Top tech trends for 2024

The word of the year in 2022 was ‘permacrisis’. And the sense of crisis has indeed felt permanent. We saw a health crisis, followed by a political crisis, a geo-political crisis, various economic crises, all of which happened amid an environmental crisis. It has been a difficult time for all organisations, but charities have faced a double-edged sword: increased demand amid decreased funding.

 

Digital and tech helps us to address crises. Tech is amoral, beyond good and evil, but used correctly it can provide solutions. Tech can help – rather than hinder – efforts towards climate action. Tech can address the cost-of-living crisis, meet the ever-evolving needs of service users, and generally improve the world around us. And that tech can prove cheap and affordable, if you know where to look.

 

It’s essential that organisations of all shapes and sizes understand the tech trends that will define the next year. It is essential that they understand the opportunities and challenges that will define 2024.

 

Skip to: The need to improve sustainability in tech

Skip to: The decline of traditional social media platforms

Skip to: The continued rise of artificial intelligence

Skip to: The virtues of virtual reality

Skip to: Cheap and free tech during the cost-of-living crisis

 

 

The need to improve sustainability in tech

 

Each crisis offers different challenges and each demands a different reaction from us. But the climate crisis poses a constant and looming threat, one that governments and organisations have failed to effectively tackle climate change. We should all re-evaluate our relationship with tech, and question how our use of tech contributes (positively and negatively) to the climate crisis.

 

As we’ve written, tech could be both the solution and the problem. It is suggested that, according to a study by the Shift Project, the world’s digital carbon footprint accounts for approximately 4% of all greenhouse emissions, comparable to levels emitted by the aviation industry. Tech consumption has increased by almost 70% between 2013–20, according to the same study, which means future emissions from tech would prove absolutely catastrophic.

 

In simple terms: we need to start considering the environmental impact of the tech we use. We need to start normalising green tech, start embracing the more sustainable tech on offer. But how do we pursue that end? How can organisations use tech that proves environmentally sustainable?

 

Below we look at a few simple steps you can take to improve tech sustainability.

 

 

Perform a tech audit

 

One route to achieve that is by doing a tech audit, which allows you to track emissions or monitor carbon footprint. Sage offer an easy guide for tracking your footprint and online calculators can help you to calculate your greenhouse gas emissions, too. These include, among many others, The Carbon Trust and The McKay Carbon Calculator.

 

You can make the audit really simple. Just track the tech that gives the highest emissions, then make decisions based on the emissions level. That allows you to make the decisions that help you to become a more sustainable organisations, while minimising the complexity of such decisions.

 

 

Consider using sustainable tech

 

On top of the tech audit, and considering the environmental impact of new tech, organisations can always opt to use sustainable tech. Sustainable tech is an umbrella term for tech that fosters social development and reduces ecological risks. Famous examples of sustainable tech include:

• LED light technology
• Cheap energy storage
• Cloud computing
• Solar power
• Electric transport
• Biomimicry

That might seem like quite high-tech. But lots of sustainable tech options are simple alternatives to pre-existing everyday tech items. Consider, for example, some of the following:

• Ecosia: the search engine that relies entirely on renewable energy
• Honest Mobile: the first carbon negative mobile network
• House of Marley: music equipment built with sustainable materials
• Reboxed: suppliers of refurbished phones and accessories

These are just a few small examples. But it shows what your organisation can do, given the right space and time to properly research. Sustainability in tech means more than simply buying the latest sustainable product. It means recycling and reusing tech, buying second-hand hardware.

 

Sustainability is about ensuring tech decisions consider the environmental impact. The key is to remain cognisant of the impact of the tech you use and ensure that you reduce the environmental impact.

 

 

The decline of major social media platforms

 

Social media, over the past few years, has been a consistent source of fundraising and awareness-raising opportunities. But social media, in the past year, seems to be declining – or, at least, the major platforms no longer command such a monopoly. Facebook users, for example, have been jumping ship and advertisers have been drastically reducing spend. Twitter has been in a state of perma-chaos, but downward trends actually precede Elon Musk’s takeover. Musk simply accelerated the decline.

 

TikTok, while growing, has not grown to the same degree as previous years and faces more concerning problems, such as the risk of countries banning the platform. And Instagram no longer looks like a social networking site, but more resembles an entertainment platform, like YouTube or even Twitch.

 

And that’s before we get onto the companies themselves. Big tech organisations are famously struggling, with mass lay-offs throughout 2023. Meta lost hundreds of billions of dollars, laid off 11,000 people, and the fantasy of the Metaverse seems like just that: a fantasy. Musk’s Twitter also had substantial lay-offs, but more concerning is the drastic drop in revenue from advertisers.

 

For many organisation, the platforms themselves pose a serious concern. Many of the major social media platforms, over the past few years, seem to have become toxic. So the question is not just one of efficacy, but a wider issue around reputational and ethical concerns.

 

The age of social media is certainly not over, as some commentators have suggested. But it is changing and the major players are no longer automatic spaces for organisations to occupy. A surprising trend for 2024 might be the winding down of social media platforms or at least more purposeful choices around where to spend time and resources.

 

Facebook and Twitter are no longer inevitable, as they used to seem, and emerging platforms might prove far more fruitful in the future.

 

 

The continued rise of generative artificial intelligence

 

Artificial intelligence (A.I.) has long occupied space in the human imagination. Prior to the birth of AI in the 60s or earlier, science fiction grappled with concepts of artificially intelligent robots: The Tin Man in Wizard of Oz, or the War-Robot in Master of the World. The idea of A.I. developed in later science fiction involved machines that possessed characteristics that seemed indistinguishable from humans, as seen in Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? or Ian McEwan’s Machines Like Me.

 

But real-life A.I. has recently become a major tech talking point, perhaps the major talking point of 2023. And it will continue to be talked about long into 2024, particularly generative A.I. Generative A.I. depends largely on fast processing and intelligent algorithms, alongside huge depths of data with which it produces results based on prompts. Generative A.I. is supposed to learn from patterns in the data, using that information to improve process and, in turn, improve the results.

 

Generative A.I. has more applications by the day. It has so many applications, in fact, that someone has created an A.I.- dependent A.I. aggregator to compile the various A.I. applications and tools. There’s an A.I. For That shows the depths of applications, with A.I. options that include:

• CandyAI: To help with your conversation skills
• Peach: An A.I. that assists with your fashion choices
• My Spicy Vanilla: Helps pick the perfect date night

But most of the applications are more common – and familiar. Generative A.I. is regularly used by organisations to, among other things, generate text (ChatGPT and Jasper), images (DeepAI and DALL·E 2), audio (Soundraw and Jukebox), video (Synthesia and Pictory), and so much more.

 

Organisations can use generative A.I. in so many ways. They can, for example, churn out copy at an extraordinary rate. The copy lacks originality and often depends on quite a generic tone, but with some editing and a little re-writing, the A.I. can automate at least the early stages of drafting. Or, better still, the A.I. is great for sparking the imagination, giving direction and inspiration to the writing process.  

 

Generative A.I. systems can improve Chatbots. The benefit for organisations is that chatbots are 24/7, always on, always ready to respond. They answer potential user questions, direct them to relevant information, and even push them to engage.

 

Organisations can also leverage A.I. for routine and monotonous tasks, conserving both time and resources. Such tasks could encompass managing donations, updating donor databases, orchestrating consistent communications, or scanning social media for prospective donors. By streamlining tedious tasks, charities can allocate more time to creative endeavors, tasks that require the personal touch.

 

So generative A.I. will become a common tech trend in 2024. It will, first, ensure that you reach new audiences, helping you to produce more content, find new people, leverage analytics, and so on. And, on top of that, A.I. will automate or optimise areas of operations. 

 

 

The virtues of virtual reality

 

Virtual reality (V.R.) has become one of the more important modes of tech. It has become particularly useful in the charity sector, with loads of unique and innovative uses that allow charities to meet core needs. Consider, for example, the NSPCC’s pioneering use of computer simulation to tackle child abuse.

 

The charity teamed up with gamification experts, Attensi, to create an immersive simulation for those working with children who may be victims of abuse. Talk To Me is a free-to-use online simulation that aims to build confidence in adults working with children to talk about challenging issues, such as abuse.

 

The simulation can be accessed with web browsers and involves fictional young characters created with 3D modelling that mimics body language and facial expressions. Real actors have voiced the characters who are involved in scenarios that users are guided through. In addition, real-time feedback is presented to users depending on how well they have earned children’s trust.

 

“For anyone who comes into contact with young people who they fear may have suffered abuse or be at risk, learning how to build their trust is absolutely vital,” said NSPCC Chief Executive Peter Wanless. “As part of our wider activity aimed at supporting those who work or volunteer with children, we’re delighted to offer our safeguarding research and experience to collaborate with Attensi on Talk to Me.”

 

Another core use of V.R. exists in training. Companies across the world are investing in virtual reality to support greater decision making. Bank of America, for example, uses V.R. to help employees learn how to respond to service calls and open up accounts – the tech has saves time, money, and resources. In a similar vein, Walmart has used V.R. to prepare employees for sales and better customer services.

 

NASA has used V.R. to simulate the environment of space, allowing them to train astronauts on all elements of space travel, from take-off to landing and everything in between. And various companies, such as Audi and BMW, use V.R. for safety training and immersive store experiences.

 

The application of V.R. is widespread and largely depends on the needs of the organisation. We imagine it’ll be a trend for 2024 precisely because of its versatility. V.R. can meet strange and specific demands, regularly finding solutions to operational and user-based problems. The simple fact is that it has not been utilised enough. Hopefully, in 2024, we will finally see organisations realise the promise of V.R.

 

 

Cheap and free tech during the cost-of-living crisis

 

Free tech can revolutionise your operations, streamline your processes, automate certain repetitive and tedious tasks, increase your funds, and broadly improve working life. You just need to find the right tech. That means practicing caution, thinking about needs, and looking at the free options that will meet such needs. Below we explore some of the best free software available, followed by some of the best free hardware, all of which are from trusted sources.

 

We imagine a pretty obvious trend in 2024 will be cost deduction. And, for many organsiations, that might mean finding cheap and free tech. And, thankfully, there are hundreds of opportunities for organisations of all shapes and sizes. The key is to think about where to look.

 

 

Free tech for charities

 

One obvious place to start is the Charity Digital Exchange. The Charity Digital Exchange has saved more than 80,000 UK charities more than £300m on the latest hardware and software. As the U.K. partner of international non-profit network TechSoup, Charity Digital provides registered charities with technology donated by the biggest tech companies, including Microsoft, Amazon, and many others.

 

Eligible charities can gain access to Adobe Express, for example, which comes with a donation of one-year membership for one user. Charities can effectively use Adobe Express to create marketing materials for their organisation. The software’s pre-built templates allow users to create a variety of great content without requiring any graphic design experience at all.

 

 

Free and cheap tech for everyone

 

Organisations can also access tons of free software options available to all. These are usually more suited to smaller requirements, so can be perfect for charities that do not want to spend a huge amount on software packages that only serve a small purpose.

 

You can start by looking at image libraries, for example. There are lots of great options that are free. The paid options, such as Shutterstock or Getty, are great, but maybe not necessary if perfect imagery is not a priority. In that case, you have the below free options:

• Pixabay
• Unsplash
• Pexels 
• iStock

And you don’t need the latest high-tech options for editing such images. You could check out a platform like Crello, which offers free access for charities and non-profits. Or you can pick one of the below options, all of which will do the simplest tasks free-of-charge:

• Canva 
• Gimp 
• Fotor

Or maybe you’re looking to create infographics to show off your impact. You don’t need to purchase anything when fantastic free options already exist. Consider, for example:

• Piktochart 
• Easel 
• Venngage 

Or consider work management software in its various forms. These tend to improve charity operations, streamline processes, and broadly improve collaboration and communication. But charities don’t need to splash out. Just take advantage of the free options, such as:

• G Suite
• Slack
• Trello

The above is just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many tech platforms and high-tech software that can perform tasks, saving you time and money. Many of these options are mentioned in the brilliant Charity Excellence list. And there are many more that you can find with your own research. But, to save you a little time, here are our absolute favourites:

• To create and edit podcasts: Anchor 
• To upload and distribute podcasts: Audioboom
• To track online behaviour and user journeys: Hotjar 
• To manage social media: Hootsuite
• To manage Twitter: TweetDeck
• To create and share surveys: Survey Monkey
• To analyse the conciseness of writing: Hemingway
• To check grammar and punctuation: Grammarly
• To upload videos and webinars: YouTube Studio
• To upload and host videos: Vimeo
• To look after project management: Asana
• To shorten URLs for socials: Bitly 
• To create an easy blog or website: WordPress
• To create a more stylised or niche website: Wix
• To create an eCommerce plug-in: WooCommerce
• To convert PDFs: Freepdfconvert
• To find a URL to host your website: Kualo

The above is just a handful of our favourites. And there are, of course, so many different options that we haven’t tried, or even heard about. So think about your needs, search online, compare the various options available, and try to find the perfect software for you.

 

 

Cost-saving tech hacks for everyone

 

On top of the above, organisations can find loads of cheap and free tech by taking advantage of the many hacks available. One example is Facebook Marketplace, which allows you to buy and sell used or new items locally. Facebook Marketplace has become popular in recent years – for good reason. And the platform has an impressive section dedicated entirely to free stuff – and that includes tech.

 

You will need to sift through and find great deals that you want. You will likely be required to pick the tech up from a particular location, so keep an eye on the journey, but people based near cities should have no problem finding a tech diamond among the rough.

 

Organisations can save money by looking at second- or third-hand options. Craigslist and Gumtree are two of the most well-known sites, both of which provide loads of great second- or third-hand tech at cheap prices. The sites also provide pretty much anything else you might need, from wardrobes to coffee tables to Pez dispensers, but we’ll stick to tech for the minute.

 

Another option is buying in bulk.  Often software providers, such as Microsoft, can offer further deals to charities who are buying licences and access to technology in bulk. So bigger charities can buy hardware in bulk to reduce costs. The key to buying in bulk is to first evaluate your needs. You don’t want to buy in bulk with the aim of saving money and then wasted money on excess equipment.

 

Renting tech can also prove much cheaper than buying year or multi-year licences, especially if your charity only wants to use specific software, such as for design or video editing, for a short period of time. Renting tech allows greater flexibility. You can rent for a month, a year, or longer. You can also upgrade equipment at any time, rather than feeling lumbered with the existing equipment you are using. And, importantly, you can end the contract if the tech isn’t right for you.

 

There are plenty of places to rent tech. But here are some of the most popular options:

• Ooodles
• Fat Llama
• Grover
• Lendis
• Tryatec

Renting tech can be great, but organisations are often unaware of the available options. So do your research and find out if you can save money, time, and waste with any of the above.