2024: An uncertain year

The pandemic brought a great deal of instability into the mindset of the world. While that era seems to be over and we are settling into whatever normal this is, the uncertainty still lingers.

India faces general elections and while all indicators point to a pro-incumbency, even an old government may change course once re-elected. The US elections appear more chaotic, and one can be sure that no matter what the outcome, the other side will go ballistic with the current levels of polarization. This is very important because Silicon Valley still rules the tech mindset of the world, and one can’t be sure what direction that country will take once the presidential elections are done and dusted.

The Ukraine war has entered a stalemate, but it’s already changed the geopolitics of the world. China and India broke free from the West to trade with Russia as the process of de-dollarization started. If that’s not enough, then the West Asia crisis broke out centered in the Gaza strip. This could be another long-drawn battle.

Back home the battle of the hybrid workplace continues. Management wants a return to the old 9 to 5 in the office five days a week. Employees want a permanent WFH or at least a flexible hybrid environment. This is a touchy issue leading to attrition.

GenAI is a clear disruptor, and everyone has started using it in their daily lives as an assistant which naysayers say could one day become the master. It has already made great strides in art and writing even as business managers are eager to completely integrate it into enterprise IT.

While cloud, digitization, and e-commerce continue to be embedded further in our daily lives, concepts like the Metaverse and blockchain still fail to take off as much as their backers would like. One thing that did take off in India was 5G and that could be one big gamechanger in 2024. The Open Network for Digital Commerce has been launched though not that much of a disruptor yet. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act will come under great scrutiny this year.

Ultimately the tech of the day depends on the times that we live in. The politics, the society, and the zeitgeist all dictate it as do unexpected events like the pandemic. 2024 appears to be an uncertain year and one can’t foresee the road ahead nowadays.