Top Data, AI and Analytics Trends for 2024
Two new survey-based reports from a cloud giant and a research firm each list data and AI/analytics trends in 2024, finding commonalities such as the democratization of AI, the need for data literacy and much more.
Google Cloud released last month “Data and AI Trends Report 2024while Gartner today announced its latest “Gartner Survey on the Chief Data & Analytics Officer (CDAO)“.
Generative AI, of course, was the star of each show, and one of the common threads between the two reports is the democratization of the new technology, becoming more accessible to users of all types and even blurring the lines between descriptions From post. In this regard, both reports consider “data literacy” to be a major concern.
Google reported that nearly two-thirds of data decision-makers expect access to information to be democratized in 2024, with 84% of respondents believing that GenAI will help their organization access information faster.
“It is almost impossible to overstate how much GenAI has changed the technology landscape,” the Google report said. “In the case of Business Intelligence (BI), as tools become more accessible, even non-technical team members will be able to benefit from this information, increasing productivity and disseminating knowledge faster than ever before. This means better control of data across your entire organization. , smarter decisions are made and, ultimately, greater market success. »
Gartner, meanwhile, predicts greater investments in data mastery.
“AI training is not just about quantity; it also requires a different approach. Recognize that the skills required for expert AI users will be very different from those of other users,” said Ramke Ramakrishnan, vice-president. president analyst of the company. “Gartner predicts that by 2027, more than half of CDAOs (chief data and analytics officers) will get funding for data literacy and AI literacy programs, fueled by the inability of companies to realize the expected value of generative AI.”
In addition to investing in developing AI literacy among employees, Gartner also said organizations should use adaptive governance practices for more effective governance, as well as implement a trust-based approach to managing information assets to help users understand the provenance of the information they use.
The democratization of advanced AI technologies is a common theme across the industry, as cloud giants and other major players continue to deploy ever more powerful AI tools and services once reserved for data scientists and others. The Linux Foundation, champion of open source, for example, recently unveiled the Open platform for enterprise AI (OPEA) as a new “Sandbox project” of the Linux Foundation AI & Data Foundation. The goal is to facilitate and enable the development of flexible and scalable GenAI systems that leverage the best open source innovations from across the ecosystem (see “New open source AI and data platform aims to democratize GenAI technology“).
As democratization advances, Google is seeing a blurring between the roles of data and AI, reported by 80% of respondents. For example, “many data analysts are now taking on responsibilities traditionally reserved for data scientists and vice versa,” the report says.
“Data analytics and engineering, AI, and business analytics are the rarest skills within organizations,” Google continued. “GenAI presents an opportunity to increase the productivity of existing data teams and workloads, helping to close this growing skills gap. Being able to seamlessly use data and AI platforms allows organizations to improve productivity and innovate faster by accelerating their transition from data to AI. ”
An “AI for Everyone” chart shows which types of non-technical users in organizations have leveraged generative AI to learn from proprietary data.
The confusion between data and AI roles was one of the top five trends in Google’s report, which also listed:
- GenAI will accelerate the delivery of information in organizations
- AI innovation will depend on strong data governance
- Operational data will unlock the potential of GenAI for enterprise applications
- 2024 will be the year of rapid modernization of data platforms
Gartner, on the other hand, has listed three other trends in addition to the above “empowered workforce” trend:
- Bet on the company: As AI continues to revolutionize industries at a strategic level, D&A leaders must demonstrate a business AI skill set and gain the confidence to lead AI strategy within the enterprise.
- Managed complexity: Many D&A systems are delicate and their redundancies can cause chaos and additional costs. “Large organizations strive to transform this chaos into something they can manage: complexity. Complexity is, by definition, not an easy place to be, but recognizing it gives a realistic understanding of the dynamic environment and helps D&A teams take appropriate action. ” said Ramakrishnan.
- Be Trustworthy: With the increasing accessibility and effectiveness of GenAI, it is difficult to navigate a world where the reliability of data is constantly questioned. Lack of trust within organizations, concerns about the value and quality of data, and regulations around AI are leading to a deluge of distrust.
Another Press release released today by Gartner explored how organizations are evolving their data and analytics operating models with AI technologies.
“In response to the rapid evolution of D&A and AI technologies, CDAOs are wasting no time in making changes to their operating model,” said Alan D. Duncan, the company’s senior vice president of analysts. CDAOs do this to support data-driven innovation and accelerate organizational agility, with data governance at the heart.
“When asked what changes CDAOs need to make to their D&A operating model to align with their current and future goals, 38% of CDAOs said their D&A architecture will be overhauled in the next 12 to 18 months,” Gartner said. “Twenty-nine percent of respondents said they would reorganize how they manage their data assets and adopt and enforce governance policies, practices and standards. »
The annual Gartner Chief Data & Analytics Officer (CDAO) survey was conducted from September to November 2023 among 479 chief data and analytics officers, chief data officers (CDOs), and chief analytics officers (CAOs). worldwide. Gartner issued today’s press releases to publicize the D&A Summits the company is hosting this week in Mumbai and next month in London, with the series continuing in other cities as well.
For the Google Cloud report, the company’s Customer Intelligence team conducted a global study on data and AI trends among 410 data decision makers, from December 18, 2023 to January 17, 2024.
