Five Data Management Trends and Predictions for 2017

I want to thank all my readers for their support and comments this past year.   It is your comments and emails that keep me writing, so please keep them coming in the New Year.

Data management trends and predictions are always interesting since they are formed from the research, experience, and topics that impact, touch, or rule your environment.   Given my performance, big data, and security database audit consultant point of view, it’s very difficult to see all the trends and directions.   Over the years I have sometimes been accurate with my predictions and sometimes have laughed at myself with missing what later became quite obvious.   Make your own judgment by checking out my predictions for 2014 here, from 2015 here, and 2016 here.

Below are the five data management trends that I believe will be significant in 2017.   Please let me know what you think through the comments or an email.   Hope you all have a prosperous and healthy 2017.

• The cloud continues.   With its elastic pricing model and flexible scalability, the cloud continues to be the choice for new deployments.   IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, and the heavyweight Amazon continue to dominate with their offerings.   Cloud costs will begin to have more scrutiny as IT budgets continue to be squeezed.  Even with all the security concerns, the cloud will continue to be the first deployment choice. 
  
  
• Hadoop slows down.   The big data Hadoop systems continue, but the promise and reality of the big data benefits continue to struggle.   Big data development is taking too long, and Hadoop’s development and hardware costs look more like traditional development systems.   Also, the success rate of big data systems proves more challenging than anticipated as open source isn’t as stable and reliable as everyone thought.   Spark and other Hadoop derivatives continue as IBM, Oracle, and others invest heavily in their version of the hybrid computing models.
  
  
• Security become even more of a priority.   With cybercrime and cyber hacking episodes becoming more widespread, security of assets, transactions, and intellectual property becomes prioritized.   Security for email and corporate data takes on added significance and added value as the US election, WikiLeaks, BREXIT, and other events show the importance not only of the data but the value of context, trusted sources, clean data, bias, and real versus fake reporting of information.
  
  
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI and ML) do more.   The usage of artificial intelligence and machine learning will continue to expand into more businesses areas as more applications go to robots over costly humans.   AI and ML fraud detection, and security improvements, along with self-driving, self-flying, and automated robots to take your restaurant food order will be more common.   Complex to simple tasks will be automated with AI and ML and will help drive costs down and accuracy up for all in the connected world.
  
  
• IoT and connected everything.   Every new product will look to generate data either for its owner or for the company selling it.   This will provide further masses of data for detailing usage, operation, and personalization.   Privacy is for sale in every interaction with your apps, house, internet service provider, car, IoT gadget, and voice activated product.   As Frank Zappa sang on “Overnight Sensation” in the song “I’m The Slime” the second stanza says it all.   I was told I should not quote the lyrics, so please check them out here.

Choose your companies, products, applications, and interfaces appropriately to protect your life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.    Your data is available, and you are being sold!

Have a happy, healthy, prosperous and great 2017!

Dave Beulke is a system strategist, application architect, and performance expert specializing in Big Data, data warehouses, and high performance internet business solutions.  He is an IBM Gold Consultant, Information Champion, President of DAMA-NCR, former President of International DB2 User Group, and frequent speaker at national and international conferences. His architectures, designs, and performance tuning techniques help organization better leverage their information assets, saving millions in processing costs. Follow him on Twitter  or connect through LinkedIn.