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Interaction on 2022 Trends - Somenath Nag, VP, Calsoft

Interaction on 2022 Trends - Somenath Nag, VP, Calsoft on the trends in the various segments of the IT industry in 2021 which will strengthen in 2022

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Archana Verma
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Somenath Nag

Somenath Nag, VP, Corporate Strategy, Calsoft talks about the new opportunities emerging in the year end which will become strong in 2022.

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What are the new opportunities emerging in 2022 in storage, networking, and cloud?

Somenath Nag - Top Cloud Trends for 2022 shall be -

Hybrid Cloud and Multi-Cloud Environments will become mainstream

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Cloud computing has acquired near-universal acceptance and is considered a core component of today's IT infrastructure. As a result, companies will soon move away from considering single cloud systems for their cloud requirements. While running different workloads in different clouds adds complexity to the process, multi-cloud models enable companies to select cloud offerings that match their individual application environments, availability needs, and business requirements. Since business-critical applications need to meet 99.99% SLAs in the cloud, companies will be incentivized to implement sophisticated high availability and disaster recovery solutions. Multi-cloud solutions are anticipated to grow 20% year-over-year, reaching a near $100 billion market size by 2022.

Cloud-native apps will go to the edge

According to projections made by Frost and Sullivan, about 90% of industrial firms will use edge computing, data analysis, and solution development at the data generation site by the end of 2021, since it makes businesses more efficient by reducing latency, cost, and security risks. The global roll-out of 5G technology will supercharge this development, leading to a massive demand for cloud-to-edge applications. Many public cloud providers have started shifting workloads to intelligent-edge platforms – such as HP, Nvidia, Microsoft, and IBM – who have all made significant investments in the fusion of Edge, 5G, and AI. It’s no longer edge or cloud. Expect to see a stronger synergy between cloud and edge computing that will improve real-time decision-making and operational efficiency.

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Containerisation will spread

 Services like Docker or Google’s Kubernetes offer users the power of containerized applications, which are growing rapidly at the enterprise level. Containers bring the benefits of virtual machines, providing a seamless, predictable software performance across multiple machines. In the case of containers, applications are fully packaged with all their dependencies but can run on fewer resources as compared to a full VM. In a cloud setting, the portability of a container ensures consistent performance across an entire organization, as well as proper distribution of resource usage. Users also have greater access to versioning control, allowing them to track differences between containers and roll them back when required. Containers and Kubernetes make an ideal platform for the edge. Hyperscale cloud providers are taking note of AWS Snowball, Azure Stack, and Google Anthos, all of which are based on Kubernetes. All these environments run data ingestion, data storage, data processing, data analytics, and machine learning workloads at the edge. By 2022, Gartner has estimated that over 75% of global organizations will be managing containerized applications in production, as compared to under 30% from today.

On-prem storage will increase in importance 

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As data grows—both in size and importance— Adoption of cloud storage will rise. 39% of businesses use cloud-based storage infrastructure (i.e., on Azure or AWS), and an additional 20% plan to by 2022. As the price of flash storage falls, high-performance solutions will become more attractive. 18% of businesses use all-flash storage arrays today and an additional 14% plan to within the next 2 years. Among organizations using or planning to use file-sharing services, 70% have adopted Microsoft OneDrive and an additional 11% plan to within two years. Some cloud security concerns remain. Fewer than one-third of companies (31%) are as comfortable storing data in the cloud as they are on-premises.

What shall be the top enterprise networking trends in 2022?

Somenath Nag - Following shall be the top emerging trends in this area -

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SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) 

SASE is essentially security and networking delivered via the cloud, which is ideal for accommodating modern distributed workforces. Over the last year, the mass transition to SASE gave users access to cloud services to remote staff not hosted on the company’s internal network. In addition, this model allows for network managers to apply their company’s security protocols directly onto SaaS applications used by their employees, allowing for greater security while solving pressing bandwidth issues caused by the initial move to remote work. SASE is a relatively new resource in the network manager’s toolbox; however, it has quickly become a mainstay of the workforce moving into the 2020s. Gartner predicts that at least 60% of enterprises will move towards a SASE-based model by 2025. As the workforce becomes increasingly remote, we expect these edge-oriented frameworks will become an integral part of the “new normal” paradigm shift. Companies like HPE and Dell are working on storage solutions that provide the enterprises the flexibility and scale of a public cloud and at the same time ensure data security like on-prem storage.

 SD-WAN technologies 

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Software-defined wide-area networking (SD-WAN) is not a new technology. Still, since the move towards remote work over the last year, it has become the standard for remote workers accessing their company’s network. This boost in popularity is mainly due to the structural emphasis on using software to access software, allowing remote users to access company-wide area networks (WAN) using only software-based entry points. It is predicted that the industry will grow to $8.4 billion in 2025, representing a 34.5% compound annual growth rate over five years. Software-defined wide-area networks (SD-WAN) are the modernization of the traditional WAN infrastructure. As 41 million U.S. employees are projected to work remotely for the next five years, SD-WAN will continue to grow.

 Zero trust architecture 

“Zero trust” networks have dominated the security industry in recent years and offer various benefits not previously available for remote work. Forbes cites that, when followed correctly, zero trust systems provide:

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  • Micro-segmentation - Installation of multiple security checkpoints to access applications
  • Universal Enforcement - Integration with unsupported applications
  • Identity & Access Management (IAM) - Enforcement of application-level network rules
  • Visibility & Automation - Granular logs and orchestration tools to search for anomalies and suspicious activity

Gartner predicts that by 2024, 30% of enterprises will adopt cloud-delivered Secure Web Gateway (SWG), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB), Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), and Firewall as A Service (FWaaS) capability from the same vendor.

Do you think NaaS adoption will grow?

Somenath Nag - NaaS adoption is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 40.7% from 2021 through 2027. Operational responsibilities are shared in a NaaS model, where the burden of network lifecycle management moves to the provider. This allows the customer’s IT team to focus more on operational activities that contribute business value. With the lion’s share of the day-to-day work shifting to the NaaS provider, the customer’s NetOps team will likely gravitate toward general networking and network security skills, as well as design skills that translate business intent into high-level networking concepts. They will need to work closely with the NaaS provider to optimize network designs, policies, performance, and SLAs. And strong data science skills will be needed to identify and orchestrate these changes. There are a growing number of NaaS offerings, including wired and wireless LANs, VPNs, WANs, network security, remote or work-from-home access, data center networks, and cloud networks. According to Cisco research, NaaS models that include multi-cloud access and security are the most desirable. This means that SASE, which provides secure multi-cloud access from anywhere, would be an in-demand as-a-service offering among many IT organizations. Considering the challenges of connecting to multiple disparate clouds, it’s not surprising that multi-cloud access was identified as the top priority (40%) for NaaS. By offering SD-WAN services, NaaS vendors can provide a consistent and optimized way to connect to a wide variety of cloud-based (IaaS and SaaS) applications.

Multi-cloud access and security are top priorities for NaaS. Vendors that weave a SASE option into their NaaS portfolio can meet the growing demand to align and secure on-premises and cloud resources.

What are the new challenges emerging in 2022 in storage, networking, and cloud, and how to meet these challenges?

Somenath Nag - Following are the challenges in each of these segments -

Storage

Most of the pitfalls associated with data storage management will continue to relate to three aspects: scalability, security, and infrastructure.

Scalability

The more the data that needs to be stored, the more complex it gets to retrieve and scale the storage infrastructure. Storage components must be able to scale upward or downward. IT could increase capacity by adding circuit boards to servers, more servers or standalone storage devices, or storage through an alternate data center or third-party managed storage, such as in the cloud.

Infrastructure

To store the vast amount of data, you’ll need the infrastructure necessary to store it. One of the easiest workarounds is to use cloud hosting and cloud storage, which take advantage of another company’s infrastructure to save you the space and the trouble of setting things up yourself.

Security

CIOs must be particularly mindful of organizational data risks as most enterprises accelerate cloud and SaaS-based adoptions. You need to continuously strengthen your approach towards data management protection. Lack of cloud security architecture and strategy will also impact the security concern. Insecure Interfaces and APIs are another reason that will concern CIOs and Product managers alike.

Networking

The major challenges to networking in 2022 will revolve around two factors – latency challenges and the adoption of SD-WAN.

Latency

Over the past year, 5G has exploded in use. It has created transformational opportunities around smart manufacturing, augmented reality, virtual reality, and more. However, 5G penetration is still lacking, and as a result, latency is an issue. To get around this challenge, Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) is being considered as a potential solution.

SD-WAN

The second major networking challenge of 2022 concerns SD-WAN. As companies shift to multi-cloud and interoperability becomes crucial, WAN infrastructure needs to act as an enabler. By adopting SD-WAN and switching to a cloud-agnostic strategy, companies will achieve consistency in security, policy, and networking.

Cloud

The Cloud has acquired a position of great importance in the current IT infrastructure and has changed quite a bit over the last few years. Now, it is facing two major challenges, security and access control.

Security

Now that most companies are running on multiple clouds, the security systems built to protect them have become patchworks. Security vulnerabilities are fairly common and creating a way to protect cloud data will become vital in 2022. Right now, methods like continuous monitoring and AI-based threat detection are being tested as a way to ward off attacks.

Access Control

Systems like the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) are used to access both cloud and on-prem resources, making them a prime target of attack. Weak authentication methods and unrestricted port access make using the cloud a risky proposition.

How can MSMEs use advanced digitisation with limited resources?

Somenath Nag - With everything going on, MSMEs lack an adequate workforce as well as digital technological know-how. The trend we are seeing is an interesting one - we are witnessing the MSMEs with limited resources leveraging digitization. Advanced digitization allows them to automate the repetitive tasks in the field of administration, finance, and HR, allowing them to focus on reaching out to newer markets. Emerging technologies like AI, ML, IoT, 5G, Cloud Computing and Data Science are now enabling the industries to scale up their internal capacities via several methods, including -

  • Providing MSMEs with technical support and assistance
  • Encouraging MSME training and upskilling
  • Building and harnessing a data culture
  • Improving the digital security of MSMEs
  • Encouraging business innovation and the supply of new digital solutions
  • Setting a supporting regulatory framework
  • Deploying high-quality digital infrastructure

What kind of new sensor integration for smart machines is being done in 2021-22?

Somenath Nag - Digital Signal Processing, Hardware Functions, and Sensor Interfaces are slowly becoming common in System-on-Chip (SoC) designs supporting these applications. Many public cloud vendors are designing their clouds specifically to manage IoT devices and IoT data, which is growing increasingly complex. By leveraging these sensor-compatible clouds, engineers can now access sensor data through APIs. This method provides greater insights, lowers costs, and enables greater operational efficiency. With new sensors being integrated into smart machines coupled with the advancements in digitization, various industries have seen great advances. For example, the healthcare industry has benefited greatly, as healthcare workers can now easily monitor patient health. For the manufacturing industry, sensors ensure that the factories of tomorrow stay ahead of the curve by using predictive maintenance. For the retail industry, the sensors deployed across the shop floor can enhance the customer experience via multiple touchpoints. We predict that sensor integration with smart machines is here to stay, bringing the public cloud into the limelight for IoT services.

Read more from Dr Archana Verma here 

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