F5 Networks has outlined predictions of what to expect in the IT landscape for 2014, with mobile, security and cloud set to dominate.
Increased confidence in the security of cloud computing:
Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in general have been slow to adopt cloud computing, with concerns about security and regulatory compliance coming up again and again.
However, with the growing popularity of cloud-based financial services, like TEMENOS T24 showing how it can be done safely, we should expect this to now change.
Intelligent cyber security will become even more important:
As cyber criminals become more sophisticated, the traditional, static firewall will become redundant and user-centric and app-centric 'intelligent security' will become more important.
This will lead to the rise of security that is flexible and responsive, based on factors such as the apps, location or the user. Security won't be 'one size fits all' in 2014, and will be increasingly tailored to the attack vector encountered. It's going to be important for companies to prepare themselves against the threats and invest in security tools that are capable of keeping up with the latest attacks.
The mobile boom will present opportunities and challenges:
With Gartner predicting the cost of entry-level smartphones will come down to below the $50 mark, more people than ever will have access to the technology. In emerging markets like India and China, this will involve mobile Internet services moving beyond the cities to more rural areas, providing the previously unbanked population with financial services.
This, combined with government initiatives, will increase the amount of data traffic and potentially put a strain on mobile service provider infrastructure on a global basis. Inevitably, this will lead them to consider more intelligent ways to serve customers online and reduce downtime.
Managers will confront the risks of non-enterprise applications in business:
The continued uptake of non-traditional enterprise applications in business will open up risks and require organisations to spend more time considering the security implications.
Younger employees, in particular, will continue to demand a socialised environment, blurring the lines between personal-social and business-social applications. Managers will be thinking about introducing policies and re-engineering their IT infrastructure to cater to this new breed of employee.
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