Dell Technologies has outlined the emerging trends expected to shape the technology industry in 2024 and beyond. The reports came from John Roese, Global Chief Technology Officer, and Peter Marrs, President of Asia Pacific & Japan.

Generative AI (GenAI) will change focus from disruption to optimisation, with a shift from theory to practice. The predictions also signalled an expansion of modern Edge computing with simpler edge platform-centric models becoming more prevalent. Importantly, a real and mandated Zero Trust infrastructure is anticipated for 2024, crossing a broad spectrum of industries. Dell sees itself at the forefront of these technology and business growth opportunities, looking to build a data-driven future in APJ through collaboration.

"AI is the centre of the universe and edges are the way that you'll put it into production. Zero Trust is the way that you'll end up securing it, and ultimately quantum will be the thing that powers it over the long term for the performance and efficiency needed to scale it into a global system," said John Roese, Global Chief Technology Officer. He encouraged thinking actively about AI but conveyed the importance of integrating it with other architectures for long-term success.

Roese highlighted that GenAI will make a shift from training infrastructure and cost to inference and cost of operation. He expects a move from widespread exploration to a strategic focus on a few transformational GenAI projects. "APJ has seen a rapid and expansive growth of opportunity to deploy AI, owing to the general openness to the technology, keen sense of experimentation as well as advocacy from leadership," added Marrs.

Despite the potential challenges, such as bias and cultural nuances in AI implementation, Marrs reinforced that through partnership and guidance whilst leading clients forward, Dell is well-positioned to be a strategic partner. As technologies become incorporated into real-world systems and procedures, Roese anticipates that quantum computing will significantly enhance the capabilities of AI systems.

Speaking on the expansion of modern edge and the continued reign of multicloud, Roese acknowledged that enterprises will likely adopt an edge platform approach as the multicloud infrastructure extends. The extraction of data and its value will continue to unlock transformative business opportunities and Marrs stressed the need for intentional strategies in order to deliver business agility and innovation.

Marrs reemphasised the importance of data management brought by the democratisation of AI and the resulting increase in data and intelligence moving to the edge. As a result, the development of real Zero Trust architectures and mandating Zero Trust become key in securing APJ's digital future. "As we move into 2024, we will move from a world where Zero Trust is a buzz word to a world where real technology, real standards, and even certifications emerge to clarify what Zero Trust really means," Roese noted.

Marrs urged for an ecosystem approach in the industry, with Roese pointing out that Dell's project Fort Zero is set to enter the market in 2024 as the first commercial full Zero Trust private cloud system. These systems are set to be the stepping stone for Zero Trust adoption across various industries.

Marrs concluded, "That is why we need to build towards a digital unity – it is only when we work together that we can make these digitally empowered ideas a reality. Dell is a unifier at the forefront of these technology and business growth opportunities – bringing together expertise, solutions, and partners, to enable our customers to build their data-driven future."