Let’s face it: we live in a digitally-driven world where we are constantly surrounded by increasing cyber security vulnerabilities and hackers waiting in the wings to make their next move.

This past May, Red Hat released version 8 of its flagship platform Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). It’s been 5 years since the last major release and there are exciting new features that make version 8 the best Linux to run your business on. I'm going to examine some of these features such as portability, AppStreams, and a web-based management tool to make the transition to Linux much easier.

Traditional wide area network (WAN) design – with its myriad of devices, disparate WAN links and siloed management – is increasingly becoming a thing of the past. The reality is, traditional WAN is too costly and cumbersome to meet the needs of today’s digitally-driven businesses.

Were you one of the 90,000 Canadians whose data was stolen when two Canadian banks were recently hacked? 

Even if you weren’t, you can probably imagine the distress it caused – not just to the victims, but also to those at the banks responsible for safeguarding customer data and enterprise systems. Yes, the banks acted swiftly to launch investigations and enhance online security measures, but what could have been done to prevent the hack from happening in the first place?

Now that we’re a month into the new year, it’s time to take a look at the top technology trends most likely to disrupt business in 2019 and beyond. Some of these trends are a continuation of what we experienced in 2018, while others are exciting new developments. Here are our top five:

As technology continues to evolve and with the integration of AI frameworks, the complexity of managing a businesses’ IT infrastructure has significantly increased. Facing this reality, one of the biggest challenges many businesses face is the proper management of their IT environment to ensure smooth and seamless operations.

IBM has had a long-standing relationship with Linux and has been a big supporter of the operating system for a long time. In 2001, they invested $1 billion in support of the Linux community. IBM is also a large contributor of code updates to the Linux kernel and other open source projects. Because of this support, Linux has been able to run on all IBM systems from an entry level Intel based server all the way up to the zSeries mainframe.

Artificial intelligence is all around us.

Not so long ago, artificial intelligence (AI) existed only in the world of science fiction - but today, AI pervades our daily lives – whether we’re aware of it or not.  So much of what we do and the tools we use or dependent on data-driven analytics.

Take these examples:

Have you used a ride-sharing service (like Uber or Lyft) lately? These companies track millions of metrics each day, then employ machine learning (DL) and deep learning (DL) – both subsets of AI – to match drivers with riders, optimize routes, develop safety processes, and much more. 

Laundry time? Some washing machine manufacturers are introducing next-generation models controlled by apps – and those apps use AI to determine the best cycle for the type of clothes you’re washing, and also help with maintenance and troubleshooting to ensure your machine is operating to optimal results. 

In the healthcare space, one organization has trained and taught algorithms to augment the work of radiologists, allowing them to make diagnoses more accurately and efficiently.

The talk of data protection, data breaches, and cyber security won't be going away anytime soon. As a rising threat all over the world, it's become more important than ever before to gain a deeper understanding of these trends and the short and long-term effects they could have on your business. 

It's no secret that AI is taking the technology world by storm. Businesses are becoming more dependent on deeper and speedier insights. The opportunities for advancement that have opened up as a result of AI have allowed businesses to catapult into a whole new level of customer service delivery and overall operational efficiency.