2023 has been a very interesting year in business. As companies have dealt with the remaining economic fallout from the pandemic, continued challenges in hiring, inflation, and major breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI), there have been a lot of changes happening for businesses across the country. 2024 promises to bring a continued evolution as businesses will encounter even more breakthroughs and challenges. Following are some of the major trends we can expect to see.
1. Remote / Hybrid Work / Decentralized Workplace
Remote work has been one of the biggest trends in business for the past several years, and it is believed that this will continue into 2024 and beyond. More companies will allow employees to work remotely at least part of the time to remain competitive with other employers in recruiting and employee retention. There will be more decentralized workplaces with more of the authority going to teams and employees. Those who want the best talent will have to meet employee expectations or face losing them to competitors.
2. Data
Data is already a huge factor in modern business, and it is expected to grow in importance.
"Data is an increasingly valuable business asset," says Bernard Marr at Forbes.*
"By 2024, more companies will have streamlined their operations and improved their customer offerings by taking a strategic approach to their data. As a result, they will be ready to take the next step - monetizing data itself to drive new business opportunities. Leading the way are companies like John Deere, which has pioneered the model of selling data from its sensor-laden farm equipment back to farmers as insights to improve productivity. As access to large-scale data collection and AI-driven analytics becomes increasingly democratized, we'll see this trend adopted by smaller companies in niche and diversified sectors."
3. Sustainability
Sustainability will also continue to be a major priority going forward into the new year.
"Consumers are becoming more and more concerned about sustainability, and they are demanding products and services from businesses that are environmentally and socially responsible," says Everyday Growth Founder and CEO Jeffrey Sun in a LinkedIn article.**"
Businesses need to find ways to reduce their environmental impact and to give back to their communities."
4. Artificial Intelligence
2023 has certainly been the year of artificial intelligence, and there is no reason to think that things will slow down in 2024. Generative AI, focusing on new content and data, will continue to improve, and businesses will find more and more ways to take advantage of it in their operations, increasing efficiency and productivity.
5. Security
Partially due to the rise of artificial intelligence, security must become even more rigorous in 2024 as scammers and cybercriminals take advantage of AI to create more sophisticated scams and attacks. Even beyond cybersecurity threats, businesses have seen an uptick in crime at brick and mortar locations.*** Security will likely see increased focus from small businesses.
6. Resilience / New Skills
Recent years have been extremely turbulent for many businesses, so many of them will be taking the lessons they've learned from that and carrying them into 2024. Many have had no choice but to learn to be resilient in the face of the pandemic, supply chain-related hardships and other economic problems. Staff will need to be trained to keep up with the latest AI and data technologies. Those who have adapted will remain strong in the coming year.
7. Diversity / Inclusion
Companies have made major strides in diversity and inclusion in recent years, but more remains to be done, and in 2024 this will continue to be a priority for many businesses. AI companies have already been working to ensure that AI can help rather than be a deterrent.****
8. Personalization
Some experts believe that personalization will see big increases in 2024 in terms of not only marketing, but the customer experience. Much of this will also be driven by AI, which will help companies pinpoint exactly what their customers want and help them drive revenue and increase brand loyalty.
9. Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Solutions
Investments in multi-cloud technology (tech utilizing services from multiple public cloud providers at the same time) will rise substantially in 2024. It may increase cost savings, flexibility, and security, but there will probably be complexities combining older systems.
According to Forbes, businesses are looking beyond the time-and-money-saving opportunities of cloud migration, and emerging use cases indicate that multi-cloud solutions can be the key to "becoming more innovative, agile and successful." *****
Two major themes within these trends are expected to headline 2024. These are the continued emergence of artificial intelligence in many facets of business and a continued commitment to improve business practices in order stand out as a company people trust and want to work for.
** https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7-biggest-business-trends-watch-2024-jeffrey-sun/
*** https://www.uschamber.com/economy/crime-risk-to-business-2023
**** https://www.fastcompany.com/90879326/this-is-how-ai-will-disrupt-the-dei-industry
