Sponsor's blog: IT Megatrends You Need to Know and Share

The consumerization of IT. In the past some would suggest that consumerization meant BYOD (bring you own device), but that was before commercial devices now carry the same form factors and characteristics of consumer devices. Consumerization is about the end user experience through self-enablement, portals, FAQ, chat and other consumer oriented approaches. It is about the experience, not the product necessarily. 

Ubiquitous networking. If you have a device, you have an expectation of a network to play on. This is a challenge for IT since our network topology and designs often assumed one device per end user, not the 3 to 5 which is the reality. Another perspective is that the network traffic is more “bursty” and yes, non-corporate applications reside on the networks. 

Emerging markets. This trend does not only suggest the global aspect, which it true, it also suggest that with each state having unique privacy rules and regulations, one cannot assume consistency. Similarly, one cannot assume what works in the US can be transported globally. Global lifecycle management is a challenge for everyone, if someone says they have the “secret sauce” go chat with someone else. 

Cloud and virtualization. These are the great enablers. Experts suggest that the top priority for 2015 was application modernization. Developing applications once is the objective regardless of form factor or operating system. 

Mobility. Many folks will suggest that mobility is the megatrend, that would be hard to argue. Mobility for all the positive benefits also creates application, security, and use case issues to content with. Businesses need to embrace this megatrend while at the same time recognize it is decidedly a different worlds for lifecycle management. 

Unified communications. If you have kids, you need to text and instant messaging. The same guidelines apply to business, we all know how we archive and handle email, but how do we address the text and instant messaging retention and actions. Can a text message as an example result in an incident ticket in the help desk or desk side support? 

Big Data. On corporate devices whether desktop, laptop table, smart phone there are numbers of applications not vetted by IT. These applications are commercial and consumer applications that can and are data mined. Does this megatrend suggest that corporations need to monitor these applications as well? The megatrends do suggest entry in to certain new lifecycle and business operations. 

Social media. Social media is the killer application of this and likely further generations. I could overwhelm with statistics here, but suffice to say that all end users are social media and consumer application users as well.