What’s ahead for information technology in 2012?
According to this recent report, the need for more (and faster-performing) storage will result in storage being a front-and-center topic for the mainstream—in large part due to the digitization of entertainment, as well as growing healthcare needs.
Receiving prime billing will be NAND flash, the report finds. “From data centers, where solid state drives (SSDs) sit alongside SAS and SATA hard drives, to NAND flash-based handheld devices, flash memory is proliferating in both corporate and consumer industries,” it explains.
According to new data from a research firm, worldwide solid-state storage industry revenue hit $5 billion in 2011, up 105% from the $2.4 billion mark in 2010. This trend is expected to expand further in 2012, and beyond.
From storage to security (of the cyber variety), 2012 might just mark a turning point in how information technology affects not just corporations, but consumers as well.
The President Takes on Cybersecurity
During the President’s State of the Union address, President Obama spoke of ramping up cybersecurity laws “to stay one step ahead of our adversaries.” Now the Obama administration is pressing for Congress to pass cybersecurity legislation in 2012 which would give officials the authority they need to combat “growing and increasingly sophisticated cyberthreats,” a recent report cites. Of concern are the outdated laws surrounding cybersecurity, which congress has “dragged its feet” in modernizing.
“Laws authorizing collaboration with the private sector—which the feds already are engaged in—are a key part of the proposal,” the report notes. Other parts of the plan place cybersecurity authority in the hands of the Department of Homeland Security and address data breaches and privacy protections. Companies would share cyberthreat information with the DHS, and they’d have the option of receiving critical needs from the federal agency, if necessary.