Focus will be on performance management and security in 2006

In 2006, PDAs will evolve and become more of a tool than they are now, although the problem of Bluetooth viruses will need to be solved. Global roaming issues will continue to decrease, with more options in more places.

Internet on planes will become more popular as airlines compete for business travelers. Some may provide the service for a nominal fee, while others will offer it free.

Security will remain the prime focus for companies. Newer integrated security tools will gain in popularity and, hopefully, newer tools for home users will become more efficient and easier to use, in particular where wireless access points are a concern.

Blades will continue to grow in popularity due to a decrease in management costs and new functionality that makes them even easier to administer than ever before.

10 Gigabit copper equipment will come into play and offer companies that wish to implement 10 Gig a significant savings over their fiber counterparts. This will mean that companies will need to pay more attention to their infrastructures.

Infrastructure issues, in particular where poor cable plants are concerned, will need to be corrected. Companies are realizing that measures to band-aid and circumvent problems are more expensive in the long run. Real-time applications like voice will become more tightly integrated with video and will tax poor networks in some cases to a point of failure.

Finally, performance management will become the new buzzword for next year as companies struggle with performance issues due to older facilities.

Carrie Higbie has been involved in the computing and networking industries for 20+ years. Carrie currently works with The Siemon Company as the Global Network Applications Market Manager to support the end-user and electronics communities.

View Carrie's full bio, read some of her previously answered Q&As or send her your own networking training-related question.

This was first published in January 2006

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