By Melinda Curran
As one year winds down, another offers 365 days of uncharted innovation and a slew of tech possibilities. When it comes to new telecommunications technology, the communication thread that holds day-to-day business operations intact, it’s important for small businesses to stay on the edge of those advancements. After all – they can offer new and relevant means of efficiency, productivity, connection and security.
Here are my predictions as to what’s coming your way in the new year:
1.) More tablet apps for business. As tablets continue to emerge from the consumer market and become an extension of business networks, 2015 will likely foster a surge of tablet-specific applications targeted toward businesses. Expect traditionally server-based applications to be reconfigured to fit a tablet’s operating system.
2.) Cloud-based IT networks. The girth of the cloud is growing and it’s growing fast. While cloud-based apps are becoming cost-effective tools to enhance productivity, the cloud will also soon become the foundation for business networks. For instance, cloud-based Microsoft Office 365 and Google Apps are on the brink of becoming the operating systems of choice for small businesses – allowing a uniform look and feel and access to documents across many different devices. Expect more of this in 2015.
3.) Desktop replacements. With the onset of robust tablet and cloud technology, I expect to see a decline in desktops in general. This will especially be the case for businesses that deploy a large percentage of remote workers. Tablets – and in some cases – smartphones, could be all that employees need to handle day-to-day job duties, and they’re much more cost-effective.
4.) Broadening Bandwidths. The cloud and mobility are drivers of bandwidth, yet businesses will continue to expect instantaneous and highly robust network connections. As such, I expect for businesses to ramp up bandwidth capacity in 2015. Because we both need and demand a faster connection, I foresee a business that uses about 10 megabits of data now will likely increase to about 50 megabits over the next three to five years. That transition will begin to ramp up in the coming year.
5.) Security enhancements. I expect to see a more ubiquitous adoption of emerging technologies. Because of that, and thanks to an unfortunate barrage of cyber attacks in 2014, we’ll see an increased demand for more effective mobile device management strategies and applications, as well as improved security across all network platforms.
Melinda Curran is the founder and CEO of RCG, a single-source telecom provider based in Franklin, Tennessee providing all aspects of voice, data and mobility solutions with superior customer service to businesses across the country. Learn more about RCG at www.myrcg.com. Follow Melinda at @MelindaCurran.
