(PLEASE NOTE: The first letter of the first sentence of each question and answer below is highlighted. Please string those letters together in the order in which they appear before reacting or responding to this post.)

Since 1979, I’ve been an IT industry analyst, journalist, consultant, online and physical event speaker and host, marketer, and general provocateur. So, I thought, who better than me to get my take on IT during the year about to pass into history, and what the year about to start is likely to bring?

Dortch on Dortch on IT: The Interview

Michael Dortch: So, Michael, as you look back on 2017, what do you see as the events or trends in IT that mattered most to users?

Michael Dortch: As a matter of fact, Michael, I think the top trend, if you will, was the lack of significant events. No major breaches of corporate networks or databases of fungible information. No major technological shifts with any meaningful long-term impact on the enterprise. No major unmet needs unearthed or exacerbated. A quiet year, by and large, to the relief of many if not most IT and cybersecurity professionals, I might add.

MD: Telling, that. Moving from recent past to imminent future, then, what do you foresee as the trends or events in IT that will affect users most in 2018 – and perhaps beyond?

MD: I am steadfastly convinced that in retrospect, 2018 will appear almost as calm and uneventful as 2017 turned out to be.

Yes, Internet of Things (IoT) devices will multiply prodigiously – but their effect on enterprise cybersecurity will be all but negligible.

Yes, there will be new threats – but the defenses and remediation solutions implemented by most enterprises will likely prove to be at least as effective in 2018 as they were in 2017.

Yes, the number and types of things we call “IT assets” will continue to grow – but they’re unlikely to exceed the capacities of the processes and tools that are working so well at so many enterprises today.

And of course, consumer and enterprise user and worker demographics are shifting, even as more experienced IT professionals age out of the workplace. but that’s no reason to panic about any skills shortfall, or inadequate automation, or any gulf between user expectations and user experiences. After all, these weren’t big problems in 2017, were they?

MD: Rigorously logical, as always. So, to wrap up, what one piece of advice or guidance would you give IT decision makers now to best prepare for 2018?

MD: “Equilibrium is essential,” in 2018 and beyond. If what you’ve done so far has worked so far, stay the course. And if what you’re doing now isn’t working as well as you’d like, be assured that a few minimal tweaks are likely all you need to bring things up to snuff. No need to pursue any IT automation, modernization, transformation, or unification efforts with any but minimal alacrity. After all, it’s unlikely that your competitors are doing anything differently.

This discussion reminds me of two aphorisms I learned as a callow industry analyst all those years ago.

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.”

“Sometimes wrong – but never in doubt.”

Make 2018 a Better Year at Your Organization with Ivanti

If any or all of the above reads as just fine to you, great. Enjoy 2018, and good luck.

However, if any or all of the above seems shaky in any way – even just a little bit – it may benefit you and your organization to explore Ivanti’s solutions for IT asset management (ITAM), IT service management (ITSM), cybersecurity, endpoint and user experience management, and/or supply chain modernization. You know, just in case there might be an opportunity or two to automate, modernize, transform, and/or unify IT in ways that benefit your business, in 2018 and beyond. Just a thought…