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Pure Storage®, the information technology pioneer that delivers the world’s most advanced data storage technology and services, has shared its outlook for 2024. Mainly, it sees artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainability, two defining themes in 2023, continuting to drive changes in technology adoption and talent development in Asia Pacific & Japan in 2024. With uncertain political, social, and economic conditions persisting into 2024, businesses will continue to stay pragmatic on their technology investments while looking for opportunities to improve their operations with AI as well as stay the course in their corporate environmental sustainability goals.

Pure Storage’s outlook is backed up by findings from a recent study that it commissioned. The study, “Drivers of Change: Meeting the Energy and Data Challenges of AI Adoption,” reveals the importance of reassessing data infrastructure to truly reap the benefits of AI and to keep energy costs in line.

Pure Storage’s Predictions for 2024

AI Will Cause a Shakeup in Cloud Computing

Pure Storage expects to see a shakeup in the cloud computing space with the emergence of a new generation of specialised cloud providers concentrated on AI-specific services such as Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) Cloud will disrupt the established status quo of infrastructure-as-a-service hyperscalers.

• This new breed of hyperscalers will grow rapidly on the back of GPU chip manufacturers channelling demand from a broad base of customers to cloud providers.
• This space will also see M&A activities as the incumbent IaaS hyperscalers move to acquire AI Cloud capabilities.

2024 Will See the Rise of the Sovereign Cloud

There is increasing desire for sovereign cloud based on the tightening of regulations on the use and location of data, especially within industries such as financial services. Additionally, AI systems like generative AI, raise issues of sovereignty during the training process.

• 2024 will see the rise of the sovereign cloud, as more organisations respond to government regulations requiring them to store data within their jurisdictions for greater data control.
• Countries that are taking the lead include Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Indonesia.

IT Departments Will Be Asked to Play a Bigger Role in Sustainability Goals

As environmental sustainability efforts intensify, IT departments will be increasingly asked to play a bigger role in meeting corporate sustainability goals. While previously they were asked to get their own house in order with regards to energy efficiency, there is a growing recognition that IT can and must play a role in improving energy efficiency throughout the company.

• The region will start to see greater collaboration between the Chief Technology Officer, Chief Digital Officer, and the Head of Sustainability to ensure that IT’s role in sustainability goals is broadened.
• One area where IT will show immediate impact is by standardising software. Some estimates indicate that 90% of energy is wasted on inefficient software.

2024 Will See Another Talent Crunch, This Time in AI

Whenever new technologies emerge, Pure Storage sees demands for talent and skills in those areas shoot up, and it is no different with generative AI. The war for talent will cause salaries to rise and we will also see many AI projects stall because of the talent crunch.

• Besides generative AI, the talent crunch will also persist in hot areas such as cloud computing, Kubernetes, data architecture, and cybersecurity.
• This war for talent will be waged even in traditionally less tech-driven industries such as agriculture, forestry, and fishing as they shift towards data analytics. Professionals skilled in IoT, data analytics, AI, and environmental technology will be highly sought after in these industries.
• This will become one of the biggest headwinds for the broad adoption of AI.

Executive Insight

“AI and sustainability are going to continue to influence technology adoption across Asia Pacific & Japan. Particularly for AI, there are potential headwinds such as the talent crunch but more importantly, without the right data infrastructure, AI projects might not yield the desired results and this could dampen enthusiasm,” concluded Matthew Oostveen, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Asia Pacific & Japan, at Pure Storage.

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