Think HBR

IT trends for 2016

Adam Bird
OAS Technology Group
 
With the New Year well and truly underway we thought it might be a good time to look at some the key trends happening in IT for your business this year.
 
Cloud
Cloud services have been around for a number of years now and 2016 is tipped to see a continued push in uptake as the market matures, service offerings continue to become more competitive and high speed broadband becomes more widely available.
A rising trend we are seeing is businesses now looking at cloud as a viable option when their server infrastructure is up for a refresh.
It is still very much a “horses for courses” approach as to whether cloud is the right solution for your business as there are some scenarios where an in-house solution is still the best model.
 
Security
A big rise in virus infections, mostly through the notorious CyrtpoLocker and other variants of ransomware featured highly again last year. These types of attacks are set to continue (if not escalate) this year which brings a focus on businesses ensuring they are providing adequate protection to their systems. As a minimum businesses should look at the following:
1. Investing in commercial grade network security devices
2. Reliable and up-to-date Anti-virus and Anti-Spam solutions
3. Enforcing of strong passwords for all users and systems
4. Policies and Procedures for connecting non-business devices to the network.
5. Staff awareness training
There does need to be a mix of security and common sense. Locking down a system 100% will impact on user productivity but a balance must be achieved to ensure as much risk as possible is mitigated.
 
Mobility
Smartphones, Tablets and now even wearable devices such as smart bands and smart watches are giving people the ability to access what information they want, when they want it. We are starting to see expectations that clients can easily use these devices no matter where they are.
This means ensuring that when in the office, your wireless network is able to cope with this increased number of devices and bandwidth requirements. Most consumer grade devices will simply be overloaded and not able to keep up and provide slow or restricted access.
When out of the office, the question of data security can be raised and businesses need to have a plan on how to manage access to corporate data and if need be how to retract this access quickly with minimal impact or loss of sensitive information.
 
For further information contact OAS Technology Group on (02) 4940 1800, email adam.bird@oas.com.au or visit www.oas.com.au
August Website final version 336 Adam Bird
is the Business Development Manager at OAS Technology Group, a locally owned business that provides computer networks and cloud solutions to small and medium businesses in Newcastle, the Hunter Valley and on the Central Coast. With over 15 years’ experience in the IT industry, Adam enjoys helping businesses discover efficiency gains through the use of technology and possesses his Masters of Business Administration through Southern Cross University.

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