovate faster, tame the growing complexity of modern cloud environments.

Achieving lofty goals inevitably requires new approaches and numerous organisations are adopting Generative AI.

Organisations will move towards a composite AI approach that combines multiple types of AI, such as generative, predictive, and causal.

Dynatrace calls this hypermodal AI and it is already a core technology within the Dynatrace platform.

The IT landscape in 2024 will witness an intricate interplay of AI, ML, cloud computing, and Generative AI, propelling businesses into a realm of unparalleled efficiency.

In 2024 businesses move past the hype around Generative AI and Large Language Models, and seek to implement real business use cases.

Enterprises will realise that effectiveness of AI-generated solutions depends on the quality of available data.

Generative AI tools can generate human-like text and speech, to automate creation of phishing emails, social engineering attacks.

Denial-of-service attacks, once seen as a nuisance, have also evolved into a serious threat for major digital service providers.

IT teams must ensure availability of adequate, redundant, and secure connectivity for uninterrupted access to key business processes.

Cyber defenders must prepare for an upswing in targeted communication aimed at delivering malicious payloads or extorting information from users via email, web and social media channels.

Cybercrime turf wars will continue, with multiple attack groups homing in on the same targets and deploying variants within 24 hours or less.

Artificial Intelligence will continue to be a disruptive and transformative area in 2024.

Business and IT departments will struggle to define true ownership of AI, while cybersecurity best practices around AI will be left behind.

Attackers will leverage Large Language Models, and Generative AI to improve spear phishing emails, combining them with deepfake to increase click rates.

Deployed correctly, Generative AI will accelerate cybersecurity as an enabler.

As Generative AI models mature through 2024, the rise of Security Copilots will increase Security Operations, SecOps productivity.

As the IoT ecosystem expands, businesses will adopt edge solutions to integrate their enterprise networks.

Dark NOC, a fully automated network operation centre, is becoming a reality with the advancement of AIOPs.

Networking companies are expected to further integrate AIOPs into their operations, aiming to enhance network quality.

2024 will see increased investment in AI-driven energy supplies for data centre infrastructure collaborating with energy providers.

Focus on network efficiency will bring optical networking to the forefront in 2024.

NetApp predicts organisations will move beyond pre-trained AI models, focusing instead on data-driven AI fuelled by data pipelines.

As cyberattacks become increasingly common, organisations will adopt an assume your data was already hacked approach, prioritising recovery.

In 2024, AI will seamlessly integrate into routine business processes, offering users more personalised and elevated experiences.

Enterprises will be keen to adapt to purpose-built Large Language Models that enable deep-nested conversations.

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Innovations, disruptions, transformations expected in 2024 Intelligent CIO Middle East - Intelligent CIO