3 IT Trends We See Now
Working with hundreds of small and midsize businesses, we often see trends in IT interests, plans, and initiatives. Given all the hype, we expected to see Generative AI as a big trend this fall. While our clients are interested in it and beginning to use it, Generative AI is not among the top three trends this fall.
Here are the 3 trends we see now.
3 Incremental Cybersecurity
With a never-ending string of cyber attacks, new regulations, and expanded expectations from customers, insurers, and others, your peers are reassessing their cybersecurity measures and making adjustments.
Like your business, most small businesses have some cybersecurity measures in place. Adding incremental services is a fiscally smart way to increase prevention, fill gaps in protection, and ensure a more effective response.
Universal multi-factor authentication (MFA), penetration testing, security awareness training, and improved recovery and continuity solutions are among the services your peers are adding.
2 Virtual Desktops
Remote and hybrid work are the norm. So is bring-your-own-device, or BYOD. The challenge is ensuring your team has a consistent user experience that is productive and secure.
Virtual Desktop, sometimes referred to as remote desktop solutions, provides a cloud-resident environment that is secure and effective. With a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), such as Azure Windows Desktop, your team accesses a secure work environment from any device with Internet access. Apps run and data remains in the cloud – only screen, keyboard, and mouse traffic touch the local device.
By removing the end user device from the security envelope, you do not need to put security software, or company data, on employees’ personal devices. You reduce the scope of your management (and the cost) while having more control over your environment.
1 Managed Cloud Services
Your IT and cloud services are more sophisticated and capable. Keeping current, ensuring the environment is secure, and helping your team use your IT services most effectively takes time. Instead of letting things slide, your fellow small business owners and leaders are moving towards Managed Cloud Services.
Managed Cloud Services, like more traditional managed IT services, put monitoring, management, administration, and support into the hands of experts. You get an integrated bundle of security, services, and support that matches your needs and your budget.
While Managed Cloud Services often comes with some increased costs, the enhanced value gained outweighs the cost.
Your Next Steps
Our Cloud Advisors are ready to help you assess if and how Virtual Desktops and Managed Cloud Services may benefit your team and business.
To assess and adjust your cybersecurity, check out these resources:
Our eBook, Cyber Security Requirements for Cyber Insurance, defines basic, preferred, and best practice cybersecurity for small businesses.
We also offer multiple assessments to help you understand and benchmark your current cybersecurity, including:
These assessments are free with a Referral Code.
Contact us or schedule time with one of our Cloud Advisors to learn more and obtain your Referral Code.
About the Author
Bill is a Senior Cloud Advisor responsible for helping small and midsize organizations with cloud forward solutions that meet their business needs, priorities, and budgets. Bill works with executives, leaders, and team members to understand workflows, identify strategic goals and tactical requirements, and design solutions and implementation phases. Having helped over 200 organizations successfully adopt cloud solutions, his expertise and working style ensure a comfortable experience effective change management.
