Virtualization and Cloud executives share their predictions for 2016.  Read them in this 8th Annual VMblog.com series exclusive.

Contributed by Anand Sankaran, Jeff McNaught and Brett Roscoe, Dell

2016 Cloud and Virtualization Predictions from Three Dell Executives

"In 2016 we will see a significant increase in the number of companies moving from either a primarily public cloud strategy or primarily private cloud strategy to a hybrid cloud strategy, driven by a complex interaction of security concerns and the need for increased flexibility and cost optimization through As-a-Service (and in particular IaaS) solutions. This will exacerbate the already significant challenge of identifying and recruiting staff with the specialized skills required for hybrid cloud environments. As a result, we will see significant growth in the bi-modal IT model as CIOs evolve their organizations." -Anand Sankaran, President & Global Head, Infrastructure & Cloud Computing, Dell Services

"Global healthcare organizations in 2016 can expect to see the multi-trillion dollar industry become a leading adopter of WaaS (workspace as a Service). Mobilization and remote access to information are enabling healthcare professionals to work efficiently without sacrificing crucial data security. This trend will only continue to grow as new uses and needs for technology evolve." -Anand Sankaran, President & Global Head, Infrastructure & Cloud Computing, Dell Services

"Over the past couple of years, due to the introduction of datacenter appliances and updates to brokering software, desktop virtualization has become easier to plan, deploy and run than ever before. With the cost per seat going down significantly, and with much fewer steps required to get a VDI appliance up and running, we're going to see desktop virtualization move from the domain of highly regulated industries into the mid-market. Organizations of all sizes need to ensure the secure delivery of apps and data from the datacenter to the endpoint as employees seek to access their work across any number of devices. The traditional barriers of cost and complexity that previously inhibited VDI adoption are simply not there anymore." -Jeff McNaught, Executive Director, Marketing, and Chief Strategy Officer, Dell Cloud Client-Computing 

"2016 will see a dramatic increase in the number of hybrid cloud deployments, yet many organizations will realize their greatest barrier to successfully gaining the full benefits of the cloud will be managing it. IT will be making tough choices regarding cloud architecture, workload deployment, data and application storage, as well as security and service level requirements to meet business and customer expectations. In deciding where workloads should be migrated and managed, it will be important to identify and troubleshoot performance issues, monitor and secure applications and data, define disaster recovery solutions and more to avoid business impact.

Also, organizations will see the impact of accidental and unwanted changes made to their hybrid Active Directory infrastructures has to the business and the repercussions to on premises and cloud access. Managing, securing and auditing will be seen as topline criteria to successfully managing these multiple, layered infrastructures. Deploying systems management tools that safeguard AD networks and flag changes in real time will be critical to helping organization safeguard from malicious activity and potential data loss in cloud and hybrid environments." -Brett Roscoe, Vice President, Product Management, Dell Systems and Information Management

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About the Authors

Anand Sankaran is the president and global head of infrastructure & cloud computing for Dell Services. He leads a global team of nearly 10,000 employees in infrastructure, cloud and managed services and oversees strategy, customer relationships and business performance. Prior to joining Dell in November 2013, Anand was Wipro's head of Global Infrastructure Services and lead Wipro Infotech. He has more than 25 years of experience and is a thought leader in technology and business, sought-after speaker and avid blogger.

Jeff McNaught is the Executive Director of Marketing and Chief Strategy Officer at Dell Cloud Client- Computing. Jeff is widely considered the most quoted spokesperson for cloud client-computing in the world. He joined Dell as part of the Wyse acquisition and he co-invented and spearheaded the development of the award-winning Wyse thin clients, now with millions of units in use worldwide.

Brett Roscoe is the vice president of product management for Dell's Systems and Information Management team, leading all software and product development. Brett has been at Dell for more than 10 years and has more than 20 years of experience in IT product development including leadership roles in engineering and marketing at Dell, HP and Compaq Computer.