As 2019 draws to a close, you’re sure to encounter many prediction lists that are inevitably going to surface. Well, as you already know from the title of this post, we wanted to throw our hat into the ring too! We’ve rounded up our most popular predictions for the tech industry here at Executech, and we’re here to lay them all out for you.
As you know, the tech industry changes in an instant, so let’s get going!
The Growth of Hybrid and Multicloud Models
Our first prediction for the new year is the growth of the cloud — more specifically, hybrid and multicloud models. We believe more organizations will choose this type of approach in 2020 than public or private cloud models. Why? Well, two significant reasons for this are security and cost management.
With a hybrid cloud model, companies can use public clouds for day-to-day operations and private clouds for more sensitive data. This gives them more control and security while still utilizing cloud computing technology.
As for cost management, one primary concern with using a single cloud provider is vendor lock-in. As a result, organizations will try to protect themselves from this possibility by using a multicloud approach.
We foresee many organizations utilizing hybrid and multicloud models so they can take advantage of these benefits.
AI Fighting AI and a New Wave of Ransomware
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the talk of the town for years, but in 2020, we’ll see more AI in the cybersecurity realm, on both sides. Hackers will use AI to create smarter, more strategic attacks, while developers will use AI to aid in protection. With these uses of AI, it will continue to be a battle as new cyber attacks appear and old ones evolve.
One of the types of attacks we predict gaining traction in 2020 is ransomware. Ransomware was already a major player in the cybersecurity realm in 2019, but it will become an even more dangerous threat in the coming year. Using new technologies (like AI), hackers will develop more creative ways to infiltrate networks and encrypt data. However, we also believe that businesses will be better protected, which leads us to our next tech prediction.
Small Businesses Will Adopt Better Cybersecurity Safeguards with the Cloud
In the coming year, we foresee many more small to mid-sized business arming themselves against cyber threats. In recent years, large corporations and enterprises have invested heavily in setting up and maintaining protocols and measures surrounding cybersecurity. However, because of tight budgets or the mentality of “it’s not going to happen to me,” smaller businesses have been slower to protect themselves.
Hopefully, in 2020 we will see this change, and one big instigator might be the growing adoption of cloud technology. Two prominent players in the game that we believe are going to grow even more in 2020? Office 365 and Microsoft Azure.
Both of these products offer organizations extremely beneficial features — all rolled into one package. They allow companies to leverage economies of scale, giving them access to tools they couldn’t afford on their own. We even think it’s a possibility that Azure takes over AWS for the largest market share in the public cloud space.
Tech Companies Will Work to Earn More Trust
Another big theme we see continuing from 2019 to 2020 in the tech industry revolves around trust. Specifically, building trust with consumers.
Over the past decade, we’ve seen numerous data breaches and mishandling of personal data. Even from some of the biggest companies we know, like Marriott and Yahoo. Because of this and emerging threats, tech companies— from startups to giant corporations —will have to work harder to earn their customers’ trust. They will have to figure out how to prove to individuals that their data and information will remain private and secure in their hands.
Organizations Utilize the Edge
Edge computing is slowly but surely gaining momentum, and we believe this tech is going to explode into the mainstream in 2020. Edge computing brings computation and data storage closer to the devices where it’s being gathered, rather than relying on a central location that can be thousands of miles away.
For example, when data is generated by a device, that data has to be sent to the central server, with instructions then being returned to the device. If the central server is a long distance away, this relaying of information causes delays (even if it’s only milliseconds) and strain on bandwidth. But, with edge computing, data processing is relocated closer to the network.
Many individuals may read this and think that edge computing is mutually exclusive or a replacement for cloud computing. However, the two types of tech actually compliment each other quite nicely, and we predict many organizations using the two in tandem. The low latency of edge computing and the storage capacity and processing power of the cloud can give organizations the best of both worlds.
Increased Use of Multi-Factor Authentication and Single Sign-On
We always say that one of the best and easiest ways to protect your data is to enable multi-factor authentication (MFA). In 2020 we anticipate the growth of MFA, along with Single Sign-On (SSO).
A single username and password is no longer enough to keep unwanted guests out of your accounts and network. By using MFA and SSO, organizations can create a stronger barrier to the outside world. In a nutshell, these two types of access management make your devices and accounts much more secure. We believe many more organizations will come to understand the benefits and turn on MFA and SSO.
2020, We’re Ready for You
So, do you agree with our tech predictions or have any of your own? We would love to hear what you foresee coming in the next twelve months in the tech industry. There are so many possibilities. We can’t wait to see what we get right, what we get wrong, and what we could never have even imagined. See you in 2020!
