3 Things You Probably Won't Like About 2017

The New Year always brings personal resolutions. This optimism is spilling into the business world for 2017. It feels like the economy is on the upswing and most experts are predicting that jobs and tech spending will increase.

Staying positive means being prepared, especially in the volatile technology industry. The Bigstep team is carefully monitoring a couple of trends that could potentially change the course we’re charting.

1. An Oxymoron: IoT Security

The IoT might be the coolest tech trend today. Organizations are adding sensors to every imaginable product, digitally connecting data via cloud technology. Gartner estimated around 1.1 billion connected “things” in 2015 - and growing.

The IoT has fostered “smart cities,” that utilize data to make real-life decisions. From road sensors to streetlights and parking meters, whole ecosystems are developing that are changing the way we manage resources. The IoT helps cities balance crucial infrastructures against consumer needs.

But there are inherent risks. In late December 2016, DDoS attack Russian malware was found on a Vermont utility company laptop. The hack was discovered before the breach affected the grid, but it illustrated IoT vulnerabilities.

Then there was the October surprise that broke the ‘net, hitting DNS provider Dyn. This affected some of the biggest names, from Twitter and Paypal to GitHub and Netflix.

2. Hadoop is History

Infoworld predicts the eventual fall of big data warehouse, Hadoop. Pundits suggest that the component parts behind Hadoop are a square wheel. They say IBM Watson’s Data Platform looks a lot sexier than Grandpa Hadoop.

For over a decade, Apache Hadoop ruled tech as the shiny new object. While Hadoop in the cloud still combines low-cost scalability with big data functionality, today it feels old school in the IoT era.

Hadoop was designed as a data batch processor; it was never meant for Internet-enabled interactive analytics. Apache developed Spark to platform ride over Hadoop, adapting the platform for digitally powered analytics.

We’re hearing an either/or argument now, as Spark outpaces Hadoop to become the latest shiny toy for developers to play with. Most believe Spark will evolve and cut the Gordian knot binding it to Hadoop. In fact, while Spark lacks the HDFS file system for data storage, it’s agile enough to piggyback on Amazon’s S3 storage service - or other cloud storage platforms. The bottom line is that eventually, Hadoop may be pooped.

3. H1-B Visa Where Art Thou?

It’s safe to say Silicon Valley wasn’t pleased with the election outcome. The new president rabidly opposed immigration. At a time when American workers aren’t keeping up with the demand for tech expertise, it is expected that the number of H-1B Visas, which are commonly used to bring highly skilled programmers and scientists to the U.S., may be restricted in the future.

Learn more about us and find out the trends shaping your future.