Information Technology

The top five networking trends that will shape 2018 are:

Security First

Cyber threats are becoming ever more sophisticated and increasing in volume. In addition, remote working or working across multiple sites and multiple devices, together with an increasing reliance on cloud-based applications, have all served to weaken traditional perimeter-based security.

Traditional firewall technology is no longer enough. Anyone designing or planning a new network deployment in 2018 must adopt a ‘Security First’ mantra, with security being embedded into the network elements and design.

1. Continued mergers and acquisitions in UC market

We will see a continued growth in the number of mergers and acquisitions – from highly strategic and significant moves like Cisco’s acquisition of Broadsoft, through to smaller “roll up” plays in local markets in Europe, where niche players will start to be acquired by ambitious high growth and privately-funded entities.

2. Growth of video deployment for communications and collaboration

There is much more focus today on the overall User Interface (UI) and user experience, with video becoming a key technology to drive better communication and collaboration.

Ontario, Canada – January 9, 2018 – New research from WinMagic released today has found that security, management and compliance challenges are impacting the benefits businesses are receiving from using the cloud as their infrastructures become more complex. 39% reported their infrastructure was more complex since using the cloud, and 53% spend more time on management tasks than they have done previously.

Karl Roe, VP Services & Cloud Solutions at Nuvias, takes a look at what’s in store for organizations using the cloud in 2018:

The Rise of AI

2018 will see Artificial Intelligence (AI) drive a transformational change among organizations and impact on cloud use. 

ICT isn’t getting any simpler, and businesses are being forced to move faster as their customers’ requirements become more demanding. This is driving innovation in areas like AI, but automation of past processes won’t be enough to keep up with the “need for speed” in business agility.

Many organizations have yet to start the process of migrating their data and applications away from the Lotus Notes platform, and while there are many reasons as to why this is so, probably the two key ones are a truly compelling event that forces the issue and a lack of expertise. This is according to Jon Pyke, CEO, CIMtrek Ltd.

“That compelling event is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which becomes UK law on 25th May 2018. It is compelling because organizations are expected to create a single view of a customer – leaving data in old Notes databases is likely to render users non-compliant,” stated Jon.

Guildford, UK: 4th January 2018 - Semafone, the leading provider of data security and compliance solutions for contact centers, sees trouble ahead for companies which don’t have their cyber security in order – but also predicts that new regulations will have a positive impact on the market. CEO Tim Critchley, global solutions director Ben Rafferty, and head of information security Shane Lewis, share their top five predictions for 2018.

1) Mainstream breakthroughs for futuristic technologies