Each year Ryan Pearcy, Associate Partner of SB Digital, and Simon Pinion, Business Advisory Partner at Scrutton Bland, make predictions about what will happen with technology in the coming year. This can be helpful when plotting a course for your business through an ever-changing landscape. Scrutton Bland Predict What Will Be Big For Digital In 2024
Before we run through their predictions for 2024, let’s see how they fared with their 2023 predictions: The delayed digitalisation of micro businesses – Correct – The announced delays by HMRC led to many software vendors closing their doors and limiting choice for micro businesses, which slowed uptake of systems Period end apps – Incorrect – 2023 turned out to be the year of AML apps. Period end apps are still in development Death of cryptocurrency? – Incorrect – December 2022 appears to have been the bottom of the slump with crypto values steadily increasing to more than double its value at the end of 2023 Development of 5G networks – Correct – 5G has become the dominant network coverage apart from rural areas, with most modern devices no longer working on 3G networks
bots appearing on social media automatically creating articles and posts during 2023
through development or acquisition, limiting the need to use multiple apps. This will force users to consider their options and whether they need to change their providers. Everyday use of AI 2023 was definitely the year of talking about AI. 2024 is looking likely to be the year where it’s use becomes the norm. Firstly some context. AI has been around in the background in many apps for years, but has been in the background and hidden. The success of Large Language Models (LLMs) started by ChatGPT in 2022 has enhanced visibility and applicability of AI which is what has led to the recent boom in discussions, but there was little to be seen in practical applications in 2023. Although who didn’t love creating a wacky but great image based on a few words?! What will change in 2024 is that the combination of LLMs and other AI functionality on large data sets will see practical use rolled out across many normal applications, with Microsoft and Google likely to dominate with their releases. Co-Pilot from Microsoft has the potential to dramatically disrupt how we work
Gesture control – Correct – This continued to roll out in 2023 with hardware using this becoming the norm in many areas. The announcement of Apple’s Vision Pro in the year cements this further.
So what are Ryan and Simon predicting this year?
Market consolidation Anyone that has studied evolution understands that it isn’t one smooth flow. It is punctuated by bursts of innovation stimulated by a triggering event, followed by consolidation where certain traits dominate. This is as true for Technology as it is for Life. The technology market has been through a period of innovation following the rise of cloud, with thousands of apps popping up and fighting to be heard. That tide is now turning with many apps failing to grow sufficiently and either fading away or merging into bigger businesses. This is expected to continue into 2024 as those that already dominate expand their functionality, either
ChatGPT – Correct – This prediction focussed on content writing which proved correct with
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