What to expect from business tech in 2015

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2015 promises to be an exciting year for enterprise technology. Will this be the year when tablets finally out-ship PCs? Can cloud storage get even cheaper? Who will hackers target next?

Judging from the four quarters already behind us, the year to come will certainly be chock full of new challenges for companies of all shapes and sizes. Journey with us now as we polish our crystal ball in an effort to get a clearer look at the next 12 months ahead and how they might impact key areas of technology.

Tablets at work

Last summer, Gartner predicted 2015 would be the year tablets finally outsell traditional desktop and laptop computers, achieving shipments of 321 million units as PCs declined to only 262 million units.

While it's too early to know for sure if that prediction will pan out, there is little doubt companies are favoring the adoption of tablets and smartphones, which offer greater mobility and cross-platform support for applications. With the right enterprise-connected applications, employees can be more productive on the go, especially when Wi-Fi and cellular data connectivity is factored into the equation.

Among the companies placing big bets on tablets this year are JPMorgan Chase & Co. (via BizJournals), who will begin testing tablets in many branches as a faster way for customers to open accounts and make transactions without having to stand in line waiting for a teller window to open up.

Tablets should also get a big boost in 2015 with the arrival of a touch-enabled version of Microsoft Office for Windows and Android, nearly a year after Redmond debuted the software on Apple's market-leading iPad.

Internet of (software) Things

It's little surprise the internet has gone from simply connecting computers and mobile devices to almost everything else in our lives. According to recent IDC data, the so-called "Internet of Things" is expected to connect as many as 30 billion items by 2020, becoming a potential $3.04 trillion (about UK£1.96T, AU$3.74T) market for businesses in the process.

Of course, those impressive figures assume vendors will succeed in finding creative ways to integrate products that consumers will actually want to own and use. Research firms appear to be pinning these hopes and dreams on more nimble startups and smaller companies, rather than larger, more traditional firms.

Analysts predict all of these internet-connected gadgets will likely strain IT networks over the next three years, consuming what has previously been excess storage capacity. One burgeoning market is likely to come from "smart cities" as more local governments buy into the advantages of technology.

The biggest change for the Internet of Things in 2015, however, could wind up being less about hardware: At least one venture capitalist sharing predictions with Forbes anticipates that companies will begin focusing more on the software driving the hardware, rather than the actual "things" themselves.

Data security gets personal

From Target to Heartbleed to Sony Pictures, 2014 will likely go down as a banner year for hackers, who made headlines around the world for their devious and generally expensive antics. Security experts anticipate the worst may still be yet to come, however.

Web sense (PDF link) predicts healthcare providers could become a prime target for IT attacks this year, along with the industrial sensors being used to connect such businesses to the Internet of Things. Older open source code is also expected to come back to haunt companies with further vulnerabilities yet to be discovered.

Although financial information would appear to be the most high profile target for many hackers, analysts say our personal data – Social Security numbers, for example - is likely to become far more attractive for digital thieves. Computerized patient data and the personal details consumers provide when applying for credit cards or loans have also been cited as evolving targets.

Mobile devices will also become increasingly large goals, but not necessarily for the goldmine of data they contain. Instead, attackers will look to exploit the new authentication methods (such as two-factor authentication and Apple's Touch ID) being used to safeguard personal data on smartphones as more users adopt such technology.

Apple embraces business

Everyone seems to have an opinion on what Apple may or may not do in 2015, but last year's enterprise partnership with IBM will certainly be hard to top for getting the iPhone and iPad into the hands of even more business users.

Already beloved by more than 98 percent of Fortune 500 companies, Apple's newfound assault on the enterprise was a clear shot across the bow at the likes of BlackBerry, fresh off their defeat in the consumer smartphone and tablet space. Apple is expected to kick off the year with an initial batch of IBM-powered MobileFirst for iOS apps, which will eventually include more than 100 titles available preloaded with new devices.

Apple is widely rumored to follow up the IBM partnership with a so-called iPad Pro, a business-centric 12.9-inch version of Cupertino's tablet likely to have more potential to replace Windows-based PCs than the Mac ever could.

Such moves could also help alleviate one of Apple's few Achilles heels: The seasonal marketing of the company's consumer lineup. The renewed focus on business could help shore up Apple's financials without customers having to line up for a new iPhone.

Falling cloud prices

There's little doubt 2014 will be remembered as the year of more affordable cloud storage for consumers and businesses alike, a trend most experts seem to agree will continue into the New Year. But challenges lie ahead as organizations weigh the convenience of public cloud services against the need for additional data security.

Amazon, Google and Microsoft made headlines last year duking it out over falling cloud storage prices, moves that had ripple effects across the rest of the industry. Even traditionally more costly services like Dropbox jumped into the price cut fray, while Microsoft made an annual Office 365 subscription look like a sweet bonus for users receiving an unlimited OneDrive storage bump.

We expect Google and Microsoft to keep at each others' throats this year - after all, nothing is truly "free," and massive, cheap cloud storage offers each company an advantage when it comes to locking in businesses and consumers alike for the long haul.

Lower prices will continue to go hand-in-hand with more generous storage capacities in 2015, although businesses should expect prices to level out a bit, presumably with less dramatic decreases than last year.

Wearables for business

As the consumer world braces for the arrival of Apple Watch early this year, businesses are likely to be more focused on devices worn on areas of the body other than the wrist.

Forrester Research (via Information Week) recently predicted Google Glass could find its niche this year in the medical and manufacturing trades, after largely being ignored by consumers spooked about privacy and the general lack of style smart glasses have displayed thus far.

Perhaps because of lackluster consumer adoption to date, the wearables market also isn't expected to become the next big goldmine for developers in 2015. That could change if Apple or Google succeeds at growing their respective app store concept for smartwatches, but for now enterprise solutions are likely to be far more lucrative for software designers.

Wrist-worn wearables are also expected to cede ground this year to gadgets clipped onto clothing, or even built directly into the fabric. Ralph Lauren introduced (via CNET) such sensor-equipped smart shirts in time for last year's US Open, and other companies are working on jackets, shoes and even bras for this year.

Splitsville

For decades, corporations have acquired smaller rivals to accelerate growth plans, in keeping with the old adage "the more the merrier." 2015 will go in the opposite direction for a few tech behemoths, which are quickly coming to grips with the realization there may no longer be safety in numbers.

Among the more high profile separations already announced are eBay and PayPal. After nearly 13 years together, the online auction giant plans to send the payment service packing sometime during the second half of the year after months of shareholder pressure.

In October, Hewlett-Packard announced another 5,000 heads would roll as part of the company's split into two publicly traded organizations: One focused on enterprise (servers, software, cloud), while the traditional printer and PC business will have to stand on its own two feet by the end of the year.

Antivirus behemoth Symantec followed HP's lead with plans to shave about 10 percent of its workforce this year as the company regroups into two entities, focused on security and storage, respectively.

Cars make the connection

What a difference a few years make: Connected automobiles are expected to steal the show from smartphones, video game consoles and other gadgets during this year's Consumer Electronics Show, which kicks off in Las Vegas next week.

Back in 2007, Ford paved the way after teaming with Microsoft to develop the in-car infotainment system Sync. Tech pundits and attendees at the time were left scratching their heads wondering what the fuss was all about, but last year the picture became clearer as Apple and Google announced their own intentions to put CarPlay and Android Auto into the dashboards of new automobiles.

The Consumer Electronics Association (via Bloomberg) is forecasting that factory-installed auto tech could become an $11.3 billion (about UK£7.28B, AU$13.89B) business this year – and that's not counting wearable-based technology from the likes of BMW, who's working on a smartwatch capable of parking your car with nothing more than a voice command.

Google's self-driving car continues to roll ever closer to reality, although this year's focus will be about more realistic goals, such as equipping new vehicles with affordable 4G LTE wireless to make all this connectivity more practical in the first place.

VR moves beyond games

Facebook made headlines last year for throwing $2.3 billion (about UK£1.48B, AU$2.83B) at virtual reality startup Oculus Rift, but 2015 is likely to be less about deal making and more about marketing as manufacturers give the technology more time to simmer.

Gaming and entertainment remains the most viable short-term options for VR, although companies will continue to refine its potential to replace traditional keyboard and mouse user interfaces on the computer as well.

Businesses may also find opportunities, however. Samsung recently predicted (via The Verge) the rise of "digital shops" this year, allowing retailers to circumvent high rent and inventory constraints for virtual reality customers.

With Sony also vying for a spot at the VR table, analysts are predicting (via Cantech Letter) the consumer market could rake in upwards of $7 billion (about UK£4.51B, AU$8.61B) by 2018, with the majority of that revenue not surprisingly coming from the software side of the equation.

Desktop OS wars

Microsoft has made no secret of plans to unify desktop Windows with its mobile counterpart, and those ambitions should come to fruition with the release of Windows 10. Early adopters have already been putting the Technical Preview through its paces for a few months now, although the united OS isn't expected for release until later in the year.

With an improved desktop experience and better multitasking, Windows 10 should take center stage at a media event on January 21, when Microsoft details some of the consumer-facing enhancements engineers have been cooking up in the labs.

Apple is also expected to continue its now-annual tradition of updating the Mac operating system, presumably by rolling out a new California-themed OS X 10.11 build for developers at the yearly Worldwide Developer Conference in June.

Cupertino will likely continue making the Mac and iOS platforms play well together despite keeping them as separate entities. Now that Apple's Touch ID is ubiquitous on iPhone and iPad, could an updated fingerprint-friendly trackpad (Magic Mouse or Trackpad for the latest iMac and Mac Pro) provide similar security for desktop Macs? We hope so.

We also wouldn't be surprised to see Apple make further overtures into enterprise with the Mac, perhaps in tandem with former archrival IBM. With iOS factored in, Apple operating systems are already expected to outsell Windows on the consumer side this year, even as devices running Google's Android continue to dwarf all three platforms worldwide.

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