Trend predictions for 2015

Steven Luong

Here is a look at three predictions we have for 2015:

1. Sophisticated security breaches will increasingly target laptops and mobile devices as points of attack, driving the need for advanced security and data loss-prevention techniques.

   Technologies that offer advanced data protection, access and search capabilities while addressing challenges associated with compliance, e-discovery and information governance will be paramount in 2015.These technologies and features help increase end-user productivity by providing unparalleled access to protected content that users can search, sync and share without compromising security. In 2015, it will be commonplace for enterprises to demand solutions that allow pertinent data to be wiped remotely should a corporate device be lost or stolen, helping ensure the data housed on the device is secure no matter where the physical device ends up.

   For example, a physician's laptop and cellphone, which contained data on roughly 1000 patients was recently stolen in an armed robbery. Ensuring the patient data was backed up and remote wipe capabilities were enabled could erase pertinent information from the stolen systems, but hindsight is 20/20.

2. Analytics and reporting will grow in importance.

   As companies look to realise fully the value of all the efforts they put into their data management strategies, analytics and reporting will have an increased importance. As such, people will become much more strategic in their data management efforts, focusing on deciding what types of data to store where and for how long to keep it.

   In short, analytics play a key role in making informed decisions to help achieve operational excellence. Analytics can help shine a light on several aspects of the data management lifecycle, including:
   - Dark data: Unstructured data growth has forced IT leaders to rethink their data management strategies. The 'dark data' you're paying to store, protect and manage isn't always being efficiently utilised to improve the value of your business, but analytics can help. By using analytics to determine what critical data may be just out of view, you'll be able to optimise your capacity management, search more efficiently and eliminate personal storage files; and
   - Archiving: Moving data from primary to secondary storage helps optimise storage space while enabling you to retain and find relevant data - but how do you decide what data moves, what is archived and what is deleted? Analytics can help you determine what data should be kept, where and for how long.
   

3. There will be continued pressure on IT to calm the BYOA storm.

   The widespread adoption of consumer applications brings many benefits to users in their personal lives. Users often want to have the same ease of use and productivity benefits in their professional lives and, as such, are bringing some applications into the workplace (i.e. Dropbox for file sharing, Evernote for productivity, etc.). Enterprises must now find a way to monitor and manage the growing number of applications (apps) in order to control costs, mitigate risk and ensure privacy.

   While the proliferation of apps in the workplace can be convenient at times, in 2015, enterprises must find ways to protect and secure the data, including:
   - Offering user-friendly IT sanctioned alternatives to unsecure applications;
   - Consolidating and backing up data regardless of where it came from; and,
   - Providing self-service access to protected data.

Gartner predicts that, by 2017, more than 268 billion mobile apps will be downloaded worldwide. Due to the proliferation of apps in the workplace, adopting best practices and appropriate software in 2015 to monitor and manage these apps is a must for most businesses.

In 2015, we predict that all eyes will be on end-point protection, analytics and keeping BYOA under control.

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