eG Innovations released key predictions for the Application Performance Management (APM) industry in 2015.

Resolving IT pain and avoiding unscheduled downtime is the traditional focus of our industry and will continue to be important, but cloud, mobility, SaaS and other emerging technologies like virtually shared storage are reinventing the role of the modern CIO. APM solutions must support emerging technologies and help CIOs manage and plan for future innovation, transformation and validate the value delivered to the business. CIOs will depend on APM solutions to prevent drains on CAPEX and ensure they are contributing to OPINC. The modern CIO will concentrate on these key initiatives, all of which are tied to having universal insight across the enterprise.

1. Workspace flexibility will increase exponentially in 2015

IT executives are being challenged to adopt and integrate mobile solutions at a blinding pace but 70% of end user devices cannot pass basic compliance and security tests, so introducing foreign devices on the corporate network poses serious risks. CIOs will need to ensure availability while managing access, device and user compliance and security, having universal insight across user and device profiles, approved and blacklisted apps, databases and domains will be critical to success.

2. The borderless enterprise explosion will usher in a new era of compliance and security

The gaps and interdependencies between cloud, mobility, virtual and shared infrastructures, social media platforms and SaaS will inspire a renewed focus on compliance and security the way email, malware and network security have before. APM providers will be faced with some interesting choices like whether to acquire or develop additional internal compliance and security expertise, partner with an existing security provider or remain focused on their existing silo niche. CIOs will be left with deciding to go all-in with a security provider, purchase silo-centric solutions that provide limited compliance and security visibility, or evaluate and choose an APM/NPM solution that meets most of their needs now as APM NPM compliance and security maturity continues to grow.

3. It's all about end user experience and enhancing IT service performance

End users judge their experience relative to their ability to be productive and complete an end goal. Whether the end user is an employee seeking to work seamlessly between the office and a mobile device as they move across domains or a customer accessing a web cart, they all expect apps and databases to be available, accessible and responsive. CIOs will rely heavily on APM solutions to provide KPI for user logons, average response time, page loads, app adoption, abandonment rates and other correlated metrics to ensure that end users are happy and productive.

4. CIOs will be recognized as the King of corporate KPI

What started with call center, helpdesk and customer service metrics is expanding rapidly. APM solutions that can be adapted to collect KPI for industry and role specific applications are influencing the decision making of CEOs, CFOs and other executives. APM solutions will be used to measure and determine the viability of pilot programs, industrial expansion and even the purchase of competing intellectual properties.

5. CIOs Improve operational efficiency with APM

Reliance on command line interfaces and technology trees is functional but outdated. CIOs will arm and empower IT managers, admins and specialists with APM solutions that are customizable, intuitive, integrate easily with existing NOC tools and provide a unified view of the enterprise. The end goal will be to accelerate time to resolution, eliminate guesswork, reduce dependency on multiple silo-centric tools with limited visibility and mitigate the impact that natural attrition has on tribal knowledge.

6. CIOS Ensure IT effectiveness and business alignment via APM

CIOs must align IT initiatives with desired business outcomes for productivity, growth and profit. APM historical performance reports provide the empirical data they need to help them balance workloads, right-size the enterprise and eliminate cost overruns so capacity planning meets the business needs of today while preparing for the emerging technologies of tomorrow.

7. XaaS becomes the new IT stack for Hybrid Cloud

The era of everything as a service has arrived. The development of virtual cloud and mobility apps are driving IT innovation and the consolidation of intellectual properties at a blinding pace. To maintain market share and demonstrate thought leadership traditional product centric companies will accelerate efforts to bring new XaaS offerings to market. The rollout and adoption of new service offerings like vDaaS, DRaaS, IaaS, MWaaS, PaaS, and WPaaS with grow and mature in 2015 and throughout the remainder of the decade.

8. Containerization remains a test and development play, for now

Game changer, disruptive and death knell are all phrases tossed about when containerization solutions are discussed as an alternative to traditional virtualization but the reality is much less dramatic. Container solutions are well suited for accelerating Linux app portability and reducing associated overhead, Google and Facebook have deployed containers very successfully but their demands for rapid deployment and scale are different from most corporate customers. Until container solutions are cross compatible, offer mature management options and enhanced security capabilities expect containers to remain a solution for Linux test and development environments while traditional VMs meet the majority of data center production demands.

Universal insight matters, its inherent value is undeniable. It will play a significant role in driving, supporting and ensuring the success of these key CIO initiatives in 2015.

Srinivas Ramanathan is CEO and Founder of eG Innovations.