Cloud technologies have become the most talked about, desired topic for businesses in all sectors. Aside from cost and productivity benefits, there are so many more reasons today why the cloud makes sense.

We’ll be seeing more of this going into the New Year as businesses realize the ‘trial and error’ phase is over and the need for better, more secure solutions is critical.

Dizzion is one company already delivering on this need by bringing the power of cloud computing to the desktop and enabling end users to securely access applications and data from any device, anytime, anywhere.

I caught up with CTO  Robert Green recently to hear more about his predictions for the upcoming year.

Our exchange follows.

Which markets do you expect will be quickest to adopt DaaS and tools to assist with compliance over the next year, and why?

Mid-sized businesses in the healthcare and finance industries will be the quickest to adopt DaaS technologies in 2017. A lot of companies of this size aren’t technically capable enough to handle this kind of technology by themselves in-house. This isn’t a knock at these companies - it’s simply due to the fact that they lack the large and highly technical IT divisions that larger enterprises can afford. When organizations have seven employees in the IT department, rather than 700, managed service providers can lessen the burden and help them focus on their core business.
 

Similarly, the healthcare and finance industries will also be the quickest to adopt tools to assist with compliance standards. Industries like these that deal with customer information on a daily basis need to make security a number one priority with any technology decision. Tools that add on layers of security to PCI (News - Alert) and HIPAA compliance can give these industries an added sense of comfort knowing that their customers’ information is safe, and they won’t be at risk of a breach.

Are there any major security concerns businesses looking to adopt DaaS should consider first?
Simply following bare-minimum security guidelines within PCI and HIPAA compliance should be a major concern for any organization. It’s critical to take compliance standards a few steps further with security-focused DaaS products to ensure security throughout all aspects of your organization, especially when it comes to handling customer data. Additionally, asking yourself the right security-centered questions as a business will lead to smarter decisions that will save time and money for your organization and your customers.
 

Another concern for many companies looking to adopt DaaS is that achieving compliance is one thing, but maintaining compliance standards that are constantly changing and evolving can be an epic undertaking. According to Verizon’s (News - Alert) 2015 PCI Compliance Report, fewer than 30 percent of organizations remained fully PCI compliant less than a year after a successful PCI validation and nearly 80 percent of all businesses failed their interim PCI compliance assessment. Using a compliant DaaS product means that your service provider is maintaining compliance across a wide number of controls, effectively taking a large security burden off the customer.

What’s ahead in 2017 for BPOs?
BPOs have unique, constantly evolving needs. As customer expectations change, they need to optimize their workforce and improve efficiencies. Common issues that we at Dizzion see BPOs face are endpoint security concerns, managing a work-at-home staff or third party contractors, scaling more quickly when bringing on new agents to accommodate rapid growth or seasonal demand spikes, and optimizing in-house IT resources. As a result, one of the major changes we see ahead for BPOs in 2017 is a huge movement towards adoption of DaaS technology – particularly to support Work at Home and BYOD programs. Once adopted, they are then able to significantly drive productivity, lower capital expenditures and increase customer confidence.
 

If more companies are going to be adopting BYOD/BYOC policies, should they be worried about security? What’s changed in the space to make these policies more secure?
Until recently, many organizations hosted their own IT infrastructure, including client/desktops. While giving organizations control over their infrastructure, applications and information, this approach is expensive to install, manage and upgrade.
 

To save time and cost, many organizations have adopted BYOD policies which, when paired with DaaS, allow the managed service provider to take on the responsibility for all operational requirements. As a result, no data is living on an unmanaged PC, activity is always being watched, and company and client information is always located behind a password-protected firewall in the cloud. With such security measures in place, BYOD adoption can improve end user security without IT having to secure each individual device and save the organization on hardware costs.
 

What are the benefits of BPOs adopting BYOD/BYOC policies?
By adopting BYOD/BYOC policies, organizations are able to not only save costs and enhance security, but improve business efficiency and empower staff to work proficiently. Since mobile phones and laptops are portable, an individual is able to work from any setting and know they can access company information securely.
 

Many companies have been hesitant to migrate to the cloud because of security concerns and overall uncertainty. How extensive do you expect the adoption of cloud technologies will be in 2017? What will be the driving factors?

Cloud adoption will definitely continue to expand across all industries, especially in highly regulated sectors that have historically been reticent to take the plunge: healthcare, financial and insurance industries. Within these industries, SaaS (News - Alert) and DaaS technologies will continue to evolve greatly due to the cost savings, convenience and compliance aspects. Organizations within these industries didn’t want to be the ‘first’ – the one who a. took on the risks, b. determined the ins and outs of staying compliant in the cloud and c. put forth the added expense to accomplish it. Now that more companies have proven that it can be done securely and efficiently, more highly regulated companies are starting to warm up to the idea.