Gartner’s 2024 Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends and Their Business Impact

Gartner announced its 2024 list of ten strategic technology trends, emphasizing that IT leaders must act boldly to build resilience amid accelerating technological change and socioeconomic uncertainty. Research Vice President Bart Willemsen and Distinguished VP Chris Howard stress the need for disciplined, risk‑aware investment.

Democratized Generative AI – Large‑scale pre‑trained models, cloud services, and open‑source ecosystems are driving widespread AI adoption. Gartner predicts that by 2026 more than 80% of enterprises will use generative‑AI APIs or deploy AI‑enabled applications, up from less than 5% in early 2023.

AI Trust, Risk and Security Management (AI TRiSM) – As AI becomes ubiquitous, organizations require tools for model‑ops, proactive data protection, AI‑specific security, and monitoring of data/model drift. Gartner forecasts that AI TRiSM adoption will filter out up to 80% of erroneous or illegal outputs, markedly improving decision accuracy.

AI‑Augmented Development – Generative AI and machine‑learning techniques assist engineers in design, coding, and testing, boosting developer productivity and freeing time for higher‑value activities such as architectural design and business‑centric application composition.

Intelligent Applications – Defined as applications that autonomously adapt and respond, they embed AI services like machine learning, vector stores, and data connectivity to deliver continuously personalized experiences. A 2023 Gartner CEO survey found 26% of CEOs view talent shortage as the greatest risk, and AI is seen as the most impactful technology over the next three years.

Augmented‑Connected Workforce (ACWF) – This strategy leverages intelligent apps and workforce analytics to enhance employee experience, well‑being, and skill development. Gartner predicts that by the end of 2027, 25% of CIOs will use ACWF programs to halve the time required for critical roles to reach competence.

Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) – CTEM provides a unified, ongoing assessment of digital and physical asset exposure based on threat vectors and business initiatives rather than infrastructure components. Gartner expects organizations that prioritize CTEM‑driven security investments to cut two‑thirds of vulnerabilities by 2026.

Machine Customers – Also called “customer bots,” these autonomous agents can negotiate and purchase goods or services. Gartner projects 15 billion connected devices will have customer‑agent capability by 2028, generating trillions of dollars in revenue by 2030 and reshaping commerce.

Sustainable Technology – A digital‑solution framework aimed at delivering ESG outcomes, covering AI, crypto, IoT, and cloud workloads whose energy consumption raises sustainability concerns. By 2027, Gartner predicts 25% of CIO compensation will be tied to their impact on sustainable technology.

Platform Engineering – The discipline of building and operating self‑service internal development platforms, each maintained by dedicated product teams and integrated with tools and processes to improve productivity, user experience, and speed of business value delivery.

Industry Cloud Platforms (ICP) – ICPs combine SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS into composable solutions tailored to specific industries. Gartner forecasts that over 70% of enterprises will adopt ICPs by 2027, up from less than 15% in 2023, enabling faster industry‑focused outcomes.