Strategic network investments will be a major focus point for savvy CIOs in 2015, as companies seek to make sense of big data, transition to the cloud and monetize the Internet of Things (IoT), according to Verizon’s list of top enterprise technology trends for 2015. In the coming year, enterprise organizations will also adopt technologies that drive business innovation and provide a strong platform for future growth, says Verizon.

Here are the key trends Verizon believes will drive change for enterprises and government in 2015:

Network Reliability, Innovation is Key to Business Success

Enterprises will concentrate on strategic network and IT investments in 2015, as the communications network is recognized as the foundation for successful business growth, according to Verizon. The growing demands of data, cloud, video and mobile solutions require enterprise networks to become more agile and scalable, without compromising performance. CIOs must ensure their networks are capable of distributing increasing workloads among multiple data centers as applications move to the cloud.

Internet of Things Adoption Gains Momentum Downstream

In 2015, adoption of technologies and services related to IoT will rise, particularly within the small and medium business markets, and larger organizations that were not early adopters. Industry consolidation is a key driver for wider IoT adoption, especially as market participants — via strategic alliances — work to define standards across the value chain. Also, enhanced tools in cloud computing, big data and analytics — combined with more rigor on IoT cybersecurity — will begin to decrease Machine-to-Machine complexity. These developments will drive user confidence and lead to new business models, better outcomes (e.g., enhanced customer experience) and ROI that is more clearly defined and understood.

Predictive Analytics Will Make Sense of Big Data

Data — the ability to gather it, manage it and make sense of it — will enhance business performance and impact how we act and live, says Verizon. Harnessing big data for unprecedented insights into how products and services are being received and how assets are being used will be a key priority for the C-suite in 2015.

IT Will Direct the Cloud

Enterprise IT will control enterprise cloud deployments in 2015; it will act as a ‘cloud solutions broker’, help identify needs, outline technology requirements and manage the various technologies and service providers used. Cloud solutions will be purpose-built to support key business initiatives, such as improved customer interaction, operational transformation and technology compliance. There will be less discussion about public versus private cloud, virtual machine count, etc., and more priority will be placed on building cloud solutions that solve specific business needs — regardless of the technology configuration. This deeper strategic understanding of cloud services, directed by the CIO, will support greater migration of mission-critical workloads to the cloud, says Verizon.

The Game is Changing in the Fight Against Cybercrime

Device proliferation, machine-to-machine connections, an increasingly complex threat landscape and extended computing environments will make network security more complex — and more important — than ever in 2015. A holistic, integrated, multilayer security strategy will be critical for mitigating risk and establishing trust between devices, networks, people and systems. But what will be even more important is the adoption of a proactive risk management strategy aimed at detecting crimes — quickly and efficiently — using advanced big data analytics. This will be a make or break proposition for enterprises safeguarding their data in the coming year.

[Image courtesy:  Verizon]