The Path Forward: A Recap of Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2023
Over the four days, Gartner and its guests shared several insights into the inner workings of the sector and how companies can tackle changes.
- The Orlando edition of the Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2023 was held from Oct 16-19, 2023.
- The conference served as the inflection point for thousands of CIOs seeking tips on value creation, especially in the context of the latest advancements in several emerging technologies.
- Check out Gartner’s top tech trends, IT spending ,and several other predictions for 2024.
Gartner’s annual four-day symposium for the technology industry concluded yesterday. The Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2023 saw the management consulting and tech research company share some interesting tidbits about where the tech industry is headed.
Held in Orlando in October, the Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2023 served as the inflection point for thousands of CIOs seeking tips on value creation, especially in the context of the latest advancements in technical research about artificial intelligence, cloud, infrastructure, and operations; cybersecurity, data and analytics, future of work; and geopolitics.
“A technology decision is not just a technology decision anymore. It is a technology, economic, social, and ethical decision all at once,” noted Mary Mesaglio, distinguished VP analyst at Gartner.
Sure, AI and generative AI have blown the lid off the possibilities that can be. However, it is imperative that organizations act per the current state of affairs and employ a calculated approach to adoption, complete with risk assessment, which is what Gartner aimed to convey at the event.
Bart Willemsen, VP Analyst at Gartner, said, “Technology disruptions and socioeconomic uncertainties require the willingness to act boldly and strategically enhance resilience over ad hoc responses. IT leaders are in a unique position to strategically lay down a roadmap where technology investments help their business’s sustenance of success amidst these uncertainties and pressures.”
Still, uncertainties can only help kick the can down the line so far. Kristin Moyer, distinguished VP analyst at Gartner, noted, “CEOs must start making big moves soon. Investors won’t accept the ‘uncertainty’ inaction excuse for long.”
Over the four days, Gartner and its guests shared several insights into the inner workings of the sector and how companies can tackle changes. Check out Spiceworks News & Insights’s top five takeaways from the Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2023.
Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2023 Highlights
1. The way ahead for AI adoption — lots of interest but no action?
During the opening keynote, The Next Era — We Shape AI, AI Shapes Us; speakers Gartner distinguished analysts Don Scheibenreif and Mary Mesaglio Gartner categorized AI as ‘Everyday AI,’ that helps improve productivity and ‘Game-changing AI,’ which infuses creativity.
With either one, executives must prioritize zeroing in on their AI Ambition and act to become AI-ready in the next 12 to 24 months to make the most of the tech. “To navigate decisions about AI in their organization, CIOs and IT leaders need lighthouse principles — a vision for AI that lights the way and says what kind of human-machine relationships they will and will not accept,” Mesaglio said.
Gartner predicted that generative AI will become a workforce partner for 90% of companies globally by 2025. However, only 9% of organizations have an AI vision statement, and over one-third of respondents, including CIOs and technology leaders, have yet to make plans to create an AI vision statement.
Scheibenreif also noted that generative AI is at the peak of the Gartner Hype Cycle and is about to plateau in less than two years before sliding into the trough of disillusionment. To avoid this, create your AI ambitions, AI-ready data, and AI-ready security.
See More: 2023 CISO Report: CISOs Have Their Board’s Ear, They Still Need to Justify Budgets
2. Gartner Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2024
Gartner’s Top Strategic Technology Trends aims to serve as the guide for information technology decision-makers (ITDMs) to make the relevant choice aligning with business priorities.
- AI Trust, Risk and Security Management (AI TRiSM): AI TRiSM Technology can help in tooling for control management. It includes ModelOps, proactive data protection, AI-specific security, model monitoring, and more.
- Continuous Threat Exposure Management: The continuous evaluation of accessibility, exposure, and exploitability of an organization’s digital and physical assets.
- Sustainable Technology: The goal is to make IT more efficient, circular, and sustainable through adherence to environmental, social, and governance (ESG).
- Platform Engineering: Gartner describes Platform Engineering as a way to optimize productivity and user experience and accelerate the delivery of business value.
- AI-Augmented Development: Design, code, and test applications using AI and generative AI.
- Industry Cloud Platforms: Industry-specific cloud solutions to become adaptable and agile in response to accelerating disruption.
- Intelligent Applications: AI-driven work automation.
- Democratized Generative AI: For conversational experiences and rich semantic understanding of knowledge.
- Augmented-Connected Workforce: To provide contextual support and guidance to the workforce for skill development (for new workers) and well-being.
- Machine Customers: To bring machines in goods and services, negotiations and purchases, thus replacing humans.
Gartner Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2024
Source: Gartner
3. Global IT spending growth
Organizations globally will collectively spend 8% more in 2024 compared to 2023. That’s $5.1 trillion. Interestingly, generative AI is predicted to get a small part of it. The reason is that organizations have yet to formulate AI adoption strategies.
Software and IT services are expected to get the biggest chunk of IT investments in 2024, followed by data center systems, devices, and communications services. Here’s a consolidated tabular view of the data from Gartner:
|
Spending |
2022 Spending (in millions) | 2022 Growth | 2023 Spending (in millions) | 2023 Growth | 2024 Spending (in millions) |
2024 Growth (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Data Center Systems |
$227.02 | 19.7% | $237.70 | 4.7% | $260.22 | 9.5% |
| Devices | $766.27 | -6.3% | $689.28 | -10.0% | $722.47 |
4.8% |
|
Software |
$811.31 | 10.7% | $916.24 | 12.9% | $1,042.38 | 13.8% |
| IT Services | $1,305.69 | 7.5% | $1,401.03 | 7.3% | $1,547.34 |
10.4% |
|
Communications Services |
$1,423.12 | -1.9% | $1,449.28 | 1.8% | $1,497.34 | 3.3% |
| Overall IT | $4,533.44 | 2.9% | $4,693.55 | 3.5% | $5,069.77 |
8.0% |
Gartner said the overall IT investment is also impacted due to ‘change fatigue.’ John-David Lovelock, distinguished VP analyst at Gartner, said, “Faced with a new wave of pragmatism, capital restrictions or margin concerns, CIOs are delaying some IT spending. Organizations are shifting the emphasis of IT projects towards cost control, efficiencies, and automation while curtailing IT initiatives that will take longer to deliver returns.”
4. Gartner’s top predictions for 2024 and beyond
- The rate of knowledge workers unionizing will surge by 1,000% by 2028 because of AI anxiety and concerns over the prospects of AI replacing jobs.
- Gartner expects more smart robots than frontline workers in manufacturing, retail, and logistics due to labor shortages by 2028.
- Enterprises will spend more than $30 billion to tackle malinformation by 2028. Gartner said the funds will be diverted from 10% of marketing and cybersecurity budgets.
- AI’s productivity value will carry a lot of weight. By 2027, it will be considered a primary economic indicator and factored in gauging the national power.
- Generative AI will play a massive role in reducing the modernization costs of legacy business applications. The tech can help in cost reduction by as much as 70%.
5. 2023 Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies
Gartner identified four key themes this year that encapsulate what the tech community is up to concerning all emerging technologies. These are:
- Emergent AI
- Developer experience (DevX)
- Pervasive cloud
- Human-centric security and privacy
Source: Gartner
“While all eyes are on AI right now, CIOs and CTOs must also turn their attention to other emerging technologies with transformational potential,” said Melissa Davis, VP analyst at Gartner. “This includes technologies that are enhancing developer experience, driving innovation through the pervasive cloud, and delivering human-centric security and privacy.”
Which direction will technology take in 2024? Share with us on LinkedIn, X, or Facebook. We’d love to hear from you!
Image source: Shutterstock
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