Every ten to fifteen years, a tectonic shift erupts to re-shape IT. Moving from mainframes to client/server and to Internet computing altered the way you purchase, build, consume, and deliver your technology. Now, once again, the landscape is shifting as we see the rise of mobility, social networking, Big Data, and cloud computing. Two-thirds of the workforce will soon own smartphones, and 40% will be mobile thus adding to the management complexity with the BYOD (bring your own device) phenomenon. Big Data raises questions as to how IT will be able to manage structured and unstructured data sets too large to process using traditional data processing applications. Add to this picture an unpredictable global economy, scaled-back IT resources, aging infrastructures, and a growing pressure to deliver results instantly, and it’s easy to see IT is at a critical juncture.
