11 essential IT trends you need to know

Weaponisation of the web

We knew it was coming for years but Melissa, Nigerian scammers, South Ossetian hackers, Stuxnet SCADA logic bombs and Anonymous retaliatory strikes against Wikileaks’ enemies were just skirmishes compared to what’s coming. This year will go down in history as the one in which the web was turned into a full-fledged battleground. 

Allegations the Chinese were snarfing internet traffic and stealing corporate secrets from their competitors, hacktivists seeking retribution or deniable cyberwar operations sponsored by state actors will seem passe compared to the calamity that awaits.

Forget the argy bargy of politics, the National Broadband Network will make its mark as the first retail service providers sign up and homes and businesses are connected.

The network allows for the first time a degree of certainty over service levels necessary in remote and hosted solutions and applications offered in the cloud. The various levels of service that will be turned on over the next year or two will also provide VARs with opportunities to add value to their offerings with confidence.

Remote site backup and recovery, video conferencing and other services that require symmetrical or high-capacity uplinks will be among the first to benefit.