Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2024.  Read them in this 16th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.

The Year Ahead - What's Hype and What's Ripe

By Jim Remsik, Founder and CEO of Flagrant

The year ahead offers promise and pressure. We'll see advances in AR, setbacks in AI, continued exasperation and hopefully moments of exaltation. And when you add an election year into the mix - especially one that's already proving volatile and divisive - there's no telling how directions and markets can change. That said, buckle up, and keep an eye on the following trends and predictions.

AI Hype Crashes

The hype around AI has people believing the technology will rid society of every ill, or create new unimagined horrors. Fueled by a lack of understanding in non-technical audiences, these lofty expectations are set to come crashing back to earth. AI today is simply large language models and predictive text. As new solutions are introduced in the year ahead, and people realize the current limits of AI, excitement will become tempered - and reasonable.

Make Way for the Monolith

The monolith architecture will have a resurgence and give microservices a run for their money. When we build small services as the default, they often get broken up before we understand the efficiencies to be gained. Small services will still be used when introducing new innovation. However, with employee churn, companies don't want to end up with no one versed in services written by coworkers who have moved on. A monolith in a team with shared skills and culture will produce better consistency in delivery, support and your overall business.

F*** this Waiting Game

In 2024, companies and employees are going to want more - and they'll take bigger chances to get it. With wars on separate continents involving the U.S., and domestic upheaval impacting life at home, plans have been put on hold for some time. Businesses and professionals are tired of the waiting game, ready to say "f*** this" and push ahead, whether it means demanding a significant salary increase or finally bringing a shelved product to market.

Low Visibility in the Talent Pool

A market correction has seemed to spur greater availability of talent, still, many people with strong skill sets have taken themselves off the market. Having saved up and gotten laid off, they simply haven't needed to seek a new position - at least not yet. This will continue to cloud visibility into the talent pool until companies offer more attractive packages or individual savings dry up.

Augmented Reality Gets Real

2024 will be the year AR gets real in business, especially in realms like manufacturing and supply chain management. While robotics are used for purposes like warehouse picking, there's still a need for human oversight and involvement. Instead of enlisting additional bodies, AR will be used to augment current employee capabilities so they can do more. Further, we'll see strong growth in consumer AR headset sales, boosted in good part by Apple having joined the market.

Software Developer Demand

Automation is being used in software development to reduce engineering tasks, but it's falling short and causing gaps to form. It might be great for template type work but automation simply can't produce novel solutions. What's more, its use has been limited to simple implementations, and knowing how to move forward from there can cause issues. That's why experienced developers will continue to be in great demand in 2024, despite advancements in automation.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jim Remsik is founder and CEO of Flagrant, a shop committed to discovering, designing and developing software solutions to answer the unique needs of each client. A computer software industry veteran of over 20 years, he founded Adorable IO, was former director of 8th Light, and for nearly a decade, chaired the Madison+ Ruby Conference, an event that'll return under his direction in 2024. Jim also proudly served as publicly-elected Treasurer of Goose Lake Watershed District, and once, not-so-proudly, crashed a stock car into a cement wall while racing in reverse. For more, please visit www.beflagrant.com.