Navigating Uncertainty in Tech

As we approach 2024, I’ve got a chance to reflect on the upcoming changes in the tech landscape. Brace yourself and prepare for some no-nonsense dive-in on the challenges facing tech after a turbulent 2023 as well as key trends and opportunities on the horizon.

on dealing with an unpredictable market

Money's still a headache for tech companies, and the forecast for 2024? They will stay expansive and won’t get cheaper any time soon. So, for  startups – the struggle is real. The big players?  They will be fine-tuning  and optimizing what already pays the bills. 

generative AI

Its potential impact is huge, but real-world adoption faces hurdles like computing costs and uncertainty around regulation. We'll likely see a "cold shower" in 2024 as hype meets reality. However, AI integration shows promise in sectors like fintech, travel and marketplaces.

Affinity profiling and deep learning models will further refine user understanding and experience personalization. But any tech giant will wait until the technology proves viable, and big players in the marketplace domain are not an exception.

will AI replace developers?

Well, not yet - it lacks critical capabilities for full replacement. But as a supplementary tool, it already changes how developers work by allowing code generation and tweaking instead of building from scratch. AI is a helper, not a job thief.

empowering engineering teams

The priority is getting them to do less redundant tasks and more value-adding work through automation, updated processes, and culture. Once again, we’ve got to focus on optimization of efforts - achieving more with fewer hands, so to say. 

In 2023 we saw big layoffs, especially in large enterprises. Downsizing has forced businesses to reconsider the priorities of specific tasks and processes. Teams with the right culture and hands untied have shown that they can achieve better results faster. This trend will continue in 2024, as the world is not slowing down. I’m pretty sure that we will see more cultural transformations towards empowered engineering teams among various businesses. 

the main risk

Data security and privacy. With exponentially more data created and stored digitally, protecting it from threats is paramount both technologically and strategically. Over 60% of CEOs see data provenance, security and privacy as barriers to adopting emerging technologies like AI. Data security and privacy has been a ticking bomb for years. Nowadays, we are probably approaching the culmination point given that generative AI has become more accessible than ever before. AI can process an extremely raw piece of data and retrieve quite unexpected artifacts out of it. The stakes are higher than ever. 

Bottom line: cash is the king, trends are getting reality check and engineering must evolve or perish. Look for impact and innovate to just survive.