IDC projects public cloud services will reach $219.3 billion by 2027, with the Asia/Pacific region experiencing significant growth in public cloud services and software investments, investing heavily in cloud-based software, data analytics tools, and AI platforms to optimize operations, enhance customer experiences, and gain valuable insights.

According to a recent report by BCG, women are keeping up with or even slightly outpacing men in adopting GenAI in the workplace. The report, based on a global survey of over 6,500 employees in the technology industry, suggests that GenAI presents an opportunity to reduce the gender gap in tech.

A new report from Gartner identifies five tech trends that will transform government operations by 2024: adaptive security, digital identity, AI, digital platforms, and programmatic data. IT plays a pivotal role in driving government transformation by modernizing operations and meeting citizens' needs.

A new survey by Protiviti, BoardProspects, and Broadridge Financial Solutions reveals that boards and C-suite leaders do not always agree on how to achieve common goals. Bridging these gaps is crucial as companies face several challenges, including an uncertain macroeconomic environment, a global war for talent, rising geopolitical risks, cyberattacks, and other existential threats.

Gartner predicts that by 2028, one-third of GenAI interactions will involve autonomous agents using AI techniques to complete tasks. Autonomous agents are systems that can accomplish specific goals without human intervention and can improve over time. In the future, users could directly interface with autonomous intent-driven agents, enabling a higher degree of autonomy and better alignment with human goals.

Recent findings from IDC report the Ethernet switch market revenue grew by 20.1% to $44.2 billion in 2023. The datacenter segment of the market rose by 13.6%, and ODM direct sales increased by 16.2%. However, the enterprise and service provider router market saw a decline of 0.4% in revenue.

A recent study finds employees who are significantly younger than their managers tend to have lower productivity levels than those who are closer in age. The study cites a lack of collaboration between different generations as the cause of friction and suggests that companies can improve productivity by adopting intergenerationally inclusive work practices.

Top-performing supply chains are investing in AI/ML to optimize their processes twice as much as low-performing peers. The best organizations focus on productivity, not efficiency or cost savings, to sustain growth. A recent Gartner survey aims to understand how supply chains are adapting to changes in economic values and harnessing digital assets for productivity.

In 2024, CIOs are expected to prioritize the adoption of gen AI for larger scale implementations. The primary motivation behind enterprise gen AI initiatives is to improve the velocity of existing operations. A recent global survey from Everest Group and Yates Ltd. suggests gen AI has successfully penetrated early enterprise adoption thresholds, with nearly 83% of global enterprises actively testing their capabilities or have already adopted gen AI for production-grade use cases.

GenAI exploded into the public consciousness in 2023, promising to transform the way business functions. Despite the potential, leaders are struggling to convert hype into reality. According to a new report by BCG, 66% of executives are ambivalent or outright dissatisfied with their organization’s progress on AI and GenAI so far, citing three primary reasons for their dissatisfaction: a lack of talent and skills (62%), an unclear AI and GenAI roadmap and investment priorities (47%), and absence of strategy regarding responsible AI and GenAI (42%).

By 2025, Gartner predicts 50% of consumers will quit or reduce social media use due to declining quality. A Gartner survey found 53% of consumers thought social media quality has declined compared to the past due to misinformation, toxic users, and bots. Consumers fear GenAI integration will worsen user experience. Emily Weiss, Senior Principal Researcher at Gartner, advises CMOs to refocus acquisition and retention strategies as users increasingly limit their social media use.

Governments worldwide are using GenAI to improve decision-making and services. According to a study by BCG, GenAI could increase productivity in the public sector by $1.75 trillion per year by 2033. This estimate includes all levels of government and various domains.

2024 will be the year of doing more with less, according to the results of the Everest Group 2024 Key Issues Study of enterprise executives. Top priorities for enterprises for the year ahead are revenue growth and a continued emphasis on cost optimization. Talent acquisition, which dominated enterprise concerns just two years ago, is no longer among the Top 5 expected challenges, falling to No. 8 from previous No.1 and No. 3 positions in expectations for 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Gartner outlines six trends that will significantly impact infrastructure and operations (I&O) over the next 12 to 18 months. I&O leaders have limited resources to track emerging trends and their impact on I&O, with a recommendation to I&O leaders to use the top trends impacting I&O for 2024 to identify which trends are most likely to impact their organization and implement effective tactics to respond.

In a recent report, IDC predicts that by 2027, 60% of APAC firms will allocate 35% of their CX budget on emerging products and skills as GenAI improves. This shift shows that companies are starting to prioritize GenAI for customer-facing applications, hoping to improve customer satisfaction, service, and retention.

68% of finance organizations are using or planning to use AI, according to a recent survey by Gartner. Of 133 finance leaders surveyed in May 2023, 39% are currently using AI/ML, and 29% plan to use it in the future. Successful AI-forward finance organizations embrace AI at the C-suite level and embed data science teams within finance departments. Employees should view AI as a co-worker, not a threat to their jobs, for the highest likelihood and magnitude of success.

According to Gartner, I&O leaders need to implement nine principles to maximize the resilience of cloud environments. The cloud is not inherently resilient, and most cloud outages are caused by software bugs rather than physical failures. In such cases, outages usually affect only some services or parts of the cloud provider's infrastructure. At the ongoing Gartner IT Infrastructure, Operations & Cloud Strategies Conference, analysts are discussing how to deal with these challenges and minimize the impact of cloud provider failures.

Business building is a successful way to grow. However, only 52% of leaders feel confident in their company's ability to pursue new high-growth opportunities, according to a study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The study surveyed 1,051 senior leaders from 17 countries. Of those surveyed, 73% said that business building is a priority for them. Since 2021, the companies have pursued an average of five new high-growth opportunities each year, investing around 27% of their annual revenue in launching, acquiring, or co-launching startup ventures.

Organizations across the globe prioritize digital transformation (DX) to become digital businesses that can create value through the use of technology for processes, products, services, and experiences. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Digital Transformation Spending Guide, global DX spending is forecast to reach nearly $3.9 trillion in 2027 with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.1%. The United States accounts for 35.8% of DX spending, followed by Asia/Pacific (33.5%) and EMEA (26.8%).

For the second consecutive quarter, a survey conducted by Gartner, Inc. revealed that dependence on a specific cloud provider for multiple business capabilities is one of the top five emerging risks for organizations. “The risk associated with cloud concentration is fast losing its ‘emerging’ status as it is becoming a widely recognized risk for most enterprises,” said Ran Xu, director, research in the Gartner Legal Risk & Compliance Practice. “Many organizations are now in a position where they would face severe disruption in the event of the failure of a single provider.”