9 Must-Know Trends for Enterprise IT Leaders in 2024-25

The digital landscape changed unrecognizably in 2023. For enterprise IT leaders in 2024, that creates opportunities as well as threats; navigating the new landscape requires both proactive and reactive strategy. There are 9 key trends defining the year ahead. Most, of course, are related to automation and AI.

1. AI Trust, Risk, and Security Management (AI TRiSM): 

As generative AI shifts from novel innovation to enterprise adoption at scale, governance needs to keep up with the pace of technological change. AI TRiSM provides the frameworks to keep AI models unbiased, explainable and accountable, holding developers to robust ethical standards and in line with evolving regulations. 
For IT leaders, staying on top of AI TRiSM governance will be a top priority to maintain trust with customers and employees in 2024. 

2. Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM):

As cyber attacks become increasingly sophisticated, traditional approaches are no longer enough to counter threats in 2024. CTEM is a proactive strategy to bring all stakeholders on board - IT, infrastructure and DevOps - to continuously identify, analyze, and remediate vulnerabilities across the entire enterprise IT ecosystem. 
By taking a holistic, bird’s eye view of threat exposure, CTEM will be crucial for minimizing downtime, protecting sensitive data, and maintaining business continuity.

3. Sustainable Technology: 

The tide is turning towards environmentally conscious IT. Expect to see a surge in green data centers, energy-efficient devices, and cloud computing solutions with lower carbon footprints. Businesses will prioritize reducing their IT footprint not only for ethical reasons, but also to attract eco-conscious talent and investors as part of their ESG goals.

4. AI-Augmented Development: 

Generative AI will also expedite software releases and substantially reduce development costs, helping developers to automate high-cost, low-productivity coding free up time for higher value work. 
Expect to see more tools that also suggest code improvements automatically and can even regenerate entire sections of code based on wider business goals. As a result, enterprises can take new products and platforms to market faster, staying ahead of the competition and growing market presence.

5. Industry-Specific Cloud Platforms: 

One-size-fits-all cloud solutions are fading into the past. Instead, industry-specific cloud platforms tailored to the unique needs of verticals like healthcare, finance, and manufacturing are gaining traction and will continue to do so in 2024. 
These platforms offer pre-built tools, compliance features, and industry-specific data models, enabling faster cloud adoption and deeper business value.

6. Democratized Generative AI (DGAI): 

According to research by consultancy Gartner, enterprise adoption of generative AI in production environments will rise from just 5% in 2023 to 60% in 2026. 
Democratization of GenAI means making such tools easy to use by all users, regardless of technical skill - ultimately improving productivity across a total workforce. DGAI also opens up new avenues for HR, learning & development and sales & marketing among other business functions, enhancing both customer and employee experiences. 

7. Augmented Connected Workforce (ACW): 

With employees now accustomed to hybrid work environments, ACW technologies will allow remote workers to collaborate with colleagues as though they’re in the same physical location, eliminating the friction and technological problems often experienced on Zoom or Teams calls. 
ACW technologies to enhance productivity, collaboration, and decision-making include workflow automation, monitoring data center facilities with real-time visualizations of data and performance, AR-powered virtual workspaces, exoskeletons and collaborative robots (‘cobots’).

8. Hyperautomation: 

Hyperautomation goes far beyond accelerating manual tasks, continuously identifying and automating new processes across the entire organization. Example use cases include document processing, predictive maintenance, customer service interactions, dynamic supply chain optimization and financial reporting. Expect hyperautomation to create substantial efficiency gains in 2024, freeing up human employees to focus their time on the highest-value activities.

9. The talent factor:  

Although automation and AI are transforming many IT job roles, technology isn’t likely to fully replace the need for human judgment, creativity, and problem-solving. These "soft skills" will become even more valuable as routine processes are increasingly automated and focus shifts to tasks which require human input. 

The most capable job candidates who also possess soft skills will be in short supply, pushing up salaries and talent expectations.

Conclusion

The critical differentiator in 2024 will be the human touch. The ability to harness creativity, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence will be paramount. IT leaders who prioritize talent development and attraction, building diverse teams equipped with these essential skills, will be best positioned to thrive in this transformative era.
As AI automates routine tasks and hyperautomation streamlines processes, human ingenuity will be freed up to tackle the complex challenges that create sustained business growth. By fostering a culture of continuous learning, ethical responsibility, and collaboration, IT leaders can cultivate workforces that are not just technically proficient, but also adaptable, innovative, and deeply human.