Top 10 Technology Disruptions for Which to Be Thankful
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The Rise of Cloud Computing
Synergy Research puts the current value of the cloud computing market at just north of $15 billion. A lot of the consumption of those resources was sold direct. But it's also not apparent that the need for IT services to manage those environments is creating a huge new market for solution providers across the channel. -
Mobile Computing Goes Mainstream
Research and Markets estimates that from 2012 to 2017 tablets will show a compound annual growth rate of 17 percent and phablets a CAGR of 22.7 percent. Many billions of dollars in device spending is being done by consumers, and millions of those devices are also being connected to corporate networks. -
Big Data Analytics Takes Off
Frost & Sullivan estimates that more than 300 vendors are selling products across 30 different classes of big data analytics technologies. Most IT organizations are still trying to figure out what to do with all that data, but the opportunity is clearly massive. -
Software-Defined Networking Comes of Age
Rayno Media puts the value of software-defined networking (SDN) and related technologies at $20 billion at the very least. Even better, SDNs are only a foundational technology for then building out entire software-defined data centers (SDDCs). -
Internet of Things Gains Traction
CompTIA estimates that with some 50 billion devices expected to be connected to the Internet by 2020, solution providers should expect to be major beneficiaries of demand for new classes of IT solutions. -
In-Memory Databases Pick Up Momentum
Ventana Research shows that almost half (46%) of organizations surveyed are evaluating in-memory databases. And with that, comes additional opportunities to sell next-generation servers to run those databases. -
API Economy Takes Off
Cutter Consortium estimates there will be 30,000 open application programming interfaces (APIs) by 2016; and the growth rate for private APIs is five times that. Before too long, everything will be programmable. -
IT Automation Becomes a Necessity
Research and Markets forecasts that the data center automation market will grow 18 percent year over year, as IT organizations look to do a lot more with either the same amount or fewer IT staff members. -
Docker Containers Appear as Virtualization Alternative
Docker reports that there have been 21 million downloads of the Docker platform; over 35,000 "Dockerized" applications are now available on the Docker Hub Registry; and more than 13,000 Docker-related projects have launched on GitHub. As a result, demand for virtual machines may soon taper off. -
IT Security Remains a Major Growth Market
Markets and Markets said the global cyber-security market will be worth $155.74 billion by 2019. That's a lot of ill wind blowing the channel some good.
What Partners Need to Know About HP, Inc. 
MSPs Face Big Cybersecurity Talent Gap 
Why Tech Companies Are Eager to Invest in 5G 
The Problem With Partner Referral Programs 
Microsoft Taps Channel for Digital Business 
New Technologies Will Fuel Channel Opportunities 
Channel's Transition to the Cloud Requires More Time 
Microsoft's Cloud Channel Begins to Mature 
Defining MSPs' Goals, Challenges and Tools 
Why Metrics Matter to the Channel Without technological disruption, opportunities for solution providers to grow would be limited. Whether it involves scaling IT architectures up or out or consolidating data center environments, as long as there is some activity one way or another, chances are good that a solution provider is involved. About the only thing most solution providers can't really abide is the status quo. With that in mind, Channel Insider identified the top 10 most disruptive technology opportunities for the channel in 2014. From the rise of cloud computing to advances in the realm of in-memory computing, never has there been so much technology disruption at once. Of course, some changes are more disruptive than others. Cloud computing, for example, not only disrupts how IT is delivered and consumed; it alters business models across the channel. At the same time, big data analytics and the Internet of things (IoT) may be a huge opportunity, but it's still a relatively nascent market. The good news is that—whatever the level of disruption—there is still plenty of time for solution providers to make lots of money helping customers take advantage of emerging technologies with the potential to boost ROI.