Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2024. Read them in this 16th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
In 2024 Expect a Surge in Sustainable IT Practices, Remote Work Solutions, Edge Computing, Cybersecurity, and Blockchain
By Michael Skurla, Chief Product Officer, Radix
IoT, LLC
Expect 2024 to be a transformative, pivotal year for
IoT's unprecedented growth and innovation. ‘Smart' devices, advanced
data-driven analytics and permeating connectivity will redefine the way we work
and interact with each other and our multitude of devices.
As technology organizations continue to be scrutinized
for their increased power and water usage as our world faces water shortages, 2024
will bring prioritized sustainable, eco-friendly IT practices focused on ESG
initiatives and environmental sustainability. Across all sectors,
energy-efficient hardware and carbon-neutral computing will be underscored with
"green" data center technologies. Emerging software services will tout enhanced
data-driven operational efficiency for IoT sensors in mission-critical
infrastructure.
As 12.7% of full-time employees
in 2023 clocked
in working from home-with an additional 28.2% opting for a hybrid work environment-the
remote work model in 2024 will rage on to permanently transform how and where
we "work". With remote operational accessibility at unprecedented levels, and restoring
pre-COVID working models no longer an option, "smart" companies and vendors will
offer improved remote work infrastructure by securing efficient communication
and collaboration tools.
Expect a surge in edge computing solutions in 2024-including
edge data centers-as processing data closer to the source will gain
unprecedented demand. Even with faster 5G networks, autonomous vehicles and indoor
location services will demand better services with heightened local analytics.
The reduced latency and enhanced real-time decision-making will become even
more critical to the IoT space, necessitating expedited critical processing that
can't be done ‘onboard' a device.
With evolving technologies in 2024 introducing greater
threats, cybersecurity concerns will be top priority across all sectors. The
emerging layer of AI-driven threat detection advancements will prioritize threat
‘detect' pushing aside 'react' methodology-allowing recovery to sustain essential,
uninterrupted services for such critical applications as smart cities and healthcare
systems.
While in 2023 Blockchain got a bad rap with its
relations to cryptocurrency, its promise will be further leveraged beyond that.
Perhaps more than a prediction, but a wish for 2024 would be for companies to reconsider
blockchain technology as the ideal channel for far more secure data exchange
across the board.
Finally, the surge of
edge computing, sustainable IT practices, cybersecurity, blockchain, and remote
work will secure IoT's prominent role in authorizing smarter and more efficient
work models, cities, industries, and personalized experiences. This surge, and
our ceaseless always-on connectivity thirst, will bring about whitecaps of data
security and privacy concerns pushing for closer collaborations between
industry leaders and regulators to maintain inclusive, and more beneficial and sustainable,
IoT deployments.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Skurla is Radix IoT's Chief Product Officer with
over 25 years of experience as a product
and marketing leader focused on delivering profitable, market-relevant products
and solutions for commercial and residential markets uniquely focused on
control automation and building technology product design. A recognized thought
leader in the alternative energy and data center sector's IoT space, his
experience, at the intersection of software and hardware, focuses on data
aggregation and analytics for mission-critical industries and business
operations tackling complex issues in business and product design on a global
scale. A frequent speaker at top global industry conferences and events, his thought
leadership articles and media interviews have appeared in top industry
publications including CBS News, Smart Buildings Magazine, IT Business Podcast,
Energies Magazine, IoT Evolution, Network World, RTInsights, RFID Journal, LEDs
Magazine, Critical Facilities, Oilman Magazine, IoT Playbook, IoT News, and
Digitalisation World (UK), LD+A, among others.