This is a prediction for enterprise trends in 2024, among three other forecasts…
New developments build upon the foundations of the old, although they sometimes — as is the case with the quick ascent of generative AI in 2023 — make significant and seemingly sudden leaps forward.
Amid these changes in 2023, one thing stands clear for 2024: every bit and byte of data counts. A data-first approach will be key to transforming data into a high-value business asset that then lays the foundation for business transformation.
Ultimately, this is what will help businesses set themselves up for future success and competitive advantage. With this in mind, here are some of our predictions for the data management industry in 2024:
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Increased adoption of generative AI will drive the need for clean data
Data forms the foundation of generative AI, and for its potential to be harnessed, it needs clean data. Regardless of where you are pulling the data from — whether from a data model or warehouse — quality data will be essential. Bad data can result in bad recommendations, inaccuracies, bias, and so on. As more companies work to use generative AI, having a strong data governance strategy will become even more important. Ensuring your data stewards can access and control this data will also be key.
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The shift to data fabric will accelerate thanks to AI
When we surveyed the landscape at the end of last year, we anticipated that more organizations would move from a data mesh approach to a data fabric; this would help flatten information silos and make data available to business users more quickly. While the transition has been slow, this trend is certainly accelerating. In 2024, this trajectory will be driven largely by increased adoption of AI and other self-discovering technologies. Data fabric has been a topic of conversation for several years, and now that more advanced AI has emerged, it will become a bigger goal for organizations.
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The platform approach will gain traction
In today’s economy, it is no longer enough just to sell tools and solutions. Customers are increasingly demanding that vendors be able to demonstrate a stronger connection between their offerings and returns on investment to justify spending. As a result, more organizations will shift from an endless amount of point solutions to a platform approach. Consequently, vendors who only offer point solutions will be incentivized to explore acquisitions or partnerships to expand into an all-encompassing platform.
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Generative AI hype will turn to disillusionment
The consequence of the excitement around generative AI is that some companies have adopted the technology simply to keep up with the status quo rather than to solve a specific problem. As a result of this “shiny new object syndrome”, we are likely to see a great deal of investments in AI projects that eventually bear little fruit and fall into the trough of disillusionment. The key to limiting these failed projects is for companies to really ensure they understand the impetus and objectives for using generative AI; that it is tied to a defined business outcome and there is a method established for measuring the success of the investment.
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Data quality will start to become an executive-level topic
While ownership of data and data quality are core to business success, the executive and board levels of most organizations often undermine this fact. In our experience, leaders and executives believe they trust their data, but the reality is that their people have to work hard to improve data quality to a good usable level. Therefore, in 2024, as data quality takes on greater importance, the importance of data quality management will escalate to an executive-level conversation.
