Virtualization and Cloud executives share their predictions for 2016. Read them in this 8th Annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed by Troy McAlpin, CEO, xMatters, inc.
xMatters CEO Troy McAlpin Makes 2016 Budget Predictions for Enterprise Cloud and Virtualization Technology
Well, we're
getting ready to see 2015 in our rear view mirrors (it will look like 5102, of
course) and 2016 through our windshields. At the end of 2014 I made a few
predictions including:
- IT Will Leverage the Cloud to
Take On Strategic Business Leadership: I rate this true, and I think it will continue in 2016.
- This Will Be the Year of BYOA
(Bring Your Own Applications): I think this was true also as leading IT departments embraced Shadow IT. I expect this to evolve in 2016.
- Connected Systems in the Cloud
Create a Need for Wider, Deeper Monitoring: I see this trend growing for the foreseeable
future.
- Old School IT and Modern IT Will
Have to Co-Exist: I'm not
sure Gartner's bi-modal IT is going to gain broad acceptance. Let's say the
jury is still in deliberation.
So what
about predictions for 2016?
Businesses
Will Invest More in Cloud Security
Just a few
years ago, many of our customers were skeptical about moving to the cloud out
of security concerns. Those concerns are easing and dissipating as cloud
platforms (when done right) prove safe and effective.
But guess
what? The bad guys are getting smarter too. Data breaches and malware attacks
increase every year. Victims in 2015 included BlueCross BlueShield, Harvard
University and LastPass.
In 2016
expect IT departments to spend on data encryption, malware detection, firewalls
and other ways to improve security. Not
just systems but educating employees will be more important than before.
The Battle Over Data Encryption
Will Reach a Boiling Point
Companies
have been ditching email in favor of faster and better encrypted applications.
Unfortunately, as became apparent on November 13, terrorists are using
encrypted social communication apps. In fact, some security experts think terrorist organizations are using
PlayStation 4, which is
particularly difficult to decrypt.
At some
point in 2016, we will have a public debate about the nexus between cloud
security, public safety, personal privacy and information volume.
DevOps Will Become the Standard
for Large Enterprise IT
Efficiency
is everything in business, we all get that.
Having developers throw new software over the wall to operations doesn't
really make sense. It's like marketing throwing collateral over the wall to
sales. It doesn't work.
Organizations
that have adopted Agile development and a DevOps mentality have reaped the
benefits, and they'll only do better as they get better at it.
New Relic
states that companies that deploy DevOps practices code up to 30 times more
frequently than their competition, which lowers the risk of change and provides
quicker access to new functionality. According to the Puppet Labs 2013 State of
DevOps survey, the vast majority of deployments are successful.
IT Departments Will Spend More
Migrating to the Cloud
The days of
IT spending relatively small amounts to piecemeal cloud implementation are
coming to an end. In 2016, companies will move to cloud solutions in a major
way, with budgets from inside and outside IT, and expenditures will move to
above-board operational expenditures.
Companies
will create real value, too, through solutions, storage, service providers and
outsourcing.
Enterprises Will Continue to
Adopt Hybrid Clouds
Gartner says that nearly half of large enterprises will deploy a hybrid
cloud environment before the end of 2017. Hybrid clouds combine the power and
scale of public clouds with the security and technical control of private
clouds. With better API compatibility, companies can use their private clouds
like staging environments before deploying to a public cloud.
If Gartner is right, and I
suspect they are, now is the time to explore hybrid clouds.
You - Yes You - Will Experience a
Major Incident
According to
Dimensional Research, nearly 90 percent of companies with 5,000-10,000 employees
experience a major incident at least monthly. A quarter of companies with more
than 10,000 employees experience a major incident at least weekly.
I know
Halloween is over, but things are going to get scary at some point next year.
So be prepared.
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About the Author
Troy
McAlpin, CEO, xMatters, inc.
Troy McAlpin brings more than 20
years of experience to his leadership role at xMatters, with expertise in
process automation, strategic initiatives and corporate strategy. His domain
experience includes IT strategy and vertical market expertise including
technology, banking, consumer and retail industries. Prior to founding xMatters, he managed
marketing, sales, development, M&A and financial aspects at two successful
start-up companies and also worked at AT&T Solutions and Andersen.