Making predictions for the coming year has become a time-honored tradition in the tech field, so I thought we’d have a little fun with it here at CloudTweaks by predicting what’s not going to happen.
1. Amazon won’t continue to be synonymous with the cloud.
EC2 and S3 are popular and established, but they’re seeing mounting competition from Microsoft, Google, HP, IBM, telcoms, and a number of smaller providers. Plus, Amazon seems far more interested in devices and apps lately — as it should be.
2. Apple won’t be successful in the cloud.
The new iTunes is a mess when it comes to iCloud, and Apple hasn’t offered up any other cloud products. Microsoft and Google definitely have Apple beat when it comes to anything “-aaS.” (It’s nice to see Apple getting beat in something.)
3. Marketing Windows 8 as a “cloud OS” won’t work.
Windows 8 may very well succeed (I actually like it myself), but it won’t be on the merits of its cloud-iness. Having settings sync across devices is great, but that’s invisible to most users. And SkyDrive integration is also nice, but SkyDrive desktop integration requires a separate download most people don’t know about. Yawn.
4. Big Telecom won’t be able to recapture market share lost to the cloud.
Industry stalwarts like Skype and Google Voice, as well as a wide variety of inexpensive cloud-based VoIP providers, are giving big telecommunications company a run for their money. There’s no way Verizon, AT&T, Time Warner, or anyone else can make up for lost ground. At least not in 2013 — and probably not ever.
5. None of the biggest cloud providers will get hacked.
Amazon, Google, IBM, Microsoft, HP, Dell, Facebook, and Yahoo! will all continue to maintain highly secure data centers and SaaS platforms. While customers may bungle their own security — Password1 anyone? — these companies will keep hackers away from their systems.
By Robert Shaw
