2024 trends – despite what you hear it’s not all about AI

With the new year upon us, there is plenty to be excited about and all of us at Expereo are looking forward to the opportunities that lie ahead! 2023 proved to be a year of significant change, with innovative developments in technology bringing about new societal trends and shifts in how businesses operate. So, with that said, what five trends could be in store in the twelve months ahead?

1. AI – what else?

Almost everywhere I go nowadays, and everybody I meet – it ends up in a conversation about AI and its potential risks and benefits. While 2023 may have been the year AI burst into the spotlight, 2024 is likely to be the time when organisations actually implement AI tools in all areas to become more agile and operate at a faster pace.

Most immediately, I see businesses turning to AI to replace, or lessen the burden of data heavy and labour-intensive tasks – allowing talent to focus on more challenging, value-add areas and areas that enrich customer experience. Data accuracy and standardisation is therefore likely to become a huge focus over the next few months for enterprises, as this will play a large part in determining the extent to which AI can be used successfully.

Businesses also have the potential to use AI to streamline and enhance their customer facing processes and channels - which in turn should lead to increased customer satisfaction. Organisations need to therefore be focusing on how to leverage AI platforms to make gains where possible, and at Expereo, we will be looking to do exactly this. But it’s not only AI that’s likely to make its mark on 2024.

2. The competition for talent – it continues

If there’s one thing I am sure about, it’s that the global competition for talent is not over, not even close! In fact, as job demands shift to require more data focused and AI-minded individuals, trying to win and secure top talent is likely to become even more difficult.

But as AI removes repetitive and labour-intensive tasks and streamlines existing processes - this should lead to improvements in both productivity and job satisfaction. The time saved for employees previously undertaking these time-intensive tasks should also lead to additional opportunities for learning and development – often critical to retaining top talent. All of us at Expereo understand the need for our teams to be the best version of themselves – and we will be making every effort in 2024 to allow our teams to upskill and develop new talents.

3. Growth opportunities – but connectivity is key

Despite a mixed 2023 for many organisations, there are huge opportunities for growth during this upcoming year, including through expanding into new markets. In particular, the opportunities are boundless across APAC, the Middle East and Africa.

However, for businesses to make the most of these opportunities - their ambitions must be matched with investments in technology. This is where connectivity is key. Connectivity can be the enabler of growth – providing organisations with global access and the agility that they need to expand and succeed.

And when we think of how AI is likely to change the business world, AI in its nature needs access to data - stored in the cloud in data centres around the world. So, having exceptional connectivity, alongside a predictable and reliable network, is vital - otherwise the potential benefits of AI and technology investments will be constrained.

We are proud of our work in supporting customers across more than 190 countries – ensuring they can always stay connected, no matter the environment they are doing business in. We’ll be looking to build on this in 2024 – ensuring our customers can scale at pace in whichever location they need to.

4. Partnering for success

In order to deliver on these growth opportunities, we should see a continuation of organisations seeking a single partner to fill any expertise and skills gaps that exist. It is a significant challenge for a single organisation and IT team to keep track of the technology, expertise and capacity required to deliver the outcomes that a business wants.

However, with a skills gap impacting some organisations, we may also see companies using specialists to support their transformation and keep up with the pace of change.  We have a fantastic skilled team working with us at Expereo, true specialists in their areas – and we are looking forward to continued collaboration to deliver further success for our customers this year.

5. All about the customer

Finally, the importance of the focus on the customer remains the life blood of an organisation in 2024. We are already seeing an increasing trend of companies looking to the consumer world and replicating those tactics in the corporate world in order to retain customers and clients for the long-term. What is key, however, are the processes and strategies behind customer satisfaction achievements.

In today’s world, whether its consumer or corporate, customers want and expect platforms and services that are easy-to-use, responsive, and delivering at speed. Organisations that deliver this for their customers in 2024 will be well set up for success – and this is exactly what we at Expereo aim to continue doing. This played a large part in our success during 2023 – leading us to winning new customers such as Carlsberg, and we’re looking forward to supporting many more organizations across 2024 in exactly the same way.

All in all, it’s likely to be an exciting year ahead of us! All of us at Expereo are looking forward to working with all of our customers and partners across the world to make the most of all the opportunities that arise.