
Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2019. Read them in this 11th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed by Vissarion Yfantis, Content Writer & Technical Trainer, Parallels
Watch for These 3 IT Trends in 2019
As we enter the last month of the year, the
trends we've seen unfold over the previous months enable us to peer into the
future and predict the most probable trends in the field of IT for 2019.
Multi-Cloud
A multi-cloud strategy refers to when a
company's overall cloud infrastructure consists of one or more public clouds
and/or private clouds. For example, that company might be subscribing to both
AWS and Azure, while also maintaining a private cloud in its own data center.
One of the major benefits of adopting a
multi-cloud strategy is that your company becomes more immune to the headaches
of vendor lock-in. It's putting into practice the old adage, "Don't put your
eggs in one basket". It also allows you to run your workload where they are
most suited.
If you're planning a big data project but a
particular cloud service provider (CSP) has better support for building a
Hadoop cluster than your current one, you might be confused as to what to do.
If you've embraced a multi-cloud strategy, the answer is simple-run your big
data project on the second CSP, while keeping your existing workload where they
are.
Last year, IDC predicted that over 85% of
enterprise IT organizations would commit to multi-cloud architectures by 2018.
Based on interactions with our own customers, we believe multi-cloud adoption
is going to accelerate even further in 2019.
Evolution of the Workspace
One of the fastest growing IT trends is the
workspace evolution. Last year, millennials were the largest working generation
in the US, making up more than 35% of the total workforce. We expect that
percentage to grow even bigger next year. This has profound implications on the
evolution of workspaces, as millennials prefer non-traditional working
environments.
That's why we're seeing workspace
architectures being incorporated with open spaces and hot desks. It's also the
reason we're witnessing the rise of telecommuting and the emergence of
coworking spaces. Millennials want their working environments to foster
collaboration, openness, and flexibility.
People born after 1996, commonly referred to
as Gen Z or Centennials, have also started joining the workforce, with the same
workplace preferences as millennials. In order to meet the working preferences
of this younger workforce, companies have to adapt.
Companies have to provide better support for
interconnectivity and mobility, while also ensuring security and availability
of corporate services and data. They want to make sure their employees stay
productive regardless of where they work from. Some companies have already
started implementing changes to their IT infrastructure, but we expect more to
follow in 2019 as this new concept becomes the norm.
Consistent User Experience
One byproduct of the preference for
non-traditional workspaces is the desire to work from anywhere. Many employees
now wish to have the flexibility to work at home, in a coffee shop, or hotel
lobby. Sometimes requiring the use of multiple devices to maintain their level
of productivity.
If a user starts working on a task on his
office desktop computer but then decides to work someplace else, he should be
able to work as he goes. While on board a taxi or a train, he might need to
review or make some edits on his tablet or smartphone. Upon reaching a destination,
he may want to continue on his laptop. Later still, he might want to shift to
his home computer in order to take advantage of a larger screen or perhaps even
multiple monitors.
Theoretically, this is now possible with the
use of cloud computing. However, if his office desktop computer is running on
Windows 10, his company-issued phone is an Android, his company-issued laptop
is again on Windows 10, and his home desktop is a Mac, then it's likely that he
will have to keep adjusting from one user interface to another.
In 2019, we believe businesses will start
adopting technologies that will enable a consistent user experience across
different platforms. This will make it easier for users to resume work on a
task even when shifting from one device to another.
We believe these three IT trends are going to
dominate 2019. What do you think will be the top IT trends of 2019? Let us know
in the comments.
References:
- IT
Trends in 2019 | Infoworld: https://www.infoworld.com/article/3226484/cloud-computing/what-is-multicloud-the-next-step-in-cloud-computing.html
- CIO:
https://www.cio.com/article/3273108/cloud-computing/understanding-the-benefits-of-a-multi-cloud-strategy.html
- IDC:
https://www.idc.com/research/viewtoc.jsp?containerId=US41863916
- Pew
Research: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/11/millennials-largest-generation-us-labor-force/
- WATG:
https://www.watg.com/working-nine-to-thrive-the-evolution-of-the-workspace/
- HPE:
https://www.hpe.com/us/en/insights/articles/consumption-based-it-a-primer-for-your-business-1711.html
##
About the Author