FINAL WORD
have contributed to a variety of projects.
By tapping into a foundation, they can
find individuals that are engaged and
devoted to the open source philosophy and
strengthen their overall networks. To retain
talent, companies must give developers the
opportunity to expand their knowledge,
achieve certifications and gain vital
experience in new technologies (especially
around IoT and security).
Data explosion will continue to drive
new storage models
Industrial IoT, smart cities and wearables
are bringing together and producing more
sophisticated data than ever before. While
the proliferation of data is nothing new, the
volume of unstructured data and the way in
which it is managed is. Additionally, many
enterprise IT teams are moving to hybrid-
environments that have on-prem systems
and cloud environments, creating additional
challenges for these teams. In 2019, more
companies will adopt software-defined
storage (SDS) to address the performance
and availability challenges caused by
the data explosion. One of the biggest
advantages of SDS is automation which
self-manage themselves. This system sends
professionals alerts when a change (both
good and bad) occurs in the environment.
More security breaches
Serious data hacks seem to be coming thick
and fast. If businesses don’t have a strong
security plan and measures in place – it may
Grant Bennett, Country Manager for SUSE
South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa
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INTELLIGENTCIO
already be too late. The security landscape
is continuously changing and evolving as
cybercriminals continue to find new ways to
steal what’s most valuable to them – data.
Storage professionals must now toe the line
between IT and security, ensuring they have
a mix of skills and an understanding of what
both departments need to be successful.
As IT and security grow closer, new jobs
are developing and roles are being created
specifically to oversee data governance
and policy. In addition to job creation, the
marriage of security and IT may result in
policy changes as well.
Blockchain will become actionable in
industries beyond finance
Because of cryptocurrency, Blockchain
has become associated with currency and
the finance industry. However, Blockchain
is an open, shared ledger that can record
transactions efficiently and in a verifiable
and permanent way. In 2019, open source
Blockchain technology will be the driver for
new use cases in many industries beyond
finance. For example, in the food and
beverage industry, Blockchain will likely be
used in tracking the delivery of food from
farm to consumer across the supply chain.
Blockchain has the potential to improve
the speed in identifying the source and
distribution points in a food recall process.
Additionally, developments are taking place
to bridge containers and Blockchain through
CaaS platforms, which will create new
opportunities for developers in 2019.
ML will become the backbone of
industries – but slow and steady wins
the race
Machine Learning (ML) solutions are
currently being used in today’s enterprise
environments, but mostly for smaller
projects in a test environment. In 2019,
adoption will increase at a measured pace,
but expansive deployment isn’t here yet.
The reason for this deliberate pace?
It’s allowing companies to focus on
implement the technology in a way that
improves business processes and delivers
tangible results.
A more cautious implementation also
allows for the cultural shift to happen,
giving IT and business professionals alike
a chance to embrace these next-gen
solutions. This targeted adoption will
continually accelerate over the next couple
of years, with ML eventually becoming an
innovation enabler of all industries in the
next decade.
In 2019, we’re set to see the maturation of
various technologies, from containers and
hybrid cloud to AI. Open source software
will continue to thrive and play a pivotal
role in these predictions as open source
communities have become the vanguard
of innovation. What’s more, open source
software will continue to play a fundamental
role in all the dominant technology trends as
it is increasingly being relied on by enterprise
businesses around the globe. n
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