Virtualization and Cloud executives share their predictions for 2016.  Read them in this VMblog.com series exclusive.

Contributed by Mike L. Chase, EVP/Chief Technology Officer for dinCloud

Current IT Trends and 2016 Projections

Technology is always about progressions.  With that in mind, we look at existing trends and project them forward:

Windows Virtual Desktops > Linux Virtual Desktops

The quintessential Windows desktop has already moved from PC to cloud. Linux desktops are rising in popularity, particularly with free applications like OpenOffice, and providing an alternative to what many call the "Microsoft tax". While we expect Windows to dominate for some time to come, it's nice to know there are alternatives.  dinCloud, a market leader in hosted virtual desktops/desktop as a service (HVD/DaaS) already has Linux virtual desktops in beta on its cloud and you can expect to see them in production sometime in 2016.

SaaS > Virtual Containers

Software as a Service (SaaS) has been growing in popularity for some time for those not wanting to invest in infrastructure, support, and maintenance while realizing instant-on scale up/down capabilities.  Containers are an easier way to reliably package applications and make them portable across different operating systems. Containers allow easy onsite hosting or in a container compatible cloud, while traditional SaaS providers will pass on cost savings for applications which are already containerized.

Malicious attacks and data loss blossomed worldwide in 2015. This is forcing a dramatic change - from a perimeter defense mentality to an intense need to defend every single device in the infrastructure with a significant layer of security using multiple products simultaneously.  Enterprises can't ignore these global threats any longer without becoming tomorrow's headline, but they still lack the time, money, and personnel to implement changes quickly. The cloud will explode with a range of new security laced products as enterprise is forced to move production workloads to the cloud quickly, cost effectively, and in a managed environment that only Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) can offer to meet these terrifying challenges.

RAID Storage > Distributed Bit Storage

Open storage has largely been a failure with too much finger pointing between software and hardware vendors when the systems don't perform. However, some of the lessons learned from open storage around leveraging memory, flash/SSD drives, and distributed bit algorithms will carry forward. In 2016, you'll be able to spend $255K for 250TB of usable storage that can sustain 750,000+ IOPS across thousands of virtual machines, and scale to 2PB in a single rack with bundled offerings, which feature triple-redundant hardware, software, and 3-6 year support included.

Hybrid Clouds > Multi Public Clouds

Thinking you can do an onsite cloud is foolish. Enterprises lack the cost model, time, and talent to compete with the big dogs. As such, the real question isn't whether enterprises will leverage public cloud, but how many of them?

DNS > Anycast DNS

Most DNS providers and any enterprises that want to keep their web, email, phones, and other critical items online - which rely on DNS to function - will move to an Anycast network design for their DNS platforms. Or, they will once again be the victim of 500gbps+ DDoS attacks which rolled through the Internet in 2015 causing massive global outages for the unprepared.

Offline Virtual Desktops > Mobile Collaboration

Whether it was Moka5, Citrix, or others getting out of the offline VDI market, everyone learned the hard way that users create content (spreadsheets, PowerPoints, etc.) on a regular/virtual desktop, but only need to leverage Egnyte, Dropbox, or others to access/share these files via a mobile device when on-the-go. Bye, bye offline virtual desktops! Hello, mobile collaboration! Even Microsoft released Office for mobile devices. All aboard!

VoIP > Chat with Voice Escalation

Let's face it: You can't take a phone call in a meeting you're in, but chances are you're already sitting there chatting up a storm, sending email, and even reading this article. You and I know both know that the very minute you step out of that conference room you're likely to escalate your chat or text to a VoIP call.  The future dictates that chat/text/other methods that are non-intrusive will dominate as the first contact method, with voice/video coming in afterwards.

Laptops/Tablets > Endpoints with Cloud-based OS

Virtualization is all about abstraction. In the future, expect that mobile devices will finally be focused on their true mission in life - ergonomic integration with humans - which means the OS will be abstracted to the cloud, allowing users to leverage the same device with any OS, any app.

Backups > Continuous Data Protection

Point-in-time backups are a thing of the past. The need for better granularity than today's daily backups can offer - particularly when ransomware, like CryptoLocker, devastated the digital landscape so quickly - means that users want their data restored to the point in time just before disaster struck. Losing 24 hours of productivity really isn't an option anymore. As such, Continuous Data Protection (CDP), which is multiple snapshots over time with the ability to restore a file or entire disk back to hundreds of markers in a 24 hour period, will dominate the future of data protection. Also, in the future, expect permissions and functionality to merge, paving the way for self-service restores cutting the helpdesk out of the equation.

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