Companies are saying goodbye to “the world’s factory”

We’re seeing a lot of companies moving their production out of China, “​​the world’s factory,” for several reasons. Many decided to start ­diversifying their supply chains following the chaos of the pandemic, and several countries, especially in South Asia, made it clear that they wanted in. The Indian government ­started ­reducing taxes and regulations on ­businesses and investing in infrastructure to make it a more attractive option. We’ve already seen Apple move some of its production of the iPhone to India, now producing 7% of its iPhones there. Other big players like Intel, Microsoft and Nike are talking about moving production elsewhere. This is likely only the start of this trend.

Is quantum computing the next revolution?

We’re expecting to see continued development of quantum computing. In 2024, IBM is set to launch a European quantum data centre complying with GDPR. The advancements in quantum computing could revolutionize banking, medicine, cryptography and other ­industries handling large amounts of data. As we wrote back in 2022, a major task that lies ahead will be to ­explore the applications of quantum computing, to think differently and to develop completely new strategies and devices for this technology.

Global power grid instability

3,3% is the expected growth rate for energy consumption in 2024, according to the IEA. Following the economic downturn of the last year and the subsequent ­energy crisis, an increased demand could lead to power grid instability globally. Businesses need to prepare to be more energy-efficient and self-reliant in the coming years.

Big tech investing in healthcare

Healthtech will be revolutionized by AI, especially in diagnosis and drug creation where a massive amount of data points need to be analysed. We also expect remote healthcare to grow, along with wearable technology being used for preventative care. Apple is working on an AI-powered health coaching service and new technology for tracking emotions, and Spotify founder Daniel Ek launched the preventative care startup Neko this year.

5G and smart cities

As 5G networks expand, we can expect the development of new technologies and services as well as the evolution of current ones. Smart cities with updated infrastructure have the ­potential to lower costs, improve efficiency, and increase security and interconnectivity.

Social media can come at a cost

Social media platforms are looking for more revenue streams as restrictions on targeted advertising are coming from tech giants like Apple and EU regu­lators. One avenue they’re exploring is paywalling: X (formerly Twitter) is charging for verification and Snapchat is offering additional features for a monthly fee – which over two million people have paid for. Meta and TikTok are also ­exploring these options, and we’re likely to see more premium versions of social media accounts soon.