8 Tech Trends That Will Take Center Stage in 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that we need to adapt quickly to the new reality. Technology helped us sustain through the pandemic and redefined ways of work and life. 2023 will continue to witness innovations and technological advancements similar to 2022. Let’s look at the top 8 tech trends that will shine in 2024.

Top Trends that will Shine in 2024

Here are the top tech trends that have the potential to elevate and impact your business.

1) AI-based Decisions

Businesses are embracing Decision Intelligence (DI), a new discipline that improves their ability to process large amounts of data to make informed strategic decisions. It connects AI and human decision-making to create more profound intelligent conclusions, eventually leading to more favorable outcomes. DI treats each decision as a set of processes coupled with analytics to enhance decision-making and automate it using augmented analytics and AI. It supports business leaders and helps in increasing the internal adoption of decision intelligence tools among business users. Moreover, DI enables them to identify new use cases and act on new opportunities. According to Gartner, more than 33% of large organizations will have analysts practicing decision intelligence, including decision modeling, by 2023.

2) Evolving Supply Chain Network

The coronavirus pandemic disrupted global supply chains in 2020. According to Forrester, supply chains will become collaborative networks in 2021. The research firm expects the trend to continue in 2022 primarily because supply chains will become more resilient by manufacturers collecting data, increasing industry marketplaces, and the rapid growth of supplier trust networks.

It is essential to manage supply chains in a more flexible and adaptable way to bring products to consumers and continue innovation. Moreover, there will be further digitization of supply chains as companies with new technology and solutions will offer complete visibility over fragmented supply chains.

3) Electric Fleets and Cars

In 2020, several automakers announced plans to electrify heavy-duty trucks, big delivery vans, semi-trucks, and more. With batteries getting cheaper and better, automakers are gearing up to make vehicles that can travel a longer distance on a single charge. Automaker Ford joined the electric vehicle bandwagon last year and announced its plans to develop an all-electric version of its Transit cargo van. Other auto companies plan to launch fully electric or hydrogen fuel-cell electric semi-trucks that range between 500 and 700 miles. Electric vehicles are expected to improve communication and enhance fleet management solutions.

4) Autonomous Vehicles and Robotics

Autonomous driving technology will also be crucial in 2024. Automaker Honda recently announced that it would mass-produce autonomous vehicles, which will not require any driver intervention under certain conditions. Chipmaker Intel’s subsidiary, Mobileye, announced at the CES 2021 that it is scaling up its autonomous vehicle (AV) program. The company plans to launch test fleets with enhanced radio- and light-based detection capabilities in at least four more cities in 2021. In addition to autonomous driving, autonomous systems will become more prevalent with the increased use of drones and robot deliveries. Innovation and automation autonomous systems can transform the supply chain and manufacturing functionalities.

5) Contactless Delivery and Shipping

The pandemic paved the way for new technologies like digital menus, QR codes, contactless delivery, and payment for the restaurant and food delivery industry. According to a report, the U.S. recorded a 20% increase in the preference for contactless operations. This trend will continue in 2021 as people are expected to maintain social distancing. Food aggregators like Swiggy and Zomato recorded significant growth in India as people ordered online. To reduce their dependence on third-party aggregators, restaurants have launched their food delivery solutions. Almost all food deliveries are now contactless to minimize physical contact. U.S.-based startups are already pushing for robotic deliveries using artificial intelligence-based applications.

6) Sustainable Tech will Shine

The reducing cost of generating sustainable energy helps ensure that mass adoption is more likely. Climate tech startups are expected to witness an explosion in funding in 2024 after 2021 saw investment worth $16 billion across several sectors like energy, carbon, etc. As per experts, there could be an upward movement in government spending on sustainable infrastructure, smart grids, electric vehicles, and more. Innovation, new investments, and more innovative technology solutions that promote climate resiliency are expected to increase in 2024. Several organizations will put a more significant emphasis on enhancing national and global biosecurity capabilities.

7) Blockchain Technology will Prevail

An increase in the adoption of blockchain technology will further expand to more industries in 2024. As per International Data Corporation, organizations will spend close to $6.6 billion on blockchain solutions in 2021, a 50% increase from the previous year. The new capability significantly reduces business conflicts, streamlines data structure, and boosts transparency, security, and decentralization. Financial institutes will leverage blockchain technology for audit trails, risk analysis, etc. Businesses are also expected to expand to new use cases like smart contracts that allow optimization of supply chains and help eliminate ad fraud. Lastly, blockchain is said to help in boosting more transparency in business transactions.

8) NFT Platforms will Boom

NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) saw an explosion in 2021, and next year would witness an increase in their adoption by different industries, including gaming, finance, art, and medicine. NFT is a digital object that conveys ownership of something and is a part of the digital economy. They are becoming mainstream as they allow people to own something that represents a part of something bigger than themselves. In 2024, more businesses will use NFTs to build brand loyalty by giving fans access to special offers and promotions outside of their traditional distribution channels.

Looking Ahead

2024 will definitely continue to ride on the wave of tech innovations to cater to a shift in consumer behavior.

Dista is an AI-enabled location intelligence platform that offers a range of business solutions like last mile delivery, food delivery, fleet management, and more. Contact us to know more about our products.