2023 was a year of much change, due to the continued impact of rising inflation, a rocky global economy, and labor market challenges.
Despite this, Gartner estimates that global IT spending is expected to grow 8%, which is a total of $5.1 trillion in 2024. Many organizations are implementing AI/ML practices into their businesses, and tackling the challenges associated with the ever-rising influx of data.
Below tech experts have highlighted their top predictions for data, security, the channel, AI/ML, and more for the year ahead.
Prediction: 2024 will be a make-or-break year for data intelligence
Jim Liddle, Chief Innovation Officer at Nasuni, comments:
“Following the booming interest in AI in 2023, enterprises will face increased pressure from their boards to leverage AI to gain a competitive edge. That rush for an AI advantage is surfacing deeper data infrastructure issues that have been mounting for years. Before they can integrate AI effectively, organizations will first have to address how they collect, store, and manage their unstructured data, particularly at the edge.
AI doesn’t work in a vacuum and it’s just one part of the broader data intelligence umbrella. Many organizations have already implemented data analytics, machine learning and AI into their sales, customer support, and similar low-hanging initiatives, but struggle to integrate the technology in more sophisticated, high-value applications.
Visibility, for example, is a crucial and often-overlooked first step towards data intelligence. A shocking number of companies store massive volumes of data simply because they don’t know what’s in it or whether they need it. Is the data accurate and up-to-date? Is it properly classified and ‘searchable’? Is it compliant? Does it contain personal identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), or other sensitive information? Is it available on-demand or archived?
In the coming year, companies across the board will be forced to come to terms with the data quality, governance, access, and storage requirements of AI before they can move forward with digital transformation or improvement programs to give them the desired competitive edge.”
Prediction: Enterprises will embrace hybrid infrastructure or fall behind
Russ Kennedy, Chief Product Officer at Nasuni, comments:
“The next revolution in data will occur at the edge. After years of conflicting definitions and uncertainty, today’s leading businesses are realizing the necessity of truly hybrid infrastructure. To remain competitive in a data-driven world, enterprises need high performance processing at the edge, where data is generated, in combination with the scale, capacity, and advanced tools available in the cloud.
Traditionally, large companies have used legacy storage vendors and traditional backup solutions to store and protect petabyte volumes of data. These legacy infrastructures are a performance bottleneck and can’t support the pace of growth, as analyst William Blair recently highlighted.
Over the next few years, we’ll see more organizations realize it’s not one or the other, but a combination of edge and cloud storage. According to Gartner, 50% of critical infrastructure applications will reside outside of the public cloud through 2027. Manufacturers, for example, need to quickly capture and consolidate the critical data coming from their physical systems and processes across the world, while keeping and leveraging that data for analytics year after year. Ready or not, we’ll see this edge-cloud mechanism force organizations to adopt and embrace truly hybrid infrastructure and ultimately transform their ability to drive more effective innovations and respond in a more agile way to customer’s evolving needs.”
Prediction: Applied AI will seamlessly integrate, complement existing workflows
Nick King, CEO and Founder, Data Kinetic, comments:
“In 2024, Applied AI will seamlessly integrate into organizational workflows, enhancing human capabilities and improving operational efficiency. AI technologies will be user-friendly and adaptable, aligning with existing human behaviors and operational processes to facilitate easy adoption and immediate benefit realization.
AI will be designed to complement existing workflows, promoting efficiency without causing disruption or necessitating significant changes in work patterns. This approach will ensure smooth transitions, quick adoption, and immediate productivity improvements.
By aligning with human behaviors and enhancing current processes, AI will enable organizations to be more responsive and agile, easily adapting to changing conditions and evolving needs. In 2024, the focus of Applied AI will be on practical integration, ensuring that AI technologies work harmoniously within existing organizational structures to drive innovation and success.”
Prediction: 2024 will be the year of reckoning for both ransomware and compliance
Jim Liddle, Chief Innovation Officer at Nasuni, comments:
“The risk of ransomware and sophisticated attacks is ever-growing and will continue to spread internationally in 2024. Preventing the theft, encryption, misuse, or exposure of sensitive data will remain a daily concern for organizations indefinitely. Multi-layer protection has quickly become a matter of hygiene and even companies that invested in sophisticated, global ransomware protection products will need a belt and braces approach in the form of network, application, and access security, coupled with rapid data recovery solutions.
Ransomware has typically been more prevalent in the US, with larger organizations and their larger data sets presenting more attractive targets for bad actors. In 2024, we’ll see more ransomware incidents in the UK as government agencies, health services, and critical infrastructure in both countries continue to lack the technology and funding to build adequate data protection and recovery capabilities.
Organizations that haven’t addressed their data protection and recovery posture are now risking both security and compliance headaches, as regulatory penalties and recovery costs often outmatch ransom payouts. Europe still leads in data governance and regulation with the likes of GDPR, but legislation like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is quickly spreading across the US. By delaying their investment in protection and compliance solutions until forced to, many large organizations will soon face the possibility of steep penalties, ransom demands, and business disruption simultaneously.”
Prediction: 2024 will catapult AI from the experimental stages into real-world applications
Nick King, CEO and Founder, Data Kinetic, comments:
“In 2024, the landscape of Applied AI will be vibrant with the evolution and proliferation of ‘agents’ and ‘model chains’ that are both general and specialized by industry. The momentum gained over the past years will catapult AI from the experimental stages directly into real-world, practical applications, driving innovation and operational excellence across various sectors.
One of the most exciting developments will be the deployment of agents and chains of agents that are meticulously tailored and fine-tuned to meet the unique needs and challenges of specific industries such as oil and gas, healthcare, and manufacturing. These agents will be instrumental in bridging gaps, enhancing interoperability, and facilitating seamless integrations within and across industry ecosystems.
The agents and model chains will not be one-size-fits-all; instead, they will embody a spectrum of capabilities ranging from generalized functionalities to highly specialized solutions meticulously crafted to address industry-specific challenges and objectives. This nuanced approach will enable industries to harness the full potential of Applied AI, unlocking unprecedented levels of efficiency, innovation, and strategic insight.
In the realm of specialized agents, we will witness a surge in applications that are deeply rooted in industry knowledge, and capable of navigating the complexities and nuances inherent to each sector. These agents will drive transformative changes, enabling industries to optimize processes, enhance decision-making, and unveil new opportunities for growth and innovation.
On the other hand, generalized agents will offer a broader array of functionalities, promoting versatility and adaptability. These agents will be pivotal in fostering cross-industry synergies, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and best practices, and nurturing a more collaborative and interconnected AI landscape.
In essence, the future of Applied AI in 2024 will be marked by a rich tapestry of agents and model chains, each bringing a unique set of capabilities and value propositions to the table, collectively driving the evolution of industries towards a more intelligent, agile, and innovative future.”
Prediction: Real-time data and Batch will come together
Andy Oliver, Director of Marketing, CelerData comments:
“The challenge with implementing real-time data has been more about storage than anything else. I think in the past people were obsessed with real-time versus batch. Sometimes it seems like a choice between something big enough but too slow vs. something fast enough but too small.
However, real-time and batch will come together, to meet the requirements of user numbers, and we will see more unified analytical database technologies for functions and insights that demand real-time analysis.
Not everything will need to move over to real-time, though – there are plenty of things where there’s no good reason to do it.”
Prediction: Ignoring SaaS and AI’s trends is not an option.
Matthew Grantham, Nasuni’s Head of Worldwide Partners, explained:
“In the US, some traditionally minded VARs tend to be focused on hardware renewals; they can hit their numbers through easy, repeatable deals. Their executives are primarily incentivized by proprietary software requirements defined by customers’ existing job remits and budgets, but this business model’s days are numbered.”
“In contrast, SIs and VARs which bit the bullet early on cloud and SaaS strategies, are now on the way to building revenue growth that will be more sustainable and deliver greater value to their customer base over time. And this revenue growth is being achieved despite successful cloud revenue models inevitably demanding new thinking from vendors and their VARs, whether from subscription models, complex sales strategies, and a deeper understanding of customers’ evolving needs.
Understanding enterprises’ cloud and SaaS needs is inevitably a more complex task for channel partners, because it involves deeper conversations around companies’ business objectives, processes and pain points. But we know that forward-looking SIs and VARs alike are successfully creating subscription-based models for product and service offerings and forging stronger, more consultative relationships with enterprises and fast-growth SME customers as a result.
Partners that transition towards more strategic, customer-focused, and consultative partnerships will successfully adapt to new cloud priorities; those that prefer to stay in the traditional thinking lane will likely struggle to remain competitive in today’s challenging and fast-paced market.”
Prediction: More channel players to use specialists for managed services
Stacy Hayes, Co-Founder and EVP, or Brian Dutton, Americas at Assured Data Protection commented:
“The managed services model will become increasingly attractive to traditional VARs in 2024, especially with more and more businesses looking to buy cloud and IT services on a usage basis. But making the transition from a traditional VAR to a provider of managed services is easier said than done. It’s not that VARs aren’t capable of diversifying, far from it, it’s just that the switch requires a fundamental shift in the way VARs do business and that isn’t something you can just change overnight. These large organizations are not built for this new world model. The in-house build and integration of new technology and go-to-market models takes too long and is too expensive to implement. VARs simply don’t have the people, the flexibility or the know how. With the economic headwinds as they are, Opex is king and no-one has the Capex or the appetite for big in-house builds.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for VARs to provide a large portfolio of products and services to the standards customers demand. The speed the market moves, the reliance on data, all add to greater demands from customers. It is evident channel businesses are struggling to deliver what their customers want, whether it be on-premises or in the cloud. It is a common topic and one I believe means VARs need to clearly understand what they can deliver themselves, and what they need to outsource. Outsourcing, and white labelling, is a great way to deliver a high quality and diverse portfolio to customers.
MSPs that have the know-how to use utility-based models effectively, that can execute immediately, have experts in the space and deliver services tailored for the vendor, customer, end user will be the partners of choice for VARs in 2024.”
Prediction: More businesses to spend upfront for managed services to beat inflation
Brian Dutton, Director, US Sales and Client Services, Assured Data Protection commented:
“Businesses are becoming more cost-conscious as prices for cloud and SaaS services keep rising in line with inflation. Every time the large vendors and hyperscalers pass on costs to the customer, company CFOs and finance directors find themselves asking IT the question, ‘where can we cut costs?’ This is creating a dilemma for IT teams, who are left wondering how do they keep the lights on and execute new digital and cloud strategies, on a smaller budget? Which is why so many have switched to an OPEX model that covers core capabilities, including DR and backup, based on a consumption model that is paid for in monthly installments. It has allowed them to cut CAPEX, operate on a per TB model as opposed to wasting valuable data center resources, and focus their efforts on business priorities.
The impact and cost savings are tangible, but it’s also thrown a lifeline to SMBs and government organizations that simply don’t have the budget or infrastructure to support investment in new DR and backup solutions. The managed service option has become the preferred choice for large enterprises that have to prioritize transformation projects, and SMEs, local schools and municipalities with budget limitations. We expect more businesses to adopt the utility-based model that managed service providers offer for cloud-based data management. It lightens the load on teams, while reducing risk and guaranteeing uptime and business continuity in the event of a disaster, data breach or ransomware attack. Another byproduct of this trend we’ve experienced is companies prepared to pay for services upfront, locking costs in for up to 6-12 months, or longer, to protect themselves against inflation. This makes financial sense, especially if you’re cash rich now and want to ensure your data is protected over the long term when market volatility can affect prices elsewhere. We expect this to become the norm next year and the foreseeable future.”
Prediction: Scope three emissions compliance set to drive uptake of disaster recovery managed services
Andrew Eva, CIO, Assured Data Protection commented:
“Sustainability is an issue that impacts every part of the economy and increasingly, the technology sector is being held to account for its carbon emissions. Until recently, organizations have mostly had to concern themselves with two key emission calcifications: scope one – emissions the organization is directly responsible for, and scope two – indirect emissions, such as electricity. Now though, we’re seeing the impact of scope three emissions being felt. That is, all other emissions associated with an organization’s activities, including its supply chain. While scope three emissions aren’t yet legally enforceable, they are being widely adopted by large organizations, as legislation is inevitable and there’s a widespread desire to get ahead of the issue. We’re now seeing their impact filter down to smaller organizations.
This is an issue for the DR sector and organizations that are leaders in sustainability – they are recognizing the challenge and the value of outsourcing this function to an MSP. By eliminating the need for data backup via a second site, which are costly to operate, don’t always utilize the latest power efficient hardware, and are responsible for significant carbon emissions, ESG compliance is a lot more manageable. There’s also recognition that this isn’t simply offloading the problem because MSP DR solutions achieve economies of scale by servicing multiple organizations via a shared facility, making them carbon-efficient for customers. Given the rate at which scope three is permeating, we expect to see more organizations adopt outsourced DR services. Both existing and future and existing business for MSPs depends on helping customers and partners achieve ESG compliance.”
Prediction: AI bringing data stewards to the forefront of innovation
Pete Agresta, Chief Revenue Officer at Nasuni, comments:
“Artificial Intelligence (AI) has not only highlighted the true value of business data but has rather become the catalyst for companies to turn that data into an asset. As such, over the next 12 months, we’ll see an enterprise shift from storage-centric to data-centric. Smart companies will begin to transition from simply plugging in data storage to cleansing their data and leveraging it for productivity efficiencies, reducing costs, and data-driven growth.
To drive this transformation, the role of the data steward is making a lucrative transition towards data asset managers. Traditional asset managers have long been understood and appreciated by businesses and are rewarded with attractive remuneration packages. The same can’t be said for the traditional data steward until now.
Businesses know that failing to adapt data processes will result in losing competitive advantage in the year ahead. Thus, as the data asset manager role shifts and becomes critical to enterprises, the ability to command the marketplace will grow for data stewards and we could see salaries double in the next five years.”
Prediction: Unstructured data growth paired with data cleansing can cut data storage costs, increase IT innovation, and unlock IT budgets
Dave Grant, President at Nasuni, comments:
“Gartner predicts that unstructured data will increase by three times over the next three years. This is a worrying forecast for enterprises but could be reduced to just one time growth.
With businesses unable to maintain the budget required to manage that growing data demand (IT spending is set to increase by just 5.1% in 2023), leaders will come to the realization that simply scaling storage infrastructure is not the answer. Cutting inessential data, like duplicated files, to cut costs will arise as the solution to exponential data growth in 2024.
This can be achieved with two key processes: consolidating data and data cleansing, the process of getting rid of duplicate and old data and gaining a better understanding of proprietary data, and how it can be utilized. Cloud migrations are often an initial forcing function to get enterprises to consolidate data. Without consolidation and the cleansing of duplicate data files, data storage costs will skyrocket. The old storage guard vendors don’t want you to cleanse your data, since the more data used, the better for them by requiring you to purchase more infrastructure.
Limiting exponential unstructured data to just one times growth through data consolidation and cleansing will mean that businesses won’t have to reallocate revenue-generative IT budgets just to keep up and can instead unlock cash to spend on IT innovation.”
Prediction: The channel’s AI opportunity – with the right vendor
Chrissie Tarbitt, EMEA Channel Director at Nasuni, commented:
“Customers are shifting away from traditional infrastructure partners towards working with more innovative channel partners. These can help them adopt dynamic cloud and enterprise software models where they can better understand both their structured and unstructured data and dynamically manipulate and innovate using it.
Generative AI offers a huge opportunity for enterprises to adapt their existing business models and digital transformations. Companies are actively seeking insights and advice – from vendors and their partners alike around these strongly emerging trends.
In particular, we are seeing the rise of leading hybrid cloud vendors that commit to working strategically and for the long term with expert channel partners. This approach gives enterprise customers a very clear Generative AI proposition, a risk-managed approach, cutting-edge technology support with business transformation and implementation strategies that will enable them to achieve their business outcomes.”
