In the highly competitive IT market, continuous deflation is the rule rather than the exception. What this means for enterprise consumers of IT is the following:

• Technology companies are constantly battling each other for market supremacy resulting in lower costs

• Competition spurs innovation which means newer and better ways for enterprises to be more productive and efficient

In other words, the continuous efforts of technology companies to one-up each other result in affordable, breakthrough solutions that impact business success. Forward-thinking CIOs who want IT to have greater impact on the business know this, which is why investing in the newest technologies is a business imperative for them. As fast as technology is, however, the challenge lies in knowing where to invest.

Invest in the future

Enterprises need to rethink their IT strategies from here on out into the future as key trends that can have a major impact on their businesses are on the rise. Mobility, big data and cloud computing are among the top 3 trends enterprises need to consider and adopt, or else, potentially risk losing ground against their competitors. 

The best way to learn about technology investment opportunities is by looking at the latest trends in the IT market. Below are examples of 3 top trends that are quickly becoming disruptive market forces:

1. Big data

In a previous post, we discussed the challenges of big data and how cloud proximity matters. Here’s a little more insight on how big data can impact business, because it’s truly a major issue for enterprises.

As data continues to grow – generated from website purchase orders, website searches, social media and mobile phone interactions – enterprises are continually challenged with controlling it. For many enterprises, hiring more people to manage the data is the answer. But, while people are active, data isn’t. Information about your current and potential customers just sit somewhere in a database waiting to be extracted, analyzed and efficiently used by people. The reality is that data growth is exceedingly faster than hiring people. In other words, you can’t hire enough people to address the challenges of big data.

You need powerful, intelligent servers and fast bandwidth to get and share the data with your team. This brings another issue to the forefront: office space to house new IT. Here, colocation facilities play a critical role, as they serve as an extension of your IT enterprise, while giving you peace of mind that your proprietary equipment is safe.

2. Mobility

Resistance to mobility trends, such as bring-your-own-device (BYOD), is futile because there’s no denying the benefits, including improved communication between geographically-dispersed staff and more availability to customers. Consumers’ appetites for mobile apps will only increase. And if you ask most IT professionals whether or not their mobile devices improve productivity, they’d say yes.

But popular mobility trends fuel fears. The cyber and physical dangers of data centers are real, so technology professionals do well by worrying about IT security in a mobile world. So what does an enterprise do to meet the increasing processing power and energy demands of today’s mobility trends, while ensuring their data is safe? Colocation facilities can help to address the rapid growth needs that mobility creates. They offer enterprises the space, power, cooling, physical security and high bandwidth to easily connect the enterprise to the mobile workforce and consumer markets.

3. Virtualization & Cloud Computing

Cloud computing and virtualization are like two peas in a pod, and now they’re staples in the IT world. Together, they have revolutionized the traditional data center, taking its power beyond the four walls.  But there is still reluctance among many enterprises because of concerns such as control, reliability and performance.

The increased need to manage data, support mobility trends and reduce server room operational costs will continue to influence enterprises to rush to the virtualized data center. There’s no denying the benefits of cloud computing to deliver IT, but an incomplete migration plan can cause ripple effects throughout any IT infrastructure and negatively impact any business. Enterprises moving from on-premise to a high density data center should proceed with great caution. Before moving forward with any plan, a major issue to consider is that servers are getting more powerful and power hungry. Without proper planning for the future, your servers will eclipse your data center's per cabinet power limit sooner rather than later.

Building the baseline

Before building anything, an infrastructure is needed. And when it comes to today’s top IT trends, it’s clear that the data center plays a critical role in laying the foundation for a successful future. An experienced data center service provider can help. Look for a proven provider that offers redundant systems, high security facilities, access to high-speed inexpensive bandwidth and highly trained on-site support personnel available 24 x 7 x 365.  More importantly though, make sure the data center you choose can provide a future proof environment so that when it's time for an equipment refresh or you need more space for equipment you can simply replace older, larger servers with newer, smaller equipment without having to purchase additional cabinets.