The Lingering Shadow IT Menace & New Generation Data Protection: Weekly Roundup

Data production is growing at an exponential rate, a trend that's challenging IT departments large and small to protect the loads of additional bits and bytes under their care. But the more things change, the more they seem to stay the same. From new data center technologies to the next battle royale in IT, here's a look at the stories data-crazed IT pros need to know from the web this week: 

It's early in the new year, but that doesn't always mean fresh start. eWeek's Chris Preimesberger writes that familiar IT problems keep popping up — and chief among them is the conflict between IT pros' need to secure data and employees who use the devices and applications of their choosing. Preimesberger cites several figures from industry analysts that show how pervasive the "shadow IT" problem remains:

• Unstructured data will account for 90 percent of all data in the next 10 years, but only 50 percent of that data is protected, according to IDC research.
• 75 percent of digital data is created by individuals, not enterprises (IDC). But, Preimesberger writes, "Enterprises touch that data 80 percent of the time that it is in existence." 
• Mobility policies alone aren't effective. Citing Gartner research, he writes that "41 percent of workers have used an unsanctioned cloud storage service in the last six months, even though their companies have a policy forbidding it." 

Read more at eWeek      

The data center has been the hub of much innovation in the enterprise during the past few years. "Data centers have enabled the enterprise to do much more with much less," writes Jack Woods in Silicon Angle, "both in terms of physical space and the time required to create and maintain mission-critical information." There are big changes coming in data center technology, and Woods spoke with several IT experts on what to expect. Here's their predictions: 

• Adam Leventhal, CTO at Delphix: "I think the next step in that trend will be toward data virtualization, quickly filling those containers with content, code, and configuration. As it currently stands, the volume of data is growing faster than big data environments can manage efficiently; data virtualization will alleviate that pain."
• Aftab Jamil, partner at accountancy network BDO, predicts that increased data storage will lead to more mergers and acquisitions: "As data storage needs increase, data centers will push the boundaries of tangible capacity and more companies are likely to branch out into the use of cloud computing as well as more innovative ways of storing and using data."
• Hubert Yoshida, CTO at Hitachi Systems: "We’ll also see data managed better with the reduction of storage backup through archive, copies and snaps, balancing out costs with business objectives."

Read more at Silicon Angle  

The explosion of BYOD and the cloud has created a workforce that's more mobile than ever. One side effect of the modern, always-connected world is that people can get work done while making their way to the office. New research from Flexjobs finds that the use of cloud computing while commuting saves workers, on average, 6-12 hours per week and boosts productivity 35 percent. The study also found that telecommuting has increased by more than 60 percent in the past seven years. 

Read more at Tech Page One  

As more and more companies digitalize their processes, cloud computing and virtualized servers have gained traction in the enterprise. "Cloud computing has experienced exponential growth over the last few years," writes John Grady, senior manager of product marketing at XO Communications. "As of December 2013, almost 60 percent of current small-to-medium businesses (SMB) use cloud services, and 72 percent of these businesses virtualize substantial portions of their servers." What's more, the growth shows no signs of slowing. Here are Grady's top 3 trends that he predicts will explode during the next few years: 

• Hybrid clouds: "Hybrid clouds feature an infrastructure that combines private cloud security with cost-effective, powerful and scalable public cloud attributes," says Grady. As these models become mainstream, companies will likely drop the public vs. private cloud debate. 
• Big data analytics: Cloud computing and big data will be best leveraged in conjunction with one another. "The emergence, within the next few years, of big data analytics as a service will offer businesses of any size an easily attainable and scalable tool for competing in the global marketplace," says Grady. 
• Web-powered apps: "As efficiency and scalability are among the primary benefits of cloud computing, then it only makes sense to start developing cloud-based applications that are compatible with multiple platforms." The enterprise will benefit from this as applications will no longer be limited to mobile or desktop. 

Read more at Circle ID