By 2023, the technology landscape and boardrooms will be dominated by AI, with new use cases emerging almost daily. This has brought data management under intense scrutiny as companies seek to use AI to transform their business. Data strategy has now become part of business strategy. The following 7 trends will shape 2024 in terms of AI, edge, regulations and data as a product.

1. Both private and public clouds are becoming increasingly important for AI

In 2024, many organizations will be unable to reap the full benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) if they do not steer their hybrid cloud strategy in the right direction. All eyes are now on AI, which means data quality and accessibility is under the microscope. For this reason, companies need to clearly understand which data sets and workloads belong on-premises or in the cloud. Decisions around this will be critical to AI input and output, so developing a robust hybrid cloud strategy will be critical.

Complex issues such as compliance need to be integrated into a company’s cloud strategy early on as they become more difficult to manage after using AI. With more regulations coming, including AI-specific laws, companies need to better control their data. Private data centers will therefore make a comeback next year as they offer companies a way to protect and manage sensitive data.

2. Edge analytics will create real-time value in 2024

As more and more “things” are deployed for various applications, we will see growth in analytics at the edge in 2024. Organizations’ data continues to grow rapidly, but when it can be used in real time, it adds great value to sources.

Edge analytics can already deploy ambulances automatically if a patient with a smart pacemaker goes into cardiac arrest or prevent autonomous cars from colliding with each other. However, for many applications we are only at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to edge analytics. Therefore, it is expected that more organizations will invest in this area as they want to generate real-time value from the entire network.

3. The European data law will make it easier to switch cloud providers

In 2024, the European Data Law will make it easier to switch cloud providers. We have already seen the same process with banks, energy, internet and mobile providers. Regulators stepped in to make it easier to switch services, improving flexibility and choice for consumers and businesses.

Since switching cloud providers is more complex than, for example, switching energy suppliers, it is unlikely that there will be a wave of switching where companies switch clouds on a monthly basis. Why? This is because the regulations focus primarily on switching costs (egress fees) and fixed discounts. Efforts may be made to force greater consistency between cloud environments. But ultimately, switching cloud providers requires time, resources and specific skills.

As a future-proof switching solution, organizations in the hybrid and multi-cloud era need more flexibility when moving their data between clouds. However, being able to change cloud providers is one thing, actually having the ability to do so is another.

4. History will repeat itself as the AI ​​market consolidates through funding

The artificial intelligence (AI) market will begin to consolidate as well-funded early entrants push new entrants out of the business by 2024. Funding for AI companies has exploded in recent years, meaning it is already too late for new AI startups.

Every time someone has an innovative idea, a larger organization like OpenAI, backed by a $13 billion investment from Microsoft, can reproduce the idea by adding a new API. This trend seems to be repeating itself, as the same thing happened with innovative cloud providers that were acquired by large hyperscalers or went bankrupt. In the EU, we will continue to see new regulations that limit or delay the development of high-risk AI solutions.

5. Data lakehouses will open their doors and provide added value

In 2023, companies began experimenting with data lakehouse capabilities, but their true value had not yet been demonstrated. 2024 will be the year of the open data lakehouse, where all elements of enterprise tech stacks will distribute data between services more effectively. This leads to concrete practical examples, such as taking a snapshot of data for financial compliance, as companies take control of their data and treat it more like code.

6. Shifting AI from the lab to production

The AI ​​landscape is evolving so quickly that it is difficult to predict how it will be used in a year. But it is certain that AI will move from the laboratory to large-scale production in 2024, bringing with it a wave of new applications.

We are already seeing the power of AI in areas such as life sciences, where it is being used to drive research and discover new medicines. This doubles the number of new drugs that can be tested. This is just the tip of the iceberg, as we will only see the true power of AI once it is more widely used in applications across all markets.

7. Data becomes a product

In 2024, data will become a product and not just a valuable asset. This is the critical next step in data maturity. New roles like data product owner that reinforce this product ethos are becoming commonplace as companies want to truly understand their data. This helps them gain meaningful and actionable insights.

This allows companies to build a foundation of trusted data that is more maintainable, portable, and enables better collaboration between teams. Ultimately, this will enable companies to more effectively capitalize on the wave of AI innovation by building trusted data to power the next wave of trusted AI applications.

This is a contribution from Rein de Jong, Regional Vice President BeNeLux at Cloudera. Click here to learn more about the company’s solutions.