The tech world has been taken by storm since Gartner released research about the top 10 strategic tech trends of 2019. It's always intriguing to see what the next year has in store for technological advancements, and can also be very helpful in keeping your business competitive.

Below are top trends we pulled from the Gartner study to keep an eye on in 2019. These are based on research that highlight "changing or not yet widely recognized trends that will impact organizations through 2023."

ALL THINGS AI

AI has been on the radar for several years now, and is now being used on autonomous things to perform tasks that are normally done by humans. Examples of autonomous things being impacted by AI are: robotics, vehicles, drones, appliances, and agents. This is expected to increase in strength in 2019 and beyond. An AI-related tool that might be more relevant to your business are chat bots. This technology is becoming more and more prevalent in the way users seek information and make requests. Chat bots are expected to improve immensely in 2019 as users continue to rely on them. According to a recent study conducted by Spiceworks, within the next 12 months 40% of large businesses, 25% of mid-size companies, and 27% of small businesses are expected to implement chat bots into their communication strategies.

Data reporting and collection is extremely helpful in measuring business success, which is where augmented analytics come into play. Through automated algorithms, more conclusions can be drawn where it might have previously been missed. Generating analytics will become easier than ever before, and according to Gartner, by 2020 more than 40% of data science tasks will be automated. Bias will be removed, and data insights will become more readily available.

THE MIX OF DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL WORLDS

Gartner states that this next year will raise more opportunity for the blending of the digital and physical worlds, in order to create a more immersive world. These two worlds will be blended in several ways, one being through immersive technologies such as augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and virtual reality (VR). Gartner predicts that increased productivity will occur in both VR and MR, VR technology will increase its' ability to sense shapes and track user's positions, and MR will enable people to interact with their world. According to the study, by 2022 70% of enterprises will be experimenting with immersive technologies.

"Digital twins" are also a prediction expected to slowly arise in the upcoming year and advance in future years. This is defined as a digital representation that mirrors a real-life object, process, or system. These will become more advanced as they will provide a focus on improving specific business outcomes, real-time monitoring and control, driving new business opportunities, and the evaluation of "what if" scenarios. An example? A business model or process will be moved from a white board in a board room meeting to a process that is tracked and implemented completely through business technology.

BUSINESS PRACTICES

As information grows more and more valuable, keeping information private will increase in importance. Gartner states that privacy must be rooted in ethics and trust. "The conversation should move from 'Are we compliant?' toward 'Are we doing the right thing?'. Digital ethics and privacy will continue to grow in importance and relevance, especially for businesses.

Gartner defines a smart space as a physical or digital environment in which humans and technology-enabled systems interact. These smart spaces are predicted to increase momentum in the next few years. Smart spaces are all about the collaboration of technology to create an interactive environment for the user. These will be used to connect businesses to their communities, and will drive more social and community collaboration.

The overall theme we are seeing from this study? Interaction. Technology is only going to increase the amount of interaction it has with users and other pieces of technology as the years go by, and 2019 will be no different. Continue keeping your business competitive by staying on top of the latest, most relevant technology to your industry, and don't be afraid to try new things that will streamline your processes.

Technology is always going to outgrow previous expectations, and we can't wait to see what the future holds.

Want to focus your time on business continuity and planning ahead? Click below for our free presentation slide deck about planning for the worst, to keep you at your best.

Your organization's users interact with different IT software platforms every single day, so it's important to ensure they are not playing a role in a potential security breach without even realizing it. If software end of life schedules aren't prioritized, these breaches could happen, which is why IT software life cycles must be top of mind to increase overall up-time and eliminate any possibility of a breach.

What does end of life really mean for software? How do end of life schedules impact the security of your organization? How can you implement application dependency planning to keep IT software life cycles at the top of your to-do list?

END OF LIFE SCHEDULES AND PROCESSES

End of life schedules are inevitable, all products have a supported life cycle where they will be the most protected and work more efficiently. These end of life schedules represent a period of time when a version of a software product is no longer supported, and security is no longer actively provided, to make room for the newer available versions. Once the end of life date of a product has arrived, the provider will no longer provide security patches or updates for that version, regardless if users are still utilizing it. Companies such as Cisco, VMware, and Microsoft release software end of life dates typically 18 months ahead of time so organizations can plan and budget for these changes.

When analyzing an entire IT environment, it's important to be prepared to transition with these end of life schedules. How can you prepare for potential upcoming changes? Start by mapping out all of the business critical software platforms that are in use, and keep a documentation of them so you know exactly what your organization's IT environment is working with at all times. Using this list, refer to the websites of any vendors used to figure out any deadlines that you must be aware of and keep an inventory of deadlines. Not only does this help you and your IT team to budget changes to your IT infrastructure ahead of time, it also allows your organization to be out in front of any security risk.

SECURITY RISK

If you don't prioritize the life cycle of your IT software, there are significant security risks that can leave your IT environment exposed and vulnerable. According to Security Scorecard, out of 349 breached companies analyzed, 58% were found using products that had exceeded their end of life dates. A potential breach in your organization's IT security could occur if IT software life cycles aren't taken seriously. End of life dates are important to keep in mind, because products don't immediately shut down once end of life is reached. The application will still work the same, but you will be vulnerable to exploits, and the software provider won't create any new patches to fix these potential security risks.

APPLICATION DEPENDENCY PLANNING

Application dependency planning helps manage all changes within an IT infrastructure, including changes regarding IT software life cycles. It's all about tracking how everything cohesively works together through an application within an operating system. This planning looks to see how applications can update and run within an operating system, making sure the entire application ecosystem is compatible. Tracking how everything cohesively operates helps to manage budget creation, timelines, and allows IT teams to make recommendations during quarterly planning. Working through these IT software requirements within an IT ecosystem helps to gather processes that can be used to benefit and support the entire environment, not to mention keep it protected in the process.

All in all, prioritizing software life cycles is just another way to be sure your IT environment is running as efficiently and securely as possible. For technology to support your organization in the most beneficial way, be sure to pay attention to end of life schedules and implement application dependency planning.

Want more advice on ways you can prepare your users to recognize a potential IT security breach? Click below to download our flier on Social Engineering Red Flags to share with your team!

Do you feel as though your IT environment is a sinking ship that you are trying to keep afloat?

Keeping your IT environment efficient is the best way to help your organization avoid unnecessary downtime.

Technical environments consist of many moving parts, but today on May Day we would like to provide you the gift of quality initial steps we believe will keep your IT environment above water, and away from signaling a distress call. Want to skip straight to our more in depth recommendations? Click below.

Replacing Old Hardware

An aging IT infrastructure can cause more than occasional downtime, which is why it's important to replace old hardware when it is due for an upgrade. The IDC found that if timely server upgrades are neglected, 39% of peak performance can be lost and add up to 40% in application management, as well as a 148% increase in server administration costs. Computers are no different, in fact J Gold & Associates concluded that companies can spend up to $1,000 per machine in maintenance and repair costs for older computers. Aside from rising maintenance costs, decreased performance, and the higher possibility of downtime, procrastinating the replacement of old hardware is also a growing security risk. If you don't replace old hardware you will be slowed down, and you will feel your IT environment begin to sink.

Backups

When it comes to your data, you don't want any of it to be stored directly within any of your IT hardware. You want your data to be on a secured company server that is maintained by consistent backups. Backup implementation varies based on the preference of the IT professional or organization, but the solution of hourly backups throughout the day has proven to have very little performance impact with almost no data loss. Why is this important? According to StorageCraft, the survival rate for companies without a disaster recovery plan is less than 10%, and 90% of businesses who lose their data due to a disaster are forced to close their doors after a couple of years. If your IT environment is sinking, consider adjusting your data backup solutions.

Maintenance

Maintenance is an intentional way to stay on top of your IT environment through routine updates, detailed documentation, and regular network health checks. It's key to pay attention to your technology and prompt your IT team to proactively address issues that could slow down or impede your technology's ability to function properly. Schedule routine update checks and be sure you are consistently replacing the equipment that is no longer functioning as it should within the technical environment.

It's not always easy navigating the technological waves that come with maintaining an entire IT environment. Taking it step by step and keeping your devices top-of-mind will save your organization time and money in the long run. Even if you feel as though your IT environment is navigating just fine, it may be time to assess your technology so you can have peace of mind.

Still feel as though you are sinking? We would love to throw you a virtual life raft by providing you with more in depth steps you can follow to keep your IT environment afloat. Download our free top 5 recommendations to avoid having to send a "Mayday" distress call by clicking below.

As long as old computers are still running with limited problems they don't need to be replaced, right? It may seem easy to prioritize these updates on the lower end of your technological budget, but it is the wrong way to approach computer replacements. Turns out, waiting until you absolutely must buy newer computer models can be very detrimental and even more costly in the long run.

Here are several benefits your organization can experience by promptly replacing your older computer models every 3 - 5 years.

COST

Keeping older computers longer than recommended can actually cost you more. According to a study conducted by J Gold & Associates, keeping notebooks an additional 2 years (years 4 & 5) can cost you up to $960 per machine. The more wear and tear the device experiences will most likely result in frequent performance problems that become difficult to fix as the computer becomes outdated. Based on a study conducted by Techaisle, maintaining or repairing an older computer may equal or exceed costs of purchasing a new computer. The more time spent trying to get your computers to keep up with your organization, less money is saved and more productivity is lost. Intel even found that replacing your older computers every 3 years provides organizations optimal ROI. The point is, it's worth prioritizing.

PERFORMANCE

Techaisle also found that an average of 42 hours is lost due to an old computer repair. When purchasing a newer computer, your organization is also purchasing the promise of improved application performance and increased productivity. New computers gain faster connections to your network, have an improved battery life, and are typically associated with easier solutions to any technical problems that may arise. Newer devices are always more consistent and reliable, and can help streamline how devices collaborate within your IT environment, giving your organization the most out of your tech budget.

SUPPORT

When it comes your business computers, the technical support you receive is extremely important. According to a research study conducted by WiPro, businesses save 52% in PC support costs with new PC's compared to maintaining a 4-year-old system. When updating your computer models, your software support, network connections, and security is updated as well. These updates can save your business from having to pay to fix these issues, and potentially stop them from happening in the first place. After a certain amount of time, developers may stop issuing updates for various kinds of software, which is why your older computers will be at a higher risk of becoming unable to support your business practices.

The cost of replacing old computers is worth it, and not just because it saves your organization money. It is also worth it when it comes to performance and the device's ability to support the work of your organization. Don’t wait until you experience the loss of productivity and money, develop a plan to replace your computers every 3 years.

For more information on this topic, click below to access Five Nines' FREE presentation, "The Cost of NOT Replacing Old Equipment" for more quality statistics and best practices.