Let’s Not Talk About the Past

With the year quickly coming to a close, the web is full of blogs titled, "A Look Back at 2018," and "2018: A Post-Mortem."We've decided to give you predictions instead of a retrospective. Why? We are fairly sure that you're quite aware of old news and what's already happened. You'd probably rather try and get ahead of the curve next year. So we've compiled a few resources for reading about what might happen, where some tech is going, and perhaps help with your prevention plans. This is by not a full or vetted list. It's simply a few sources with exciting perspectives. Happy reading!

Digital Transformation (DX)

• What will impact the digital transformation endeavors of CIOs and IT professionals in the next few years? Here are IDC's 2019 Predictions for Worldwide Digital Transformation, where you might find some guidance for managing the implications these predictions hold for your organization's IT investment priorities and implementation strategies.
• Here is a year's worth of technology and digital transformation research used to uncover where things are headed, why we are going there, and what surprises could be hiding. Consider it a bit of a compass for organizations wanting to move their business and digital transformations forward.

Overall IT Tech

• IDC says if you're not digitally transforming your organization aggressively, by 2022, just over two-thirds of the total addressable markets will be gone.
• Predicting the future isn't exactly ascience, but when you watch an industry closely, eventually you can identify trends and chart a course for where things are likely headed. Here are predictions made by 31 industry executives who believe they can see what will be different in 2019.

Cyber Security Trends

• The hot topics here are data manipulation, the skill shortage, new job titles Chief Cybercrime Officer (CCO), IoT, smarter attackers and the growth of cyber risk insurance.

Cyber Security Predictions

• CSOOnline asked staff and contributors what they think will be the biggest events or trends in the next year. Here is what they came up with.
• Some of the topics you will find here: The use and misuse of data; artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning as a blessing and a curse (helping both attackers and defenders); will personal data finally be treated as a private and protected asset; how the cloud changes the whole thing; how devices that connect and move add security risks; the emerging global cyberwar conducted by terrorists, criminals, and countries; and the changing skills and landscape of cyber security.

Gartner's Take

• Gartner's short perspectives on topics such as AI skill holder rarity, AI and facial recognition, virtual healthcare, cyberbullying, diversity and inclusivity, personal data and its effects on blockchain, privacy laws and ads, new cloud products, and consumer privacy.

Forrester' Take

• Read here about the role of economic espionage, how bad bots will make more profits, and how more women in CISO roles will offer new perspectives.

Just Artificial Intelligence

• Find out where specialized AI could be working in the real world: Finance, healthcare, image recognition, AI-powered automation leveraged as a proactive tool, and a plethora of other possibilities as it evolves.

And because this time of year humor is a great idea, here are some fun ones.

2019 Movies, Tech, Energy, Satellites, Motorcycles and More

• Some of it sounds impossible, but foldable phones will make a comeback; the largest offshore windfarm will be completed, the Benban Solar park will be finished, the PlayStation 5 will be released, Harley-Davidson will make electric motorcycles, Star Wars: Episode IX will premiere, the SpaceX gigabit internet satellite will be launched and other things will actually happen (or not).

At the end of 2019, we will revisit a few of these predictions to see what happened and what didn't.

What are your predictions for 2019? Please share them with us on Twitter!