CAs Swainson Predicts the Next Big Thing

NEW YORK—When CA CEO John Swainson thinks about the future of IT, he does not see one giant development that will change the landscape of the profession.

Instead, Swainson sees several monumental changes that will not only fundamentally change IT but add to the ever-evolving complexity of technology throughout the world.

“The truth is that there is no one big thing; there are many big things—all happening simultaneously,” Swainson said in his keynote address at the Interop conference here on Sept. 20.

“Lots of emerging technologies, and ways of leveraging technology, have the potential to make a significant impact on the way we live and work. And all these innovations, changes and trends contribute to the direction the IT industry will take over the next few years,” Swainson said.

/zimages/3/28571.gifClick hereto read more about new products on display at the Interop show in New York City.

Swainson picked several technologies that he thought would change the IT landscape in the next few years, including virtualization, clusters of small replaceable processors and blades, and cheaper and faster IP-networked storage.

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Yet, even with the emergence of new technology, Swainson warned that the complexity associated with this new technology in the enterprise realm, such as automation of business processes, will affect the bottom line, and IT professional will have to deal with a new reality.

“What we have to do is make the management of IT simple,” Swainson said.

“I began this discussion by reflecting on our collective longing to define the next big thing in IT. I believe that the next big thing in IT will be to manage all the other big things— past, present and future.

“Our greatest challenge is to harness the enormous potential of IT—all the exciting innovations we see arising every day—and then integrate, secure and manage them.”

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