Predictions for 2011: Part two

StorageScale-out NAS Storage will start to overtake SAN
The last year has seen three major pioneers in the scale-out NAS space get gobbled up by larger rivals. Isilon, 3PAR and Compellent will over the next year be embedded in to the respective channels of EMC, HP and Dell channels. These new channels will advanced the cause of scale-out much faster than SAN or traditional ‘islands’ of NAS storage.

As we head to a more of a utility computing business model, flexibility will be king. “No matter what happens in 2011, there will be no room for wastage,” explains NetApp’s Pete Rawden. “There will be significant pressure on IT managers and CIOs to provide efficient IT infrastructures. We will see more businesses introduce unified storage systems. These systems are capable of storing more data on minimal hardware for less money.”

Data storage requirements so no sign of slowing down. In fact, with the prevalence of video and more organisations recording audio transactions, tiered data storage is going to be hot this year.

ILM and storage unification will flourish as IT managers do more with less
For many years, the solution to running out of data storage capacity has simply been to buy bigger drives or more arrays. But as organisations become more energy and compliance-aware, the notion of the journey that information takes from creation, to live and finally archive is coming under increased scrutiny. Tape isn’t dead, but it’s certainly not growing and as more data moves to disk-based archives, it’s eventual destruction now becomes a critical question for IT managers. ILM is not new but over the last few years, more organisations are putting in better defined policies. 2011 will see that process grow.

Cisco will move into storage
An absolute punt of a prediction but worth a shot. A senior executive at a large storage vendor dismissed the idea as “nonsense” when questioned by a journalist. His view was that Cisco could not afford to burn any more bridges. However, the same could have been said about the firm’s move into servers a year earlier.

Cisco could buy into the big time with a major acquisition, however rivals like NetApp and EMC are getting too big to swallow whole without a serious financial outlay. Still, demand for storage is growing faster than almost any other technology, bar virtualisation. Storage is almost the last pie Cisco hasn’t got it fingers into so maybe the notion is not so outlandish.

SecurityDemand for Data Loss Prevention technologies grows rapidly
The embarrassment caused by Wikileaks may have died down for now but the memory is still fresh in the minds of the folks tasked with protecting secrets for governments and large enterprises.

Colin Bannister of CA Technologies believes that as companies start opening up to social networking sites and increasing employee mobility there will be more access points to sneak out classified information. “Organisations will begin using behavioural analysis to predict threats from the inside,” he says.

But Veracode CTO, Chris Wysopal believes that the insider threat problem is so huge that a single security product category such as DLP coupled with new policies on removable media will fail to make a dent on leaks. “The comprehensive security programmes focused on internal applications and internal networks take years to implement. New organisations will copy the Wikileaks model to give more outlets for leaked information,” he believes.
Either way, the cat versus mouse mindset of security spending will get another boost over 2011.

Weakness in a mobile application causes a major security breach
The sheer pervasiveness and diversity of mobile applications make them challenging for organisations trying to secure the IT perimeter. Laptops used to be an issue as they passed through the physical barriers of an organisation and attached to networks but these holes where quickly recognised and filled. Today, the half a dozen mobile operating systems provide a myriad of potential issues. Although the number of targeted attacks using these devices is small, the rapid growth of mobile apps and ingenuity of attackers is growing.

Wysopal believes that “Inevitably, attackers [will] leverage this juicy new attack vector to penetrate corporate perimeters.” He believes this will come in the form of a malicious application downloaded through a well-known and trusted app store.

Legislation around privacy and breach notification starts to gather pace in Europe
The lack of a European-wide ‘security breach disclosure’ law makes it very easy for organisations to sweep IT attacks under the carpet. IT security without quantifiable loss is not sexy for politicians. But privacy on the other hand is. This year, any communication carrier that suffers a data breach of information in transit across its network needs to disclose it to local regulator. It’s a small step but the likelihood is that Europe will get tougher on disclosure.

HardwarePad devices surge but smart-phones surge faster
The Consumer Electronic Show in Vegas this year will be awash with two things; pads and smart-phones. All around the world, electronics manufacturers are looking at how much money Apple is making from iPads and iPhones and they want a slice. Business executives, retailers, even service staff all crave smaller, lighter and more versatile devices for an increasingly mobile work environment. The growth of the both devices is inevitable.

James Coulson from Viewsonic comments: “The only thing that is holding back mainstream adoption is interaction and content. Getting a new generation to perform and effectively interact with colleagues without a keyboard and mouse will be the ultimate test for content providers and application developers.”

Intel announce advances in on-chip security technologies
Intel’s $7.6bn acquisition of McAfee will bear fruit for the chip giant in 2011 as the firm unveils a tighter coupling between silicon and security. Intel has come under pressure from rivals, especially in the mobile device space and its acquisition strategy aims to give it an added edge in the security-obsessed world we live in. Innovators like Arm and new entrants like Samsung may well start to explore adding value to their respective portfolio through acquisitions to follow Intel’s lead.

Consolidation through merger in the smart wireless market
More smart, portable devices will lead to more demands on the wireless networks that serve them. The faults of traditional Wi-Fi networks that struggle with quality of service, coverage and capacity will increasingly become evident. Some of the new innovators like Ruckus and Xirrus are gaining market share at the expense of the incumbents and both could be potential acquisition targets in 2011.
Part One