Trends 2016: Tech innovation in Cloud, Internet-based WAN, Content Delivery arrives

By Rahul Mathur

Cloud computing is now a well-established proposition. For many, it is seen as the de facto standard when commissioning new services and applications, an indication of just how extensively cloud services are offered and the maturity of the market.

We see 2016 being the defining year for cloud computing. It has been anticipated that cloud investments will grow 10-fold with deployments in private cloud.

Private cloud will also give way to hybrid cloud technology, which will be adopted by most of the big enterprises by end of 2017. Many companies in APAC are increasingly adopting cloud.

We expect large organizations to adopt a hybrid cloud architecture, as it is now easier to deploy and manage such architectures. Smaller companies will continue to move to public cloud solutions. However, given that the APAC market is composed of many countries and many different regulations (like data protection) there will be a need for hybrid environments for mid-sized companies also.

The platform market for cloud management is still at a nascent stage but growth will be observed in categories like open source initiatives, upward movement of virtualization platforms while traditional vendors will experience a fall. With growing interest in private clouds, the aspect of the levels of privacy will remain a critical concern. Sophistication and understanding of business requirements will propel deeper success on private deployment.

Internet based WAN technologies will mature. There have been few fundamental shifts in business processes in most organizations over the last year. More and more organizations are moving applications to the cloud or using Software as a Service (SAAS) services.

Employees are becoming more mobile and distributed. This requires organizations to look at Internet as a predictable and secure way of connectivity to unlock employee productivity. We see this trend to continue in 2016 as Internet WAN technologies evolve. We expect the adoption of Internet as Enterprise WAN will lead to deployment of hybrid networks with greater adoption of technologies and services that will make these networks more aware and efficient.

Innovative content delivery technologies. Content owners, enabled by technology providers, are taking control in a world where consumer viewing patterns are dramatically changing due to flexible content provisioning across screens and devices. In this competitive environment, broadcasters are focusing on staying ahead of the game and providing viewers with the platforms and services that give them more control when it comes to dictating their own viewing experiences.

(The author, Rahul Mathur, is Vice President, Global Enterprise Solutions-Sales- APAC, Tata Communications)