IT Trends & Technology

Although mainframes are capable of processing over millions of transactions per second (much more, in fact, than the typical volume of searches on Google), they are largely viewed as unfashionable hardware.

Yet, despite generally being considered legacy technologies, you can plan on them being around for a while. This is because many companies are still using these behemoths, and in certain cases, actively purchasing new machines. Why?

It’s no secret that IT spending has risen dramatically over the past several years. This rise is because of a number of factors, including the rise in cybersecurity vectors, widespread adoption of IoT devices, consumer preference for online card payment transactions, and overall trends in the digital transformation, to name a few.

Global IT spending on enterprise software alone almost doubled from just over $225 billion in 2009 to an estimated $424 billion by 2019. Year over year, IT spending is expected to increase 5.5 percent.

One trend that theoretically should lower IT costs is application containerization. It is analogous to how the shipping industry uses standardized containers to ship cargo around the world. The application is packaged along with all dependencies, including runtime components isolated from other processes.

Whether business leaders embrace digital transformation or not, it’s here to stay. Its  impact on enterprise has already proven to be quite profound, and adoption will be necessary to remain competitive and grow with each passing year.

Digital transformation is not just about the digitization of organizational processes needed to run day-to-day business operations. It’s largely a customer- and culture-driven transformation dictated by how consumers choose to do everything from initiate financial transactions to consume entertainment and the preference to use digital devices to communicate and express ideas.

Today’s Chief Information Security Officer, or CISO, is having a stronger and more strategic role in organizations due to more cyber threats, compliance standards, connected devices and stored data than ever before. However, according to a study done earlier this year by PricewaterhouseCoopers, almost half of average companies today don’t have a C-level security executive in place. Now is the time for organizations to evaluate their risk posture and invest in an information security team that can adopt a strong cybersecurity culture that aligns with their strategic business goals.

U.S. business productivity has been trending up lately, according to recent government figures. Some of that has to do with the labor force working longer hours and upticks in requests. However, another factor that directly contributes to business productivity is efficiency, brought about by leaner organizational processes and better management.

One way enterprise is achieving efficiency is by leveraging the benefits of hybrid cloud solutions and migrating certain key elements of their IT infrastructure off-premises.

Merriam-Webster has several definitions for the word myth. One of them is “a person or thing having only imaginary or unverifiable existence.”

Not surprisingly, there are many misconceptions and outright myths circulating about the cloud and cloud management that are just that—myths. In order to debunk these myths, one must come prepared with cold, hard facts that speak truth to fable.

Most dictionaries define a broker as an agent who acts as an intermediary in the purchase or sale of a commodity, or a person or entity distributing something tangible.

Cloud service brokers (CSBs) work much the same way in that they work as an intermediary between a customer and a cloud service provider. There are many reasons why a company would choose to work with a CSB, but the main benefit is the management of provider services for customers who lack the time or resources to utilize cloud services to best meet the organization’s business needs.

First National Technology Solutions, leading IT services and cloud provider, unveiled a new brand identity, redesigned website and will operate under a new name, FNTS.

Persistent security breaches, new investments in hardware, and a growing demand for cloud services are the primary drivers behind ongoing increases in IT security spending, according to a recent industry forecast.

In 2019, expenditures for security products are expected to reach $124 billion, up almost 9 percent from the $114 billion allocated for 2018. Recent high-profile attacks like Equifax, WannaCry, and Yahoo, to name a few, have prompted businesses to take a good, hard look at their security vulnerabilities and their abilities to detect and respond to increasingly crafty cyberthreats.

Whether it is to meet shifting business objectives, pursue revenue growth, or achieve greater operational efficiency, there is a clarion call to enterprises prompting the move of many of their workloads over to multi-cloud providers.

A recent Forrester Consulting report indicated that 86 percent of survey respondents are planning to move or have already moved many of their mission-critical workloads over to multiple cloud providers. Much of the demand is being driven by our reliance on IoT devices and the need for big data analytics, in addition to enterprise revenue goals and demands.

The technology ecosystem is always changing, making it imperative for businesses to embrace new technologies available to them. However, many organizations rely on legacy technology to run their operations making it extremely difficult to make the transition to a more modern and innovative system.

Research indicates that cybercrime damages will total $6 trillion a year by 2021—more than double the cost of just a few years ago. Part of that total comes from the growing success of ransomware schemes, which cost about $5 billion a year, up from just $325 million in 2015. These chilling stats point to one reality: Effective IT security measures are growing more important with every passing year.

As IBM iSeries celebrates its 30th anniversary, it continues to be a system of record for critical applications and data in sectors such as healthcare and manufacturing. The forward momentum of the digital business often means the server lags behind in the business backup strategy. This poses a myriad of challenges for users when it comes to avoiding downtime with iSeries backup strategies.

As overall IT budgets grow tighter, it becomes more challenging to improve IT security. In a recent IBM security study polling more than 2,800 IT and security professionals, 69 percent reported that funding for cyber resiliency is insufficient.

While a recent study by SAP Center for Business Insight shows that digital transformation in healthcare is growing, the slow pace of that growth can be directly attributed how healthcare organizations are grappling with some of the most significant IT challenges. While the use and plethora of digital platforms have become standard, the resulting big data, the need for interoperability and real-time analytics, as well as the need for greater mobility and security, are all setting the stage for more challenges moving forward.