App Containers and IoT Among Top Tech Trends for 2016: CA

Datamation content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

CIOs, take note. 2016 will be a transformative year in IT, according to enterprise software provider CA Technologies.

The company just released five tech predictions for next year, and it bodes well for Docker and other app container platforms. “2016 will be the year that organizations take IT complexity by storm, using containers and microservices to simplify the current software architecture and development process,” said the company in a Dec. 28 statement. “Container technology is set to shape the future of software development standards, making it easier and more efficient for developers to move an application from one system to another.”

Otto Berkes, CA’s chief technology officer, cautioned that organizations seeking those benefits will need to take a good hard look at their IT management processes.

“Container proliferation, however, will drive the need for management and control much in the way that PCs did when they went mainstream,” blogged Berkes. “Areas such as security, network optimization, storage, and failover will need to be addressed as these feature-rich microservices deliver continuous upgrades multiple times per day.”

Still reeling from massive data breaches, the industry will look beyond bolt-on security solutions by focusing inward. “For 2016, all roads lead to the emerging idea of ‘agile security,'” stated Berkes. “Bringing security into the fold early, together with DevOps and agile practices, adds the much-needed third pillar to high-speed software development at scale.”

CA also expects businesses to adopt real-time analytics that enable them to provide personalized customer experiences. “In 2016, we enter an era where the ‘demographic of one’ will enable organizations to personalize services, pricing, sales and products in real-time for the individual vs. larger segments,” Berkes wrote.

Also in 2016, the Internet of Things (IoT) will go mainstream, making its real-world impact felt and requiring businesses to ensure that their “things” are indeed theirs.

“Just as a person’s ID needs authenticating, the ‘identity’ of a device and any data flow to it must be confirmed and trusted,” said Berkes. “Tools, such as identity and access management (IAM) for IoT or IoT interaction tables (similar to drug interaction tables that doctors and pharmacists use with prescription medication), are needed to ensure we’re engaging with the right ‘things’ and they are not conflicting, negating, or duplicating themselves in the environment.”

Finally, blockchain technology, a foundational component of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, will help IoT overcome some of its security shortcomings, predicted Berkes. But first, blockchain innovators will need to shake off Bitcoin’s controversial past. “Blockchain will have to overcome its ‘guilt by association’ with the Bitcoin problems, but the capability exists for it to become the storage of choice for sensors and IoT in general.”

Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at Datamation. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.