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3 ways technology
can help enterprises navigate a challenging 2024

Author: Nick Reese

While domestic and global uncertainty may be in the cards for 2024, technology offers enterprises the opportunity to keep pace with competitors, take advantage of new opportunities and protect their operations. Here are three ways enterprises plan on leveraging technology in 2024.

AI on the rise

If 2023 is the year generative AI made the front page, 2024 is the year where it makes its way into the back office and front lines of enterprises. Enterprise applications are being upgraded, redeveloped or created from scratch to take advantage of generative AI's ability to drive business results. As a result, Gartner® predicts by 2026, more than 80% of enterprises will have used generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) application programming interfaces (APIs) or models, and/or deployed GenAI-enabled applications in production environments, up from less than 5% in 2023.1

In 2024, enterprises can begin their generative AI journey by incorporating the technology across key use cases, including:

  • Data analysis: Enterprises can use generative AI to quickly process and interpret massive datasets to uncover insights, in addition to enabling predictive analytics and conducting robust "what if" scenario planning to preemptively strategize and react faster to market trends.
  • Customer experience: Generative AI will be used to power the next generation of text- and voice-based chatbots to provide customer support and craft personalized user experiences.
  • Supply chain optimization: Enterprises can use generative AI to uncover new opportunities to optimize the supply chain by identifying bottlenecks and potential disruptions to provide more robust routing strategies.

Manufacturing gets smarter

In 2024, manufacturers will continue to leverage the Internet of Things (IoT) to connect machines and processes together. By digitizing their physical infrastructure, organizations will be able to drive efficiencies and reduce downtime while positioning themselves to adapt to dynamic market conditions.

According to the 2023 ISG Smart Manufacturing Study, nearly three-quarters (71%) of respondents reported success in their smart manufacturing initiatives. Key motivators for these initiatives included productivity improvements, cost savings and supply chain resilience. In a separate 2023 report, more than two-thirds of manufacturers said technology can be very helpful, or extremely helpful, in addressing workforce challenges. In particular, more than 50% more manufacturers are using AI and machine learning compared to the previous year.

In 2024, enterprises will focus on leveraging smart manufacturing across the following key use cases:

  • Predictive maintenance: Leveraging data and analytics, manufacturers can maintain their equipment based on its actual condition, not a maintenance calendar or waiting for machinery failure.
  • Digital twins: By creating a digital replica of its physical infrastructure, manufacturers can gain new insight into equipment based on real-time data while conducting experiments on how to optimize the equipment without impacting real-world operations.
  • Resource optimization: Real-time insights into workflows, operations, logistics and customer sales data allow manufacturers to automatically optimize their manufacturing operations so that they can reduce wasted materials and eliminate the need to store extra finished goods.

Cybersecurity and AI: Friend and foe

As enterprises continue to digitally transform their organizations, their growing digital footprint leaves them more and more vulnerable to AI-generated cyberattacks of increasing sophistication and devastation.

According to the most recent Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, 2024 promises to challenge enterprises with attacks that are both novel and familiar. Ransomware will continue to be a dominant cybersecurity challenge, with 24% of incidents already involving ransomware. Ransomware is present in more than 62% of all incidents committed by organized crime actors and in 59% of all incidents with a financial motivation. Because they present larger targets with more resources to exploit—and perhaps being seen as having deeper pockets with which to pay—enterprises are particularly at risk for ransomware attacks by organized crime organizations.

In 2024, enterprises will leverage AI to protect against AI-powered ransomware threats and secure their smart manufacturing operations through:

  • Threat intelligence: Enterprises will use AI-driven analysis to counteract AI-powered ransomware attacks by recognizing patterns that indicate a potential attack, even if the AI model hasn't encountered that specific ransomware attack type before.
  • Monitoring: AI-powered platforms can better monitor interconnected manufacturing operations to detect attacks, configure protections and prevent unauthorized access.
  • Employee training: AI-driven training platforms can help test and educate a global workforce by simulating phishing and social engineering attacks, helping enterprises evaluate their readiness while preparing employees to detect the increasingly sophisticated attacks that AI will be capable of generating.

Regardless of the challenges 2024 brings, the right technology can provide enterprises with the tools to overcome them. Discover enterprise technology solutions from Verizon.

The author of this content is a paid contributor for Verizon.

1 Gartner, Gartner Says More Than 80% of Enterprises Will Have Used Generative AI APIs or Deployed Generative AI-Enabled Applications by 2026, October, 2023.

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

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