2005: The year IT gets easier?

Computerworld - It's about time to ring out the old year and ring in the new, and we believe IT pros have plenty to look forward to in 2005.
Why? Next year should be marked by a confluence of innovative and mature technologies to help automate labor-intensive processes and make it easier to do more with less. Through intelligent use of these tools and sound operational discipline, IT professionals should be able to achieve significant improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of operations.
Infrastructure Management Gets Easier

1. Administration: Tools for automating server and desktop deployment and management promise "zero-touch" or "light-touch" administration, enabling IT staffers to handle routine tasks more quickly and efficiently from their desks, rather than making the rounds of employees' desktops. Market research company IDC shares our perspective -- its 2005 forecast anticipates that provisioning and management will get more dynamic.


2. Server consolidation: Completion of projects begun in 2004 should leave IT managers with a lighter management load -- and the opportunity to plan and execute just-in-time computing strategies.


3. Virtualization: We expect a surge in server and storage virtualization technologies. But virtualization makes it easy to generate new environments quickly, at the risk of uncontrolled -- and unsecured -- growth. Our hope is the trend toward discipline will minimize this potential.


4. Operating systems, Part 1: Microsoft promises Release 2 for Windows Server 2003 next year, and while everyone's waiting to find out the details of this interim update on the path to Longhorn, it's a good bet that its features will improve operating system functionality.


5. Operating systems, Part 2: Microsoft and Sun will make good on their commitment to interoperability and simplifying IT. We expect to see progress toward single sign-on and other infrastructure-related tasks -- and we'll stay tuned for more news promised by the two companies in the weeks to come.


6. Discipline: We believe 2005 will see more organizations take a framework approach to manage their IT environments and risk. Adoption of IT Infrastructure Library practices will be on the rise in the U.S. and in Europe. We also expect a maturing approach to operations management on the Microsoft system, treating it as an enterprise-class platform.

1. Antispyware: Expect help from Microsoft with spyware and spam in 2005. Microsoft just purchased antispyware maker Giant Company Software (see story) and promises to introduce products to combat both problems.


2. Patching: Watch for technology to complement standard security measures that disable viruses or repair flaws in software and systems. These innovative new tools will help software and operating systems guard against malware, recognizing and flagging it before the system executes an intruder's command.


3. Policy: In 2005 we'll see security management improving through creation and enforcement of policy. It's clear from our work with customers that there is growing interest and effort to establish role- and policy-based safeguards.


4. Intelligence, Part 1: Remember Palladium (see story), the platform combining hardware and software for secure computing? While that project is still under wraps, we believe the technology industry will make strides toward intelligent applications and operating systems. It's an imperative that reaches beyond security: Dynamic computing depends on the ability to match capacity with demand. Systems will have to communicate available capacity, and applications will need to convey conditions required to execute.


5. Intelligence, Part 2: We may not see the fruits of intelligent applications and systems development next year, but companies that implement management tools for deeper insight into system functions will be well positioned for the future. That's because they'll be preparing to monitor conditions that contribute to the alignment of capacity with demand.