Technology Trends for 2016
by Kate Smith, Director, Sales & Marketing
It’s that time of year again when we reflect on what has happened during the previous twelve months and consider the possibilities in the coming year. While some technology trends have burned hot but fizzled fast, others maintain a steady position in the spotlight. The following technology trends are courtesy of industry analyst Gartner, Inc. and are some that should be considered in the coming year.
While we’re all familiar with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) as well as Mobile Device Management (MDM), the two are now being folded into what Gartner is calling “Device Mesh.” The trend is described as, “an expanding set of endpoints people use to access applications and information or interact with people, social communities, governments and businesses. The device mesh includes mobile devices, wearable, consumer and home electronic devices, automotive devices and environmental devices — such as sensors in the Internet of Things (IoT).” (Gartner, Inc., 2015) IT Administrators have been dealing with the influx of devices requesting network access for some time now, but the new considerations around device mesh is focused around how these various devices interact with one another.
The new development of device mesh lends to the next technology trend Gartner, Inc. calls “Ambient User Experience.” Ambient User Experience, “preserves continuity across boundaries of device mesh, time and space.
The experience seamlessly flows across a shifting set of devices and interaction channels blending physical, virtual and electronic environment as the user moves from one place to another.” (Gartner, Inc., 2015) It only makes sense that with the plethora of devices interacting with one another, the user experience should be seamless as well.
An array of connected devices and an immersive user experience means the production of exorbitant amounts of data. “Everything in the digital mesh produces, uses and transmits information. This information goes beyond textual, audio and video information to include sensory and contextual information.” (Gartner, Inc., 2015) The Information of Everything, “addresses this influx with strategies and technologies to link data from all these different data sources. Information has always existed everywhere but has often been isolated, incomplete, unavailable or unintelligible. Advances in semantic tools such as graph databases as well as other emerging data classification and information analysis techniques will bring meaning to the often chaotic deluge of information.” (Gartner, Inc., 2015) I would expect to see, among business of all sizes, an influx in use of Business Intelligence and Analytics that will make sense of data and provide usable insights.
As threats to the network infrastructure continue to increase and evolve in complexity, Gartner, Inc. describes a trend called Adaptive Security Architecture.
“The complexities of digital business and the algorithmic economy combined with an emerging "hacker industry" significantly increase the threat surface for an organization. Relying on perimeter defense and rule-based security is inadequate, especially as organizations exploit more cloud-based services and open APIs for customers and partners to integrate with their systems. IT leaders must focus on detecting and responding to threats, as well as more traditional blocking and other measures to prevent attacks. Application self-protection, as well as user and entity behavior analytics, will help fulfill the adaptive security architecture.” (Gartner, Inc., 2015)
These are but a few of the coming technology trends for 2016. Gartner’s full article, “Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2016” can be found here: http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3143521.
Works Cited
Gartner, Inc. (2015). Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2016.
About the Author
Kate Smith, SecurElement’s Director, Sales & Marketing is responsible for SecurElement’s overall sales and marketing strategy as well as ongoing partner relationships with organizations such as Microsoft, Cisco, Barracuda and many others.
