Fifth, the Internet of Things and Industrial Control Systems (ICS) will collide. These networks are separate today and individual in nature. However, both need to deal with cyber threats, which can cause huge damage across industrial complexes, public operational networks (like power grids) or consumers.
Sixth, wireless continues to replace wired access. Wireless systems are becoming the primary network access control mechanism, meaning that tight integration with authentication systems is essential. Wireless technology itself continues to improve with ac Wave 1 now rolling out rapidly and Wave 2 on the horizon in 2015.
Seventh, networking bandwidth continues to double every 10 months. All parts of the infrastructure need to perform within the high-speed infrastructure. More recently ASIC-based firewall appliances have taken a quantum leap in performance, allowing 100G interfaces and throughput in the hundreds of Gbps, saving space and power.
And eighth, analytics will be for everything that’s attached to the network. Segmenting big data can lead to more actionable results. For example, collecting WiFi presence of consumers in retail stores can lead to understanding their buying behavior. Monitoring where and when clients connect to the network can help determine security posture. Forecasting shipments based on real time data can lead to more efficient operations.