5 enterprise software predictions for 2016

Software is the backbone of IT in the digital age, touching almost every aspect of our lives. So what does the future hold for one of the hottest industries in the world? Here, experts from Skyport Systems, Ceridian, Tasktop and Travel Tripper share their opinions on what to expect in in 2016.

Software-defined security systems represent two huge vulnerabilities: Many individual cybersecurity products and tools don’t work well together; and many are incapable of solving modern-day security problems, says Art Gilliland, CEO of hyper-secure infrastructure solutions startup Skyport Systems.

“How does any micro-segmentation solution prevent the next Heartbleed from a perfectly trusted source? Or prevent a rootkit, or a corrupted SSD firmware attack vector? Increased reliance on hundreds, or even thousands, of different security applications and software products will drive organizations to realize that one-size-fits-all software-based security tools are far too risky. Organizations will turn to solutions that secure individual applications and their hardware,” says Gilliland.

In the recent past, we’ve seen the impact major software failures can have on leadership teams — think about the failed rollout of the Obamacare website, for example. In 2016, software will no longer be solely the responsibility of CIOs and CTOs. Accountability will extend throughout the C-suite to include the CEO, CMO, COO and CFO, among others, says Neelan Choksi, president and chief operating officer of software development and integration service platform Tasktop.

“Anyone in these roles who doesn’t know what’s going on with their software will be at risk of losing their jobs. I’d expect to see more CEO firings in 2016 that can be tied to software failures. But on the flip side, expect to see more tech- and software-savvy CEOs coming into their own because of software success,” says Choksi.

Despite numerous acronyms (SAFe, Nexus, LeSS, for example) and the fact that more than 75 percent of companies have adopted agile development methodologies, we have yet to see agile achieve significant scale at the enterprise level. Tasktop’s Choksi says 2016 will mark the first year enterprise-scale agile transformations will work.

“One of the primary drivers of scaled agile success will be the increased availability and implementation of enterprise-focused development tool integrations that make agile methods more effective, and thus more accessible for the enterprise,” Choksi says.

Every company is an IT company, but the “shortage” of engineering and development talent is hurting some more than others, says Kevin Born, lead software engineer at full-service hotel reservation platform Travel Tripper.

“Software developers and engineers flock to mammoth tech companies like Google, Uber and Amazon. But many ‘traditional’ industries have tech development needs that can offer challenges that are just as enticing,” Born says. In 2016, firms in hospitality, finance, insurance, retail and agriculture will struggle to find great programmers, and they will have to redouble their efforts at marketing and selling themselves as great places to work in order to attract the talent they need to compete, Born says.

The cloud will be where it’s at for the software development world, says Warren Perlman, CIO of human capital management solutions company Ceridian. From Web-based applications to value-adds like software maintenance, patching and updates, there’s no reason not to leverage the cloud.

“You’re going to minimize your costs from CapEx and OpEx, and you’ll be able to create and deliver a Web application that can perform at the same level or higher than any desktop or stand-alone app. You can also add services like patches and updates and better security — there’s absolutely no reason these days to do otherwise,” Perlman says.