8 Technical Predictions for 2013 – Which Came True?

Prediction No. 1 – The Rise of Mobile and Tablet Devices

With mobility expected to surpass desktop services by 2014, the gap between desktops and mobile devices is getting closer and closer with every single day. Supporting mobility is another trend that is set to increase next year with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) for work becoming more and more acceptable and in turn making support more difficult.

TRUE: With an estimated 85 million mobile subscriptions in the UK, it’s true that the use of mobile devices has far surpassed desktop services. Mobile devices are also now widely used in care homes and social care settings, to collect and record important information whilst on site, which can be used to make real time decisions about patient care.

Prediction No. 2 – Internet Streamed Services

With further increased plans for more bandwidth and the further adoption of faster broadband capabilities this will lead to huge increases in online streamed services such as TV, film, voice and video. Businesses should prepare for higher bandwidth demands and improved communication services by reviewing their Internet connections and being ready to adopt the services when they become available at prices everyone can benefit from.

TRUE: There has been a marked shift in the way in which we use media services, with bandwidth hungry streaming services such as BBC iPlayer and NetFlix overtaking live broadcasts. Fibre broadband services are rapidly displacing traditional cable services as the demand for fast, cheap and reliable broadband delivery increases.

Prediction No. 3 – IT Asset Management

IT asset management will have renewed scrutiny so that there can be greater consolidation of data, enabling a company to evolve from being reactive to being able to perform proactive actions, such as predictive replacement and automated licensing reviews.

TRUE: New software that enables remote management of devices connected to a common network is now available, enabling real time monitoring, updates and security patches.

Prediction No. 4 – Cloud Computing

SMBs haven’t swapped out all of their on-site solutions in favour of the cloud, but the trend is clearly moving this way. A further increase in Cloud Outsourcing to control costs and improve services will continue in 2013.

TRUE: In 2020, it was reported that 27 billion gigabytes, or 27 petabytes, of data is stored in the Google cloud, with a huge amount of this dedicated to personal use such as photo storage.

Prediction No. 5 – Mobile Wallets and Near Field Communication

Recently, there are many examples of companies embracing mobile payment solutions. Square, Google Wallet and Passbook from iOS are among those who are competing in the mobile payment space. As more and more devices are capable of making small payments using Near Field Communication services, this trend is very likely to increase in 2013.

TRUE: This area has expanded considerably, with Apple, Google and Samsung all offering apps enabling payments using a mobile phone. According to Google, there are over 200 million users worldwide using phone payment solutions. The growth has been exponential, particularly in younger generations, who have grown up with these technologies.

Prediction No. 6 – Data Backup for Individuals

With Cloud Computing and Mobile Devices both set for major increases in 2013, backup will also have to follow suit. However in the past data backup was confined to the server rooms and major data centres but the trend likely for 2013 is that every individual will require full backup solutions that ensure the company data is being protected’.

TRUE: Backup has changed from local tape drives in server rooms to backing data up to cloud services and nowadays even backing up cloud services such as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace to third-party cloud backup services – known as C2C (Cloud to Cloud backup)

Prediction No. 7 – Authentication Improvements

Finally we can begin to see the first nail in the coffin of the username and password only approach to data security. Two factor authentication will become the norm and as Cloud adoption is further increased in 2013, the need to protect the data stored on the Internet will also have to play its part.

TRUE: 2FA has become a familiar term to us all and is not just confined to the techies amongst us. In fact, authentication methods have progressed even further, with passwordless methods such as biometrics slowly gaining momentum.

Prediction No. 8 – Internet Outages Will Cause Problems

Web outages will cause more damage than they have before. Not because there are more bad guys but because one site often feeds into many others, which in turn feed to additional sites. Think of the Facebook Like button – when Facebook has a problem with its code, it causes problems at thousands of other sites. In addition, as we predict further increases in mobile use and cloud services, along with several other supporting services, we will become further and further reliant on these Internet connected services.

TRUE & FALSE:  The Crowdstrike outage that occurred earlier this year exposed the risks associated with interconnected services, with travel, banking and healthcare services brought down by a simple bug in an update to their antivirus software. However, there are a variety of ways to protect against these vulnerabilities, including robust business continuity planning and regular data backups.