Kyndryl’s 2024 Technology Predictions

Kyndryl recently celebrated its second anniversary as an independent, publicly traded company. Marking this milestone, the company reaffirmed its commitment to supporting our customers’ organisations and business partners in Middle East and Africa as they strive to modernise, transform and scale while building a sustainable and competitive business.

In today’s dynamic and rapidly evolving technology landscape, organisations are actively pursuing innovative avenues for growth, gaining a strategic edge and enhancing scalability. Adapting to shifting market demands and technological advancements has become a fundamental requirement for survival, sustained success and thriving in the highly competitive business environment.

Today, Kyndryl supports thousands of customers across the world, including Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), offering services and consultancy to facilitate the modernisation and transformation of diverse industries, contributing to overall economic growth and diversification.

“By leveraging existing and advanced IT infrastructures, companies can significantly reduce their environmental impact while improving efficiency and sustainability,” said Faith Taylor, Vice President & Global Sustainability & ESG Officer at Kyndryl. “At Kyndryl,we are committed to implementing a sustainability strategy that is integrated with our business strategy by applying industry standards, innovation and a sense of urgency. I am incredibly proud that Kyndryl is standing up for the planet by establishing a 2040 net zero goal.”

“As the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, we champion the growth of the region’s organisations and business partners, guiding them through every phase of modernisation, transformation, and scalable expansion,” said Andreas Beck, Vice President & Managing Director, Middle East and Africa. “Through our expertise and comprehensive services and offerings, we are committed to help shape a sustainable and competitive future, fostering lasting impact in an ever-evolving regional business landscape.”

Customer Zero

As customer zero, Kyndryl began its transformation journey in 2021, when it became an independent company with approximately 90,000 employees in 60 countries. In less than two years, the company transitioned away from more than 1800 inherited applications spanning over 50 data centres to a few hundred hosted entirely in a cloud infrastructure. It also consolidated more than 100 financial systems into a single platform, achieving a transformation a company of that size can typically conclude within five to 10 years. As a result, Kyndryl expects to reduce operational expenses by more than $200M and as much as $300M annually through productivity and efficiency.

Forecasting Innovation

As technology evolves and complex business problems continue to emerge, IT professionals will face new challenges in the coming year. Some changes will fuel innovation, while others will spur debate around generative AI. And others, such as cyber threats, will force companies to mitigate and meet these risks head-on.

Kyndryl’s global practice leaders work with companies around the world to help them tackle their most pressing business objectives in modern ways. Here are some of the most influential trends that will impact IT decision-making in 2024 and beyond.

• FinOps Adoption: Enterprises will increasingly adopt FinOps to efficiently manage cloud investments in hybrid and multi-cloud environments, ensuring better cost control and collaboration across financial, technical, and business teams.
• Edge Computing and AI: More companies, particularly in manufacturing, will implement AI at the edge to use localised data for more efficient operations, addressing challenges like cost, environmental conditions, security, and labor.
• Generative AI’s Impact on Security: The rise of generative AI will bring both challenges and opportunities in cybersecurity, necessitating improved identity and access management, and reevaluation of traditional security models, while also automating routine tasks and boosting productivity.
• Strong Data Governance: The focus will be on robust data governance programmes, as high-quality AI depends on high-quality data. Enterprises will seek partnerships and modernised data platforms to integrate generative AI across diverse data sources.
• Digital Workplace Evolution: There will be a greater emphasis on enhancing employee and customer experiences through digital workplace technologies, linking IT more closely with HR processes and customer-facing operations.
• Mainframe Skills Focus: Enterprises will prioritise partnerships for mainframe management, optimisation and modernisation, addressing skill gaps and ensuring integration of new technologies like AI with existing mainframe applications.

Net Zero Goal

As the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, Kyndryl set goals to hold itself accountable for progress across its businesses, operations, supply chain and society. As part of the company’s sustainability programme, aligned with its environmental priorities, Kyndryl aims to reduce its environmental impact and help stakeholders meet regulatory, customer and investor requirements, through a strategic roadmap centered on three main areas:

• Greenhouse Gas Emission Goals: Since becoming independent, Kyndryl has established clear emission reduction targets and established its 2040 net zero GHG emissions goal. The aim is to cut direct and indirect emissions by 50% globally and use 100% renewable energy sources by 2030.
• Customer Collaboration: Recognising that environmental challenges extend beyond operations, Kyndryl is partnering with customers and allies to implement sustainable solutions across industries. By offering technology-driven approaches, like AI and machine learning, cloud infrastructures and digitising the workplace, Kyndryl helps to scale positive environmental impacts.
• Employee Education and Engagement: Building a culture of sustainability, Kyndryl is educating its global workforce on its net zero commitments and encouraging involvement in sustainable practices. Initiatives like the Carbon Literacy Project and the Green Guild are empowering Kyndryl employees to contribute to a sustainable future, both in their personal and professional lives.

Supporting Quotes

“We’re proud to be driving new value to support our customers in cloud migration, AI, and security to accelerate their digital transformations.  Powered by the dedication and expertise of our teams around the globe, we’re applying our decades of experience in mission-critical workloads to help our customers manage and modernise their complex hybrid IT environments with higher-value services like Kyndryl Bridge and Kyndryl Consult,” said Xerxes Cooper, President, Strategic Markets at Kyndryl.

“Kyndryl Bridge integrates with your other platforms to ensure you gain complete visibility into your technology estate, enabling you to make faster decisions and derive savings in your operations, using automation and data-driven insight that it provides.” said Dr. Jamshid Vayghan, CTO, VP, and Distinguished Engineer, Strategic Markets, Kyndryl. “Kyndryl Bridge is an open integration platform that enables enterprises in every industry and governments around the world and in EMEA’s Strategic Markets to create an uninterrupted path between digital business and technology. Kyndryl Bridge design, based on decades of Kyndryl experience in managing and operating diverse technology estates, is key to building and supporting a future-proof digital business for our customers.”