'M2M is here to stay'

According to Gartner, by 2013, more than 60% of all enterprises will have adopted some form of cloud computing.

At Verizon, it is expect that enterprises will move towards the hybrid cloud system, as with globalization, many companies are adopting this step. For example, recent cloud-based applications include healthcare clouds - that meet the privacy requirements under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); clouds for retail and other business transactions that comply with Payment Card Industry standards. So, what you can do with the traditional large VPN networks is easier with hybrid cloud. Even the government is now going from public cloud to the hybrid cloud.

People are now looking at a managed private cloud system - which is co-located with a co-location provider, set up specifically for the customers, connected on a private network, managed by the adaptors. Also, users have an option to choose from the geographies where the data will be residing in the cloud. Moreover, some of the core applications in the data center are yet to move into cloud. This transformation may take some time, as well as, will require to build trust quotient between the enterprises and the vendor.

Trends in Cloud computing

While cloud computing at the enterprise level, is drawing attention as an effective way through which various enterprise stakeholders can be connected. There are other aspects like BYOD which is increasingly becoming an important driver. While companies are accommodating the freedom of having mobile devices at work from a company perspective, we are creating the personal cloud where enterprises can adopt cloud based enterprise mobility strategies - creating 'personal clouds' where employees can use enterprise applications to do their jobs more effectively. This trend obviously provides an opportunity for Verizon to support enterprises in deploying effective cloud-based strategies.

With cloud computing becoming increasingly mainstream, security will become pervasive. Security will move out of the specialist realm and become a mainstream IT must-have. Cloud brings in a new prospective to information security. For example, in a public cloud customers have a challenge in abiding to the laws land. When you put the data on the cloud you don't know where it is residing may be in some other country so laws of the land are not possible. Cloud brings in new areas, which needs to be address.

Leveraging on cloud

Many Indian companies are adopting to BYOD concepts and have build their strategies around cloud and M2M, for their internal use and customer satisfaction. According to Forrester, 66% of employees globally now use 2 or more mobile devices for work - and that has far -reaching implications. We have talked about M2M earlier and The "Internet of things" has arrived and it will continue to grow. Gartner report, says "In 2011, over 15 bn things on the Web with 50 bn plus intermittent connections will grow by 2020 to over 30 bn connected things, with over 200 bn with intermittent connections. Machine-to-machine (M2M) connections now cover much more than smart energy delivery and smart cars. For example, elaborate networks of sensors with direct M2M connections, underpin connected healthcare and the first consumer-ready wave of automotive telematics - 'M2M is here to stay'".

Consumers are getting more focused. For example, M2M coming into play in the hospitality and other industries from a retail perspective. For the retail industry Verizon is providing solutions which are low in cost to connect them in the cloud based infrastructure which will be useful for making the store operational. Companies are looking at being more PCI compliant in India. From a BFSI side, yes, more of e-banking and e-processing there is a lot of focus security as well.

Five key business-tech trends - to keep up with the changing demands of today's enterprise, Verizon identified the following five key business-tech trends in 2013 for enterprises:

1.The forecast is bright for hybrid clouds: Distributed data centers and the intelligent wired and mobile networks that connect them now represent a viable alternative to traditional Virtual Private Network (VPN) methods that long have formed the backbone of distributed enterprise communications for a generation. Next year, there will be a significant shift from VPNs to public, private and, importantly, hybrid clouds.

 

2. The mobile majority is taking charge: Employees and the customers - have less and less separation between their work and private lives. Enterprises must accommodate and prioritize this new demand for efficiency and productivity. The information technology departments will play a key role in meeting this growing appetite for professional mobility on a personal level. As a result, companies will increasingly adopt cloud-based enterprise mobility strategies - creating "personal clouds" where employees can use enterprise applications to do their jobs more effectively. In addition, companies will be more proactive in tackling the challenges associated with dealing with the division of employees' personal and professional lives, by using mobile-device management and private application storefronts to create a more secure, mobile work environment.

3. Connected machines drive new insights: The "Internet of things" has arrived and it will continue to grow to meet specific industry requirements. Machine-to-Machine (M2M) connections now cover much more than smart energy delivery and smart cars. For example, elaborate networks of sensors with direct M2M connections now underpin connected healthcare and the first consumer-ready wave of automotive telematics. In 2013, this dramatic growth will extend to retail, finance and manufacturing.

The ability to collect, store and analyze overwhelming volumes of data will define which enterprises extract the best insights and make the most agile decisions, to their competitive advantage. As a result, all enterprises - both business and government - will need to work with vendors having strong and global ecosystems.

4. Networks will be smarter than you and invisible: An intelligent fabric that connects everything and everyone will render underlying networks invisible to end users, even as overall IP traffic grows at a compound annual growth rate of 29% through 2016, according to the Cisco Visual Networking Index.

Improvements in network reliability and resiliency, coupled with intelligent end points, serve as the foundation for connecting smart machines and smarter people. We will see a shift to more dynamic networks, pervasive IP connections, and purpose-built networks that serve businesses, consumers and society.

5. Security is the new arms race: Security will move out of the specialist realm and become a mainstream IT must-have. Security breaches span access, infrastructure and apps. They happen on fixed and mobile networks. They impact physical, intellectual and financial capital. Identity security will be much more prevalent issue. Two-factor authentication is already gaining adherents, but it won't be enough to counteract the increasing amount and intensity of criminal activity pursuing both intellectual property and financial gain.

The race is on to protect every endpoint, every device and everything connected to the internet. While the internet affords us countless opportunity it also comes with a price. No longer is strong security an option; it's a mandatory requirement for all organizations to protect their intellectual and physical capital, customer identities and society at large.