Cradlepoint IT and business predictions 2024

2023 has been a big year for continued growth in businesses reliance on cloud computing, developments in artificial intelligence (AI), and increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks that require innovative and evolving cyber security measures.

At Cradlepoint, we’re always looking to the future. Our innovative solutions enable organisations to futureproof their investments. Here is where we think the tech industry is heading in 2024:

1. AI will become one with the network, impacting all business operations

If 2023 was the year of flashy AI investments, 2024 will be the year of AI impact — although it may not be as visible to the naked eye. AI will move from a ‘tool you go to’ (such as ChatGPT) to being integrated into the applications we are using every day and empowering network connectivity. As such, we’ll begin to see the benefits of AI being integrated into all applications related to the network, bolstering network predictability, troubleshooting, security and more. Businesses will need to ensure AI transparency and security practices are adequate in order to make the most of AI.

Security within the AI space will therefore be of growing importance. Applications like ChatGPT record and store transcripts of every conversation. Data entered in the app may be incorporated into its dataset and used to enhance the language models or for research purposes — and may potentially be exposed to other users in future responses. Significantly, it is also accessible to human trainers. Competitors or other parties could discover confidential data that organisational users have copied into the app. They might also discover confidential data that a user has entered in other apps. For example, if an enterprise user enters sensitive data in Google Translate, that information could be used to train the company’s AI models and perhaps exposed in a Bard response.

Organisations will need to consider security measures that protect users and their organisations when using AI applications.

2. A 5G wireless strategy will become a key boardroom decision as connectivity moves from foundational to essential

Fixed wireless access, private networks, satellite, WAN — today’s enterprise connectivity options are as expansive as ever. In 2024, enterprises across verticals will have more opportunity to choose which solutions may work best for them, but will ultimately need to pick the option that will cater to their specific business needs and operations, particularly as they see other companies suffer significant business loss due to network outages. As such, the wireless conversation will move into the C-Suite and become a strategic decision for the modern business.

As part of this decision, organisations will need to weigh their options and engage in debates such as inclusion of satellite and 5G, to determine the combination that will work best for them.

Organisations looking to implement best practice when it comes to uptime, latency, and speed could consider Cradlepoint and Starlink as complementary solutions. Cradlepoint enables enterprise organisations to seamlessly combine Starlink with 5G and other WAN sources such as LTE and Wi-Fi as WAN. Why is this important? Because in most scenarios, remote businesses need a combination of cellular and satellite solutions to ensure they have uninterrupted connectivity.

3. Growth in local industries will be a catalyst to private 5G and the edge

According to KPMG, with geopolitical conflict encouraging many companies to nearshore or onshore their operations, the manufacturing industry in Australia is set to expand and become competitive not only locally, but globally. In the next year, we’ll see an increased need to drive cost savings while manufacturing in home countries and neighbouring regions. Industries like manufacturing, but also ports, mining, airports, and energy are already going through change driven by digitalisation. This new working world will require a modern communication backbone to support the adoption, use, and scaling of new and emerging, data-driven technologies.

In order to do this, we’ll see more enterprises in those verticals move to the edge to increase efficiencies and drive down the costs of product inspections, management, and overall plant operations, with the addition of more automation. The manufacturing space will specifically look to technologies like private 5G networks and IoT in 2024 to create networks and tools to enable more efficient control over products produced. As digitalisation continues, security will be a significant factor for consideration in these industries, with recent examples like the cyber-attack on ports operator DP World Australia further highlighting the need for stringent network security measures across all industries.

4. IoT will finally bring the ‘smart’ society to life — from cities, to malls, to businesses

From powering smart infrastructure to traffic management to smart parking, IoT devices throughout cities are actively creating seamless experiences and empowering the cities of the future. In 2024, we’ll see an increase in industries that leverage IoT devices to bolster connectivity opportunities to increase efficiency, drive increased productivity, and meet the need for consumer and customer experiences. As such, we’ll begin to see the inklings of a ‘smart society’, as IoT-enabled establishments from shopping malls to public transportation to modern businesses take flight.

Despite a lack of formal regulation on business IoT security from the Australian government, enterprises will need to do all they can to secure their IoT devices, thereby protecting their networks. This means IT leaders and cybersecurity professionals must understand the unique challenges IoT devices present, why a zero-trust approach is so important, and how the right network hardware can help secure an enterprise IoT environment.

Image: iStock.com/da-kuk