Top 10 digital transformation trends for 2024

1. Business Process Automation:

Automation will no longer be exclusive to businesses, as many accessible solutions have hit the market. Business process automation is one of the most talked about digital transformation trends and is a must-have for businesses in 2023.

Business process automation can be achieved in various areas, such as marketing, customer support, sales, accounting, finance. , manufacturing, supply chain, etc. In the future ML and AI will help businesses use their business data effectively.

According to Gartner, more than 77% of businesses regularly use automation, application development and AI tools in their daily operations. Artificial intelligence has the ability to automate tasks that are not only monotonous but also high-risk.

2. 5G :

They are the next step in mobile communications. The 5G network will give us incredible speeds, and it is said that it will only take a millisecond to respond to commands. In contrast, 4G took up to 200 milliseconds. 

All online businesses that rely on the Internet of Things will benefit enormously from the widespread use of 5G. 

Businesses will benefit from faster broadband speeds, stable mobile networks, and a more connected future thanks to 5G. The technology will provide greater reliability, better security, wider installation and higher bandwidth.

3. Low-code tools will become mainstream:

Many companies will see a greater shift toward no-code or low-code software in 2023. Although there was widespread concern that developers would lose their jobs if these technologies became widespread, this fear remains unfounded. 

These categories of tools have proven to be a major asset for developers and businesses around the world. Rather than spending time building tools for their daily operations, developers can use the extra time to work on innovative products that can drive significant business growth.

Low-code solutions also give professionals the ability to make smarter decisions. With an easy learning curve, low-code and no-code solutions are ideal for business users who want to create modern applications for themselves or for developers to automate manual processes.

It delivers improved agility, higher productivity, lower costs, better customer experience, faster transformation and effective risk management and governance. 

Businesses that embrace low-code and no-code development will eliminate the complexity of building business applications. They will be better equipped to adapt and respond quickly to changing business conditions.

4. Contactless solutions and digital payments:

One of the biggest trends since 2020 is contactless solutions. From restaurants to manufacturing companies, everyone has had to adopt contactless service delivery to maintain social distancing norms.

 Digital payments are also a great way for businesses to avoid customer contact and for customers to avoid contact with frequently touched surfaces. Consumers and businesses around the world can now access the digital economy. 

Digital payments are one of the key enablers of banks’ digital transformation. A study conducted by RTi indicates that 30% of respondents used contactless payment methods for the first time since the start of Covid-19.

5. Hybrid work:

One of the most common digital transformation trends in 2024 will be the hybrid work environment, as companies expect their employees to work in the office at least a few days per month. Today’s workplaces are changing due to COVID-19 lockdowns.

 The future of work should be highly connected, much more than it is today. Businesses have been forced to adapt and deliver digitally connected experiences to increase productivity, increase retention rates and promote well-being.

These days, there is an increasing emphasis on work-life balance as many employees still work from home or have a hybrid work situation where they also work from home and in the office. Organizations will need to provide a digital and connected experience to ensure their employees perform at their best. A hybrid work model also gives employees great flexibility to work at their own pace.

According to Accenture’s recent report “The Future of Work: A Hybrid Work Model”, 83% of employees prefer to contribute on-site and off-site.

 Since many employees have become accustomed to working from home over the past couple of years, it makes sense to offer them this level of flexibility.

6. Democratization of AI:

AI is one of the most important digital transformations in 2023 and you will see more of its adoption. Democratizing AI means making it accessible to every company and person within the organization.

 It uses AI tools that spot and recognize trends, predict, make decisions, learn and improve. It can be integrated with startups, SMEs and businesses

This trend is driven by companies that have invested heavily in artificial intelligence, including Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, IBM and Google, to expand adoption and access. Previously, developing AI required a lot of resources, including recruiting subject matter experts, computing power, and money.

The democratization of AI will facilitate development by offering user-friendly resources, predefined algorithms, highly intuitive interfaces and cloud computing platforms. 

Developers who have access to these tools will be able to create their own machine learning applications and other complex software.

7. Digital Banking:

New age technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of Things, robotic process automation and blockchain are going to bring incredible changes in the banking landscape. 

Nowadays, most banking services are available online. There was a time when getting your loan approved took weeks. But today you know the status of your loan application in seconds.

The number of people using online banking is expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2024 . Here are some features banks are implementing due to COVID-19, according to Deloitte’s Digital Banking Maturity Report .

• 18% of banks have launched contactless payment methods

• 41% of banks have increased the limit for contactless payments

• 34% of banks have implemented fully digital processes

• 25% of banks have introduced in-branch appointment booking

• 23% of banks have introduced digital identification and verification methods

Several financial institutions have also started offering loans and credit cards online. Even the document verification process is done online. 

The shift to digital banking began well before the pandemic. The pandemic has allowed financial institutions to rethink the way they operate and make digital banking more personal, understanding and empathetic.

8. Environmental Social Governance (ESG) will often make headlines:

ESG criteria are a set of standards applicable to a company’s operations that socially responsible investors will use to measure potential investments. 

The governance factor in ESG refers to the company’s management audits, internal controls, shareholder rights and executive compensation. This can have a significant impact on a company’s financial metrics.

From climate issues to diversity, organizations around the world are prioritizing ESG, and you’ll likely hear more about it in 2023 and beyond. Many investments and commitments have been made in areas such as sustainable product development, climate, diversity and equity.

9. Architecture multicloud :

The reason behind setting up a multi-cloud environment is that a single hosting provider cannot provide all the solutions to the problems that businesses may face online. This is exactly why software and workloads within an organization are used in one or two private or public clouds. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has also created the need to adopt a multi-cloud architecture to reduce business continuity risks. It helps businesses easily manage their work model and enables remote working. 

A multi-cloud strategy is used for a variety of reasons, including disaster recovery, resiliency, security, and data residency requirements.

One of the biggest challenges when it comes to setting up a multi-cloud architecture is the complexity of infrastructure management. To manage a number of cloud environments, businesses will need to look for cloud automation and management solutions. 

This will help them meet agility requirements and experiment with new delivery models. This is a smart investment strategy for businesses of all sizes, not just enterprise-level organizations.

 Multicloud adoption helps businesses achieve greater efficiency, leverage economies of scale, and build a robust virtual infrastructure.

10. Big tech companies will face increased scrutiny from regulators:

Some of the world’s biggest technology companies will face increased scrutiny from regulators and government agencies. 

Court rulings and antitrust legislation are a regular part of these companies’ cases due to their monopolistic practices. Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon are among the companies under constant surveillance. 

These antitrust rulings are expected to force them to change their platforms, their behaviors and how they use customer data. Recently, Apple’s dominance in the US market led to a move that will force them to at least change the way users can download apps.

Conclusion :

The year 2024 will witness tectonic shifts in digital transformation. Businesses looking to thrive in their niches will need to adopt a digital-first mindset or they will struggle. Whatever your industry, digital tools and the right set of technologies will be the foundation of your success. The consequences of the changes you make will be immense.

If you want to embark on the digital transformation of your organization, let us help you achieve these goals for you. Get in touch with the experts at Zuci.