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Deloitte’s 15th Annual ‘Tech Trends’ Report Finds Business Leaders Working to Balance ‘Shine’ and ‘Substance’ to Drive Outsized Business Outcomes

Jan 11, 2024

Report identifies advancements across six macro technology forces critical to business transformation over the next 18-24 months.

Emerging technology is having a moment, but to reap the benefits of this revolution organizations must look beyond any one technology domain as the singular hero of the story of their future. The convergence of Generative AI with advances in the spatial web, industrial metaverse, and specialized hardware is redefining possibilities for transforming industries. But this transformation is not just about the technology; it's about empowering engineers, fostering responsible innovation, and staying ahead of next-gen cyber threats. These trends are not isolated islands; they are a unified force propelling us into a new era of tech-enabled growth. And pioneering leadership will use this moment to lay deep technology roots that stay planted even as landscapes continue to change.

— Bill Briggs, chief technology officer and principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP

This year’s report is a reminder of two time-honored investment principles: The first is portfolio theory. Overinvesting time, talent and treasure into any single emerging technology, no matter how alluring, begets concentration risk and opportunity cost. It’s no surprise that leading organizations aren’t putting all their eggs in any one basket, but rather, diversifying. The second principle: fundamentals. We all love ‘hockey sticks’ (i.e., exponential returns), but next-generation tech especially requires a solid foundation. Today's sustained efforts in data modernization, risk management, cloud and user experience matter more than ever as they provide the firm footing for tomorrow’s ambitions. Without solving first for these fundamentals, we run the risk of ‘garbage in, garbage squared’.

— Mike Bechtel, chief futurist and managing director, Deloitte Consulting LLP

Key takeaways

Generative AI is the tech story of the year, but overfocusing on any single technology risks failing to see the forest for the trees.
Leading organizations are balancing new investments in emerging technologies with redoubled efforts to strengthen foundational infrastructure, core systems and technology teams.
While efficiency gains are low-hanging fruit, businesses cannot “shrink their way to success.” Pioneers are instead seeking to differentiate by using emerging technologies to catalyze growth, sustainability and innovation.

Why this matters

Deloitte’s annual “Tech Trends” report seeks to make sense of what’s now, new and next in enterprise tech. This 15th edition chronicles the growing business imperative to balance today’s tactical needs with tomorrow’s strategic ambitions. It further highlights how AI, including Generative AI, can liberate workers from the mundane, enabling them to concentrate on higher-value, future-oriented work, and boldly posits that in an age of creative machines, creative humans matter more than ever.

Interfaces in new places: Spatial computing and the industrial metaverse.
Genie out of the bottle: Generative AI as growth catalyst.
Smarter, not harder: Beyond brute force compute.
From DevOps to DevEx: Empowering the engineering experience.
Defending reality: Truth in an age of synthetic media.
Core workout: From technical debt to technical wellness.