Trends for 2011...Speed, Security, Standards

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  Thursday 6 January 2011

  By: Dan O'Donnell
  
  This is the week when everyone is predicting IT market movement for the upcoming year. Crystal balls and prognostications abound on the web. There is more fortune telling on the web then a back woods gypsy convention.
  
  Here is an interesting thought about all the predictions…short term (1-2 years) predictions rarely meet the mark, long term (10-12 years) predictions are often well shy of actual changes over that period of time.
  
  So, not to fall into the trap of under or over predicting the future, I will highlight a few trends that are good bets to see increased attention in 2011. There is no telling where these trends will take us by 2021, but you can be sure it is beyond any current predictions.
  
  1. The Need for Speed: Nothing earth shattering here. With applications for everything from YouTube to hourly weather reports to GPS, the network is being consulted more often than ever before. Corporate Enterprise Data Centers, Mobile and Wire line Service Providers and Government networks have been upgrading link speeds trying to keep up with network demand and will continue to do so this year. 10G Ethernet experienced robust growth in 2010 and will be in great demand in 2011. Service Providers are starting to test 40G and 100G Ethernet. Network operators will be looking for tools and network access equipment to help manage networks at 10G speeds and beyond. Integration of 1G and 10G will be hot.
  
  2. More Speed Needs Better Security: There has been a proliferation of specialized security devices to help deter and block ongoing threats to networks. As the threats have grown more sophisticated, so have the security tools. There are tools to block intrusions from outside the network and also to flag and eliminate the leaking of confidential data from inside the firewall. However, as more devices are connected to a link, uptime and reliability become issues. Look for growth in access equipment that can aggregate tools and provide in-line access to links with fail-safe reliability and increased network availability to authorized users.
  
  3. Standards: As more data moves to the cloud, perhaps even multiple clouds, it will be more important for end points to adhere to strict standards including network access equipment, tools and end points. Networks in 2011 will be utilizing multiple clouds with policy based access and strict security. Internet, Intranet, Extranet…enterprise networks in 2011 will not control or specify the end points of all its users. In order for the ecosystem to operate seamlessly with all endpoints at all speeds, access to the cloud must use the same standards as the cloud. Open systems and portability will be the mantra of network architects for 2011.
  
  Speed, security and standards will be top of mind in 2011. Network Critical can help with solutions to integrate link speeds, access and aggregate security tools while adhering to Ethernet standards. So keep those apps coming, attack the hackers and thieves and access the cloud with standard implementations throughout the network.
  
  Best of luck and Happy New Year!
  
  Read more stories like this on Network Critical's Blog at www.networkcritical.wordpress.com