As an entrepreneur or small business owner, you may not be at the forefront of developing technology, but tech still plays a vital role in your business’s growth and efficiency. Given how much things have changed in the past year, small business technology trends will only become more important throughout 2024.
While new infrastructure like 5G will continue to gain traction, established markets such as employee monitoring software will also have a greater impact on small businesses. In addition to investigating the latest tech trends among small companies, we asked some leading tech experts and small business owners for their thoughts. Here are 11 small business tech trends for 2024 and beyond.
11 tech trends businesses should watch in 2024
1. Artificial intelligence will become more widespread.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning have been hot tech topics for years. For example, AI is reshaping the insurance industry by improving insurer pain points and creating a better user experience.
AI will also benefit from reaching the point of operator profitability. For instance, technology company NVIDIA found AI deployments in retail stores caught 98 percent of instances of theft, fraud or human error, which led to a quick return on investment. With return on investment in mind, IBM found 35 percent of companies are currently using AI with another 42 percent exploring AI use cases.
This could mean a wide range of implementation scenarios this year, such as voice assistants, personalized customer experiences and e-commerce chatbot services. In fact, artificial intelligence business trends already include more AI in cybersecurity, CRM systems and market research.
Meredith Schmidt, executive vice president and general manager of small business and essentials at Salesforce, said that although artificial intelligence may sound like something only large enterprises use, it will become more widely adopted by small businesses.
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