Digital Transformation- Looking ahead to this decade, companies will face significant changes in IT architecture. Scalar, a solution provider for network infrastructure and cloud security, has drawn up ten prognoses for the digital transformation that companies should increasingly be concerned with starting this year.
Digital Transformation: 10 Important Predictions
Simple User Guidance: The Focus Is On The User
It will be a top priority for IT departments to provide infrastructures that enable quick and easy use. This is the only way for companies to attract a new generation of employees on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. With 5G and always-on technologies insight, it will be crucial in the next decade to offer users secure and user-friendly access to all of their everyday work apps – regardless of whether they are held in the cloud or the data center.
More Cloud Providers: Applications Can Be Anywhere
The acceptance of the cloud will continue to prevail and become mainstream due to its advantages for business operations. Nowadays, it is possible to move applications to cheaper and more efficient locations outside the data center. If applications can be anywhere, companies also can decide whether they want to change the location of individual applications without affecting the provision for the end-user by switching providers.
Proximity To The User: SASE Reduces Dependency On Networks
The previous dependency on the data center as the heart of the corporate network does not make much sense in a world where applications are increasingly migrating to the cloud and users are demanding access at every location and from many different devices. Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) will dramatically impact in-house IT, as companies no longer have to provide network connections. The services exist separately from the internal network functionality. In the future, the Internet will advance to become the new network over which the majority of all business will be carried out, and thus the dependence on one’s network will become less important
From Web To Application Access: The RAS-VPN Is Retiring
A side effect of the growth of SASE will be the lower dependence on remote access virtual private networks (RAS-VPN). The VPN always acted as an extension of the physical network for mobile workers or third parties who needed access from remote locations. If this network context is no longer relevant in the company due to relocating applications to the cloud, a RAS VPN will no longer be necessary.
Zero Trust Network Access No Longer Exposes IT Infrastructure To The Internet
From 2020, zero trust technologies will move more into focus, making it necessary to revise the security infrastructure. Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), also known as Software-defined Perimeter (SDP), enables applications based on a secure tunnel between the authenticated user and a specific application. Since applications and IP addresses are no longer exposed to the Internet, they become invisible to unauthorized third parties.
The Internet As A Modern Transport Network: New Paths, New Patterns Of Movement
With the progressive change in modern businesses towards cloud technologies, internet-related data traffic will continue to increase. The Scalar Security Cloud is already showing growth in Internet data flows of up to 50 per cent compared to the previous year. As a result of this change, the bandwidth requirement for MPLS network infrastructures increases and the associated costs. These traditional hub and spoke architectures will force companies to rethink their network architectures and evaluate direct-to-Internet connections at each location.
Multi-Cloud Strategy: Diversification Of Application Locations
Multi-cloud strategies are on the rise so that the market will experience a diversification of cloud service providers. In addition to the leading players – AWS, Azure and Google – niche providers will establish themselves, as the application usually chooses a suitable cloud. Cloud architects will learn to provide their internal business areas with a catalogue of services from various providers for choosing the cloud. In addition, the security architecture needs to be redesigned to enable seamless and secure access to multi-cloud environments.
Break Open Silos: The CDO Is A Critical Staff Position For Business Operations
The Chief Digital Officer (CDO) will replace the traditional role model of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and support companies in their digitization. For this, it is essential to take a comprehensive perspective and abolish outdated structures and break down silos. Network architects and security experts must pull together to implement fundamental architectural changes.
Digitization Requires Teamwork: Investing In Digital Transformation
CXOs will continue to focus on initiatives for digital transformation in 2021. But even with the right vision, projects stall when companies don’t have the necessary resources. When carrying out such tasks, the biggest challenge is no longer to convince the management of the step into the digital age but to get the staff on board with the appropriate experience.
From Early To Late Adopter: Increasing Pressure To Perform On Cloud Latecomers
As the introduction of the cloud is gaining momentum and the majority of all companies have discovered it for themselves, at least to a certain extent, latecomers must fear falling behind. To withstand the pressure to perform in the market and to be able to keep up with the competition, initial sceptics will turn to the cloud from 2021. Companies waiting for mature solutions and proven adaptation strategies will get into the cloud more quickly and thus realize shorter adaptation cycles.
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