By Brett Hansen on December 22, 2023
It sometimes seems like generative AI (GenAI) is sweeping the business world. Not so. We remain in the hype cycle, with forward-thinking organizations refraining from full-blown rollouts for the foreseeable future.
Caution is important; organizations that rapidly deploy generative AI integrations have already faced blowback in the form of lawsuits and investor scrutiny. To avoid these consequences, market leaders will use 2024 to prepare their workforce and data for a large-scale rollout down the road. This process will include categorizing, vetting and understanding massive amounts of organizational data; preparing the workforce through on-the-job training; and testing minor applications of generative AI through repetitive tasks like match-and-merge.
I’ve tapped additional industry leaders to share their perspectives on what generative AI trends they foresee and what part they will play in company success in 2024 and beyond.
Generative AI will usher in a new era of innovation and economic growth.
“In 2024, we’ll see a tidal wave of business adoption as companies implement GenAI to automate tasks, improve productivity and create new products and services. It will also transform how we interact with computers, with more intuitive and user-friendly interfaces created with natural language. GenAI is the most disruptive technology since the internet, and I’m eager to see how it shapes the future of work in 2024 and beyond.” —Todd Fisher, CEO and Co-Founder of CallTrackingMetrics
AI is poised to revolutionize cybersecurity in 2024.
“AI will significantly augment disaster recovery (DR) testing, runbook creation, and incident detection in the next five years.
AI can support advanced ways to automate DR testing, reducing the need for manual intervention. These functions not only save time but also ensure all tests are consistent. Furthermore, AI algorithms can analyze outcomes of past DR tests to predict future failures, enabling organizations to proactively address issues before disaster. And, of course, AI can help to optimize resource allocation by analyzing system performance during DR tests and suggesting adjustments as needed.
AI is also transforming the field of runbook automation (RBA). Instead of taking a rigid, rules-based approach adopting an “if, then” logic system, AI-based RBA takes a cognitive approach, making decisions based on knowledge representation, learning and reasoning.
Finally, AI is becoming a driving force behind the threat intelligence industry. By collecting, processing and synthesizing threats, AI can transform how organizations combat cyber risks. The productivity gains brought about by AI in threat intelligence and security operations will be significant.” —Adam Scamihorn, Product Director, InterVision
CIOs and procurement leaders will work closer than ever next year.
“In 2024, we’ll see a strategic pivot in procurement processes as chief information officers (CIOs) become more involved in purchasing decisions.
Organizations need sophisticated security oversight during vendor selection, especially as GenAI tools grow more popular (these technologies are promising, but they present many potential vulnerabilities). Luckily, there’s no problem teamwork can’t fix, and CIOs are highly experienced in risk assessment. As GenAI becomes further intertwined with various business purchases, CIOs’ expertise and input will become paramount, leading to closer collaboration with procurement teams. We foresee this shift will streamline procurement processes, ensuring security is not an afterthought but a fundamental criterion in organizations’ vendor selection process and overall digital transformation.
Today, there’s a pretty large gap between procurement and IT. So, to initiate a higher level of collaboration, procurement teams and CIOs should focus on adopting tools that automatically collect, process, match and enrich data, preferably inside a single platform. Solutions that provide a trusted, single source of procurement data benefit the entire organization, enabling data-driven decisions in various departments — from finance to compliance and even sales. With this infrastructure, procurement teams establish a feedback loop that benefits the entire enterprise and facilitates better collaboration.” —Stephany Lapierre, CEO and Founder of TealBook
AI widens organizational attack surfaces, but it’s also improving ransomware detection.
“As many cybersecurity experts have pointed out, innovative tools like GenAI can generate more refined and successful cyber attacks, both through more nuanced hacker tactics and increased organizational vulnerabilities. However, in 2024, we’ll also see organizations adopting GenAI to improve their cybersecurity posture. Broad event correlation via machine learning (ML) and AI leads to faster event resolution and detection by detecting ransomware at the behavioral level, identifying suspicious key generation, shadow copy checks, and encryption tests. These applications will develop and expand further in the new year, leading to more informed cybersecurity strategies.” —Zack Moore, Product Manager, Security at InterVision Systems
