At Constant C, we’re always monitoring emerging tech trends to help businesses improve their operational efficiency—all while staying secure. Let’s take a look at four tech trends that are emerging in 2024 that may have an important impact on small businesses:
Generative AI and Machine Learning
Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the hottest topics in the tech world right now, and while we still don’t have “true AI”, generative AI like ChatGPT or Midjourney are absolute game-changers for businesses.
For years, a bottleneck for small businesses has been the ability to produce content: Art, copy, and other content are expensive to produce. Generative AI promises to fill an important gap, and while the content it produces may not reach the quality of the content you would get from, say, a marketing department, it can help businesses do anything from writing emails to completing pitches for government grants.
Generative AI is getting better and better, and we expect more small businesses to use these technologies to help improve their content production, and even to enhance customer service through the use of generative chatbots.
The Ever-Growing Importance of Cybersecurity
One of the downsides of generative AI is that anybody can use it—including cybercriminals. That means they can streamline operations, just like a business can. What they’re streamlining, however, is their attempts to get their hands on sensitive data.
According to one statistic, 98% of cyberattacks involve some form of social engineering. Generative AI makes this social engineering much easier, providing an easy way to generate phishing emails, scan for name and address data, and more.
More cyberattacks mean more cybersecurity training is needed; employees need to know exactly what phishing emails and other social engineering attacks look like, and how to counter them. Additionally, businesses will benefit more from using tools like managed detection and response (MDR) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) to protect sensitive data and their network at large.
5G and The Internet of Things
New technologies aren’t limited to AI, and while 5G isn’t exactly new, it is becoming more widespread. 5G connections are faster, more reliable, and have a greater capacity than 4G networks.
This means it’s easier than ever for devices to connect to the internet—and that means more devices than ever will. Small businesses can take advantage of the Internet of Things (IoT) to create more energy-efficient and secure operations.
A camera can tell you exactly who is coming to your business and send you a message when they arrive. Automated lighting can turn on and off at specific times, helping your business save money. New technologies are constantly being created to enhance operational efficiency; there’s almost certainly an IoT technology designed for your industry.
The Rise of Superapps
Another tool that promises to improve business operations is the rise of superapps. These are apps that combine a wide variety of functions into one so that all of your operations take place in the same app.
The advantages of this are profound. Imagine an app that records your transactions on a business credit card and then automatically puts them into a spreadsheet. Using machine learning, it predicts what these expenses are for, and automatically suggests follow-ups. The app knows your schedule: You had a meeting with a client for lunch, and it sees you’ve paid for lunch on your credit card. With this information, it proposes creating an email thanking your client for lunch—and then writing it on your behalf.
We’re not there yet, but the rise of superapps is one of the key tech trends to watch out for; we believe superapps may completely change the way that small businesses operate in the near future.
Stay on Top of Emerging Tech Trends With Constant C
From using AI to automate repetitive tasks to helping you protect your assets in an increasingly digital world, the team at Constant C is always analyzing the latest tech trends to help your business thrive.
We’re one of the few IT companies in Winnipeg for small businesses, and our approach is to tailor our solutions to your needs. Work with us to get the newest market trends working for you, and read our blog for more news on how technology can make your business better.
