Midokura, a global startup focused on network virtualization, today announced predictions for the year ahead in IT, network virtualization and software-defined networking (SDN). These predictions are bolstered by already emerging trends and based on the company’s interactions with customers, partners, analysts and industry luminaries around the world.

Midokura’s top predictions for 2013 are:

• 2013 will be the year of “self-service” IT.

In 2013, “self-service” IT will spread more quickly throughout the enterprise, as the demand for faster and better access to services and data only continues. Self-service IT also means that users will be able to quickly and easily provision their own private clouds, leading to a surge in private Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) clouds.

• Virtualization will move beyond compute and storage.

Virtualization technologies have transformed the compute and storage industries and are starting to move into other key IT segments. In 2013, the widespread adoption of virtualization technologies will evolve rapidly to transform the data center and the desktop alike, delivering concrete value and return on investment to the SMB and enterprise.

• Virtualization will disrupt networking.

In 2013, virtualization will disrupt networking as we know it today. The interest in and demand for network virtualization and software-defined networking (SDN) will only grow, and the vendor landscape offering these solutions will grow in parallel.

• We are going to witness serious product innovation in SDN.

In 2013, early adopter success will pave the way for more mainstream adoption by proving the business case for network virtualization and SDN. These successes will drive product innovation in the space, both from start-ups and large networking vendors – likely through M&A activity.

• Expect major acquisitions.

In 2013, we anticipate several high-profile acquisitions in the network virtualization space (the acquisition of Nicira by VMware for $1.3 billion in 2012 was only the beginning). Things are going to heat up in M&A, and the valuations will be high.

• Every major networking company will introduce an SDN strategy.

No one wants to be left on the sidelines and in 2013, all major networking companies will need to introduce their own SDN strategies to stay relevant.

• Virtual networking solutions will mature and evolve.

Despite various approaches, overlay and distributed, de-centralized virtual networking solutions will capture most of the value around multi-tenancy, isolation and also VM mobility in 2013, because these solutions are specifically designed to simplify network requirements for IaaS.

• Network switching will become more commoditized.

Commodity silicon helped replace proprietary chips and software common in networking. Following this trend, the switching fabric will become even more commoditized and technically simplified in 2013, requiring less specialized skills and driving down the costs and complexity of networking.

“In the age of cloud computing, the limitations of the hardware-dependent network have naturally led to more interest in network virtualization,” said Ben Cherian, Chief Strategy Officer at Midokura. “Any major industry shift takes time, but just as virtualization has disrupted traditional compute and storage, innovation in network virtualization will take off next year and disrupt traditional networking in the enterprise. Expect to see significant funding and M&A activity unfold within the space in 2013.”