6 Cloud Predictions for the New Year From Windstream

Windstream‘s cloud evangelist, Kent Landry, is out with six predictions for the cloud in 2014. Landry, who spoke on the topic with Channel Partners this fall, originally published his forecast in Help Net Security. Here are some excerpts:

Demystifying the cloud. "In 2013, cloud service providers and end users began to clarify the confusing and often inconsistent cloud lexicon, a trend that will continue to evolve in 2014 as more discrete solutions and concrete definitions around the cloud are solidified …"

Increased mobility. "Tablets and smart devices will continue to displace paper-based processes, especially in situations where employees are in the field, interacting with service events."

Hybrid cloud growth accelerates. "Hybrid cloud adoption, being driven by expanded virtualization solutions such as IT as a Service (ITaaS), will continue to grow."

Application interoperability. "… the push toward making virtualized applications operate concurrently across vendor-neutral cloud platforms will continue as workloads and apps are developed to talk to each other seamlessly across clouds."

The Internet of Everything (IOE). "[The] machine-to-machine (M2M) trend will increase big data and business intelligence solutions that focus on increasing both customer- and market-specific analysis."

Cybercrime activity will continue to rise. "With more virtualization and a larger number of entry points occurring through IOE trends, businesses and consumers become more vulnerable to cybercrime."

Landry’s full article can be read here.

Follow senior online managing editor @Craig_Galbraith on Twitter.