By Dan O’Donnell
It is time to get my crystal ball out of the safe and see what is in store for us in 2012 and beyond. 2011 was a year steeped in gloom and doom with headlines about international defaults, political instability, hacktivism, cyber theft and unrelenting unemployment. I am here to tell you there is cause for an optimistic outlook for the future.
Here are some silver bullets for your new year:
• Network Security: Hacks and cyber thefts will continue. However, with advances in IPS, DLP, next generation firewalls and improved tap and aggregation architectures, networks can be better protected from attacks than ever before.
• Network Speeds: Look for rapid advancement in core network speeds. 1Gbps is quickly giving way to 10Gbps. The big networks are looking into 40Gbps and 100Gbps core links.
• Technology: Intel will introduce a new chip in the spring that has three billion transistors. That is “Billion” with “B” transistors on a single chip.
• Talking to Machines: You will be able to talk to your phone as much as you talk on your phone. Voice recognition interfaces for phones and other computing equipment is ready for prime time. It will soon expand beyond phones to coffee makers, TVs and video games. Less mouse, more mouth!
• Europe will figure it out: All parliamentary egos aside, the economic realities will prevail. The Euro zone is “too big to fail.” The strong will help the weak and new rules will lead to the beginning of a more stable and vibrant market in Europe.
• U. S. Oil Independence: This long sought after goal is becoming a reality. Over the next five years and beyond, new extraction technology in the Bakken Oil Fields will completely change the geopolitical relationship between the U. S. and the Middle East. Google “Bakken Oil Fields” for more information.
• Unemployment Improvement: I am an optimist here. As stubborn as the unemployment rate has been, 2012 is the year the fever will break. After all, 2012 is an election year. For more good employment news Google “North Dakota Employment.” Hint: 3.5% unemployment with 16,000 open positions.
• More Technology: Network Critical is shrinking size and cost of Next Generation Port Aggregators and Network Devices. Our new AFS solution for port aggregation, filtering and distribution has reached 48 ports of non-blocking 10Gbps access in 1U of rack space, using only 150 Watts AC of power. Now that is good news!
Network Critical is bullish on 2012. We will continue to provide the best products and uncompromised attention to our customers around the globe. We will work to make our towns and the world a better place in 2012 and beyond.
Finally, we wish all our partners and customers a prosperous and happy New Year!
